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The Killer Is Loose

Play trailer Poster for The Killer Is Loose Released Mar 2, 1956 1h 13m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
67% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 40% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
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).

Critics Reviews

View All (6) Critics Reviews
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 Matt Brunson Film Frenzy A sturdy revenge flick. Rated: 3/4 Jan 5, 2025 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

View All (17) audience reviews
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 Audience Member Real thrills in this crime drama as I felt goosebumps on my arms. The acting on behalf of the actors I really felt for them as the story progresses. The wife and husband scenes, Rhonda Fleming and Joseph Cotton, made me really feel for them both, and shows that the dangers of a cop's life not only affect the one person, but the family as a whole. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Killer Is Loose

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Cast & Crew

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Budd Boetticher

Director

Joseph Cotten

Det. Sam Wagner

Rhonda Fleming

Lila Wagner

Wendell Corey

Leon Poole

Alan Hale Jr.

Denny

Michael Pate

Detective Chris Gillespie

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The Killer Is Loose

The Killer Is Loose (1956) The Killer Is Loose (1956) The Killer Is Loose (1956) The Killer Is Loose (1956) The Killer Is Loose (1956) The Killer Is Loose (1956) View more photos

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
Producer
Robert L. Jacks
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