When it comes to 50's B crime thrillers, I think Columbia made the best ones (RKO a very close second). In 1950 they gave us THE KILLER THAT STALKED NEW YORK, about a woman who unknowingly brings smallpox into the city in '47, and the authorities trying to prevent the outbreak from spreading. As she's being hunted, she's hunting down her rat fink husband who has double-crossed her by stealing some diamonds she smuggled into the country for him. Evelyn Keyes is the titular, unknowing killer, and she's supported by numerous familiar character players. The same year, 20th Century Fox produced PANIC IN THE STREETS, in which Richard Wydmark and Paul Douglas desperately search for the killer of a man discovered to be carrying plague. They make for an interesting double feature, having similar themes but wildly different approaches.
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