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      The Killer Is Loose

      Released Mar 2, 1956 1h 13m Mystery & Thriller List
      60% 5 Reviews Tomatometer 40% 100+ Ratings Audience Score Humble bank teller Leon Poole (Wendell Corey) participates in a heist that doesn't go as planned. When police surround his apartment, there's a shoot-out, during which Detective Sam Wagner (Joseph Cotten) unwittingly kills Poole's wife. Poole is subsequently captured and jailed, but three years later he's back out on the street and hell-bent on revenge. Wanting the punishment to fit the crime, he vows that he won't kill Wagner -- just his wife (Rhonda Fleming). Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness Plays out like some sort of slow-motion fever dream. Rated: B+ May 23, 2006 Full Review Fernando F. Croce Slant Magazine Handed a narrative stuffed with cat-and-mouse violence, the filmmaker plays down dark hysteria in favor of grayish curtness, and the film is no less tense for that. May 1, 2006 Full Review Michael E. Grost Classic Film and Television Strange, moody film noir, filled with observations on daily life, technology and gender in the 1950's. Aug 10, 2011 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid A rather creaky attempt at a film noir with very little of the psychological violence and use of landscape that would define [Boetticher's] later films. Jul 25, 2011 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A typical 1950s noir. Rated: C Apr 14, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      dave j War vet Leon Poole (Wendell Corey) has just been caught stealing the bank's money where he is employed at. But before the police close in, Poole's wife accidently gets killed in a shoot out putting Poole on an obsessive rant to go after the detective's wife who shot and killed her who is the detective Sam Wagner played by Joseph Cotten Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Mildly interesting crime drama starring a lackluster Wendell Corey as the bank teller gone bad, seeking revenige for the accidental shooting of his wife. Rhonda Fleming is fabulous as wife of cop Corey is after. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Tightly directed Budd Boetticher thriller about cop Joseph Cotten who accidentally kills bank robber Wendell Corey's wife following a heist. Corey escapes from prison and wants to get revenge on Cotten. I've never really though much of Wendell Corey as an actor and always found him kind of wooden, but he's terrifically effective as creepy killer who you also manages to generate a certain amount of sympathy in a pathetic sort of way. But the real star of the film is Boetticher's suspenseful direction. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member descent indie crime thriller Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Very mixed bag, the best parts making it worth the worst of it--Mediocre Crime Drama!! Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member "The Killer Is Loose" is a watchable police yarn that ultimately suffers from an incompetent final act and a short running time that allows us little interaction with the characters. The performances are all fine, but the action is the kind of stuff you've seen a thousand times before. Still, it works as a great time-passer. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

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      The Killer Is Loose

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Humble bank teller Leon Poole (Wendell Corey) participates in a heist that doesn't go as planned. When police surround his apartment, there's a shoot-out, during which Detective Sam Wagner (Joseph Cotten) unwittingly kills Poole's wife. Poole is subsequently captured and jailed, but three years later he's back out on the street and hell-bent on revenge. Wanting the punishment to fit the crime, he vows that he won't kill Wagner -- just his wife (Rhonda Fleming).
      Director
      Budd Boetticher
      Screenwriter
      John Hawkins, Ward Hawkins, Harold Medford
      Distributor
      United Artists
      Production Co
      Crown Productions
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Mar 2, 1956, Wide
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Sep 1, 2016
      Runtime
      1h 13m
      Sound Mix
      Mono