1950 - PANIC IN THE STREETS, Kazan starts to grow as a filmmaker

The director Elia Kazan really gets out of the studio for this story about a modern day plague that might strike the city of New Orleans.  Two hoodlums are infected with the plague and it's up to the authorities to find them in 48 hours. 

The stars are Richard Widmark who is kind of over the top with his performance and Paul Douglas who's underplaying seems a little more in tune with the film's tone.  One of the strength's Elia Kazan brought to his films was his ability to get good performances out of his cast.  I'm not sure what happened with Widmark but everyone else is very good in this film particularly Zero Mostel as a small time hood.

The attraction of this film is really the on location filming in New Orleans.  Kazan and his cinematographer Joseph MacDonald really capture the flavor of and the era of the city in the early 1950's.  The Blu Ray makes the images really stand out.  The on location chase at the end of this film is very exciting. 

Not one of Kazan's great films but Panic In The Streets is very good. 

96 minutes. written by Richard Murphy,  Daniel Fuchs, Edna and Edward Anhalt

1960 - WILD RIVER, another impressive film from Elia Kazan

The federal government in the form of the Tennessee Valley Authority needs to evict an old woman and her family from their home in order to dam up the river and bring electricity to the region.  Conflicts over individual rights, racism and cultural differences create the drama.

Wild River is film making at a very high level.  The film was filmed in CinemaScope and benefits from a director who knows what he's doing with it for a change.  There is a lot of atmosphere in this film.  Kazan shot on location and really captures rural Tennessee. 

Kazan was also a pro when it came to directing actors.  Everyone in the cast delivers the goods from overly method actor Montgomery Cliff, Lee Remick and Jo Van Fleet as the matriarch of the family who Cliff is trying to evict are excellent.  But when you get right down to it everyone in the cast,  which includes scenery chewing actors like Jay C. Flippen and Albert Salmi are working at a very high level. 

For a film over 40 years old this is still very contemporary in the issues it raises regarding the role of government in the lives of people.

110 minutes.

1963 - AMERICA AMERICA, extremely personal film from Elia Kazan.

Elia Kazan's epic film about his family and specifically his Uncle,  is a long, interesting film with large scale scenes and at times some very over the top performances from his big cast.

America America is a very personal project for Kazan, he is the narrator of the film and literally  recites the production credits at the end of the film.  In interviews, Kazan made it clear  that in spite of the many problems in the United States, he was not about to make a film about bashing America.  Kazan sees the immigrant experience as extremely positive regardless of how they got here and he considers the United States the land of opportunity.  This film is almost patriotism with taste.

The protagonist of the film Kazan's Uncle Stavros Topouzoglou,  is not your typical immigrant hero,  At times his behavior and actions are less than idealistic.  However Kazan recognizes that this is the man who on his own initiative and over many years, brought his entire family over to this country.  A pretty remarkable accomplishment.

Elia Kazan directs.

Elia Kazan is a complicated figure in the film world, but he usually brought an intelligent outlook to almost every project he ever worked on.

America America is a long film but very worthwhile.

174 minutes.