Once full production is resumed, audiences can expect a slew of movies focused on the tumultuous events of 2020-21 — including a global pandemic, social and political unrest and a siege on the U.S. Capitol.

Having lived through these events, I’m not exactly counting the hours until I can see Hollywood re-create them on the big screen. Particularly when there are surprising number of quality movies from the 1950s and ‘60s that cover some of the same territory.

Two good examples are “Panic in the Streets,” a 1950 drama about a fictionalized health scare, and the 1964 political thriller “Seven Days in May,” which focuses on a potential government takeover.

The latter film opens with demonstrations over a nuclear disarmament treaty negotiated by the unpopular pacifist president Jordan Lyman (played by Fredric March).

Believing that the treaty fatally weakens America’s defenses during the height of the Cold War, megalomaniacal Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. James Scott (Burt Lancaster) plots a military coup in which he would seize power in conjunction with the abduction of Lyman during a scheduled war-games exercise.

Although not one of the conspirators, Scott’s principled aide, Marine Col. Jiggs Casey (Kirk Douglas), senses that something’s amiss. He reports his suspicions to Lyman and joins a group of presidential advisers who race against time to foil the plot.

While well-received by audiences and critics, this film has been overshadowed historically by comparisons with such quirkier political thrillers of the era as “Dr. Strangelove” and “The Manchurian Candidate.”

But while the plots of the latter two movies seem pretty far-fetched, “Seven Days in May” has a sense of realism that the others lack. It is thus ironic that the screenplay was written by someone associated with science fiction —“Twilight Zone” creator Rod Serling.

Directing an exceptional cast that includes Edmond O’Brien, Martin Balsam and Ava Gardner in supporting roles, John Frankenheimer keeps the tension percolating throughout.

A legend has surfaced that Douglas and Lancaster switched roles just prior to filming. Not exactly.

One of the film’s producers, Douglas indeed was originally planning to play Scott (with Paul Newman the front-runner to portray Casey). But Douglas wanted Lancaster — his friend and frequent co-star— in the movie and was willing to relinquish the meatier role to secure his services.

Whatever the reason, the swap was inspired. While the ultra-intense Douglas undoubtedly would have played Scott as a raving lunatic, Lancaster keeps his emotional cards close to the vest. Only in a climactic Oval Office confrontation with the president does he break his coldly logical exterior. Even there, his reasoning supporting the takeover is remarkably coherent.

In fact, it is entirely possible to sympathize with Scott’s political stance while deploring his methods. That distinction probably would have been lost had the film been remade a generation later.

Although filmed 71 years ago, “Panic in the Streets” is even more closely tied to current events. It was shot on location in New Orleans by legendary director Elia Kazan, who wraps things up in a brisk 93 minutes.

Jack Palance makes his film debut as Blackie, a lowlife gangster who orders the killing of an illegal immigrant seaman after losing money to him in a poker game.

Complications ensue when a routine autopsy reveals that the seaman was infected with pneumonic plague. That means Blackie and his criminal cohorts (who include future Broadway legend Zero Mostel) are in danger of spreading the highly infectious disease.

Clint Reed (played by Richard Widmark), a US. Public Health Service doctor assigned to the case, insists that the killers must be found and inoculated within 48 hours to prevent a widespread epidemic.

Since even the victim’s identity is unknown, police captain Tom Warren (Paul Douglas) is understandably skeptical that this goal can be attained in such a short time frame. So Reed somewhat improbably joins forces with Warren to lead the manhunt.

The Oscar-winning story contains several elements — mass vaccinations, discussions of quarantines and even a scene of social distancing between Reed and his wife (Barbara Bel Geddes) — that are also part of today’s COVID-19 narrative.

There’s at least one key difference. Reed is adamant that the media not be informed of the health threat for fear that potential carriers will panic and flee the city.

When an enterprising reporter gets wind of the story, Warren has him arrested for loitering before he can publish it. Not even Donald Trump might have thought of that.

His realistic portrayal of a dedicated civil servant and family man helped Widmark escape typecasting as a psychotic killer. The filming of this movie, however, wasn’t an entirely pleasant experience for the actor.

During the concluding chase scene along the New Orleans waterfront, Palance’s character uses the butt of a gun to knock out Widmark’s character.

Unbeknownst to anyone else (including Kazan), Palance substituted a real revolver for the standard rubber prop gun. Widmark actually was knocked unconscious during the scene and his realistic cry of pain as he goes down wasn’t merely acting. Years later, he was at a loss to explain Palance’s actions.

At that, Widmark was lucky. The scene could have called for Palance to shoot him.