“The Killer That Stalked New York” (1950) / Z-View

The Killer That Stalked New York (1950)

Director:  Earl McEvoy

Screenplay: Harry Essex based on Smallpox, the Killer That Stalks New York by Milton Lehman (1948 Cosmopolitan article)

Stars: Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin, Dorothy Malone, Lola Albright, Barry Kelley, Carl Benton Reid, Ludwig Donath, Art Smith, Whit Bissell, Roy Roberts, Harry Shannon  and Jim Backus.

Tagline: One woman brings terror to 8,000,000 people!

The Plot…

Sheila Bennet (Keyes) ha just returned to New York City from Cuba.  What the authorities don’t know is that she has smuggled in $50,000.00 in diamonds.  What Sheila doesn’t know is that her partner-in-crime, her husband, has been cheating on her with her sister.  Another thing that Sheila doesn’t know is that she has contracted small pox.

The disease spreads fast and soon citizens are dying.  Although the authorities are doing their best to track down the unknown carrier of the disease, the city begins to panic.  How many more will die?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) is a docudrama based on Milton Lehman’s article about a real small pox outbreak in 1947.

The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) rates 2 of 5 stars.