A 50's or 60's PANDEMIC? "It could've happened!"

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It was predicted.

From the locusts of the Bible to the plagues of Europe mere mortals have worried about pandemics caused by nature-gone-nuts.

After the "Spanish Flu" (which sickened 500 million people and lasted from February 1918 to April 1920), the question was: "when will it happen again?" Albert Camus wrote "The Plague" in 1947.

"Panic in the Streets" (1950) was a film about a "pneumonic plague" spreading through a city.

Books and newspaper editorials cautioned "better hygiene" and "vegetarianism."

It may be a modest surprise that after SARS and EBOLA, this COVID-19 packed more of a wallop?

What would've happened if this thing happened a few decades earlier?

Perhaps one of Julie's movies would've been about the problem!

What if Dorcas or Katrin or Stupefyin' Jones had to be concerned about a lethal form of flu??

Maybe the script would've been Abbott & Costello silly ("When the flu flies, we must flee" - yes the actually did such a routine). We do need comedy to help cope with tragedy. Late night talk show hosts tell Covid jokes and we've all seen a variety of comical mask memes on social media.

How about a moment...where the citizens of Dogpatch, USA start acting SMART, and wear masks, and don't wait for 10,000 to be infected in one day!

A film might point out that if there's a paper shortage, ladies can make masks out of underwear or nightgowns...

And finally, a film might instruct sophisticated city people to stay safe!

Katrin: "What if, after the pandemic, we take off our masks and make a baby? A genius and a blonde get together to have the perfect child!"

Professor Delville: "Yes, but what if the child ended up a boy with blonde hair and no intelligence? What would happen?"

Katrin: "He might grow up to be Donald, the President of the United States!"