Directed by Elia Kazan • 1950 • United States
Starring Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes

One night in the New Orleans slums, vicious hoodlum Blackie (Jack Palance, in his film debut) and his friends kill an undocumented immigrant who won too much in a card game. When Dr. Clint Reed (Richard Widmark) confirms that the dead man had pneumonic plague, he must find and inoculate the killers and their associates. Can a doctor turn detective? He has forty-eight hours to try. Vividly shot on location in New Orleans using the city’s citizens as supporting characters and extras, this gripping thriller combines neorealist-influenced authenticity with the atmospheric visual style of classic noir.