It must be said that Kazan has collaborated with the HUAC, informing on acquaintances and causing them severe damage. Including on Zero Mostel, who is in Panic in the Streets (and the memorable Max Bialystock in The Prdoducers).

The set of mind of Kazan and his life, of course are visible in his movies, as in every one's work, not just artists.

Being nasty doesn't preclude skills, talent and even amazing reasonning, at least up to the limits of the blind spot, oneself.

It's definitely the case with Hitchcock, Polanski, David Lean and Kazan (Knut Hamsun, Borges), etc.

That said, Panic in the Streets is one of the most amazing movies, with a dynamic I have seen nowhere else : the foreground is systematically contradicted by the background. And it's up to the viewer to decide where the truth is: in the front, conveniently handed on a plate? Or in the background, where one has to think for himself, autonomously? :-D

In our current situation, this dizzying trick is so relevant, it's almost funny.

In the foreground : Reed, an officer of the U.S. Public Health Service (Richard Widmark), has only a day or two to prevent an epidemic of pneumonic plague after Reed determines a waterfront homicide victim is an index case.

In the background : the disease is a fever of freedom, hunted down. Here, the good guy is the bad guy.

Kazan conveys this very smoothly and cleverly. It's easy to miss the background, in which case the movie is simply about an officer trying to prevent an epidemic. Otherwise, there is a lot more going there beyond the foreground and background. A compelling movie, one of a kind. Thank you for this upload !