The Killer Is Loose

Plot synopsis:
An employee of a savings and loan company successfully robs a bank as an inside job. At first, bank employee Leon Poole (Wendell Corey) is considered a hero during the bank robbery, but the police quickly figure out he's involved in the crime. The cops catch up with Poole and his young wife at their apartment. Poole's wife is accidentally shot to death during a gunfight. Poole is arrested, convicted and sent to prison for the robbery.
While behind bars, Poole plans his escape and revenge on the policeman who killed his wife, Lt. Sam Wagner (Joseph Cotten). Poole figures the best way to exact revenge is to kill Wagner's wife, Lila (Rhonda Fleming).
Poole escapes while working on a prison honor farm, murdering a guard. He kills again to gain access to a truck. Managing to avoid a highway roadblock set up by the police, Poole heads for the home of his former Army sergeant, Otto Flanders, holding his wife captive and then killing Flanders in cold blood.
Wagner's wife is unaware that she is Poole's target. Wagner manages to get Lila safely out of town, but because she resents her husband's unwillingness to quit law enforcement, she decides to leave him for good. Lila then learns he was merely trying to protect her, so she heads back for their home, where Poole is waiting.

Tags: revenge, murder

Review:
Watching "A Killer is Loose" it's not hard to see how Budd Boetticher garnered a reputation as one of the top B movie directors.
With the limited resources allotted to the makers of B movies, not to mention the casting of often second rate actors, a lot of skill went into creating the few B movies which have endured.Boetticher gets good performances from leads Joseph Cotton and Wendell Corey (not strictly B movie actors) as well a surprisingly convincing Rhonda Fleming.
Corey (who usually played stiff bureaucrats and cops himself) gets the role of his life as a mild-mannered clerk turned crook who becomes unhinged and escapes with the plan to kill the cop who sent him up.
And if you want to know what Brian dePalma's been trying to do all these years with movies like Blow Out and Snake Eyes, just watch how effortlessly Boetticher plays out the climax over walkie-talkies (a sequence to rival Touch of Evil)..
"The Killer is Loose" is a 1956 B film directed by Budd Boetticher, and it's pretty good.
It stars Wendell Corey as Leon Poole, a man who is working in a bank when a robbery occurs.
The police break in, the lights are off, and Detective Wagner (Joseph Cotten) sees a form emerging from the bedroom and shoots, killing Poole's wife.
When Poole is sentenced, he promises to pay Wagner back for killing her.I've never understood what happened to Joseph Cotten's career, but by the '50s, he was appearing in B movies after being part of so many important films in the '40s.
Corey is excellent as Poole, a disturbed man with a flat affect; he never knew any happiness until he got married and goes crazy when his wife is taken from him.Good noir..
In some ways, the costume or prop department deserves a lot of credit, because the glasses he wears makes him seem bland yet steady and menacing.Joseph Cotten and Rhonda Fleming are not convincing cast as a cop and pregnant wife.
What makes this film so fresh is the "different kind of bad guy" It's film noir, about a meek man whose wife is accidentally killed by police.
In fact, like most older films, the illusion of action is given to non action scenes that make such films seem more animated than most of the high octane action movies made since 1970 or so.The big stars, Cotten and Fleming need no introduction, we all know Hale as the skipper, and Pate famous for playing sneaky looking henchmen as in "The Black Caste", these stars play the "stable" characters.
Wendell Corey is a crazed man who has murdered three innocent people and they know his next target is Joseph Cotten's wife.
So, combining this with the above character problems is a real nightmare for people who are looking for realism--something Film Noir movies MUST have.All these serious problems are even more infuriating since Wendell Corey's character is amazingly well-written and conceived.
Wendell Corey steals low-budget B-film as crazed killer....
Budd Boetticher was getting his "Director's Day" salute on TCM when I watched this little known thriller starring Joseph COTTEN, RHONDA FLEMING and WENDELL COREY.It's Corey who walks off with the film in what is really the central role as a crazed killer, angry when detective Cotten and his police officers accidentally kill his wife when trying to get him.
He vows revenge when he's found guilty of a bank robbery where he was an accomplice, and the rest of the tale involves vengeance and a final comeuppance for Corey.Joseph COTTEN gives only a middling performance, almost phoning in his job as though he knows his colorless role isn't worth much effort.
The same for RHONDA FLEMING as his selfish wife, whose sole contribution is a shapely figure and a pretty face obviously ready for many a close-up.What raises this above the level of an average B-film is Corey's nuanced performance as a nerdy man who appears almost sympathetic at times and chillingly ruthless when crossed.
It's Corey's work in the film that puts it into a higher category and makes it a psychological crime melodrama worth watching.Budd Boetticher's no-nonsense approach delivers a solid bit of film-making that lasts a mere one hour and thirteen minutes.Note: The lower case for the name Joseph is either the fault of my keyboard or IMDb--I've been capitalizing it but it comes out each time as lower case for some unknown reason..
Killer is Loose, The (1956) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Budd Boetticher directed this highly intense police drama, which certainly deserves to be better known than it is.
In the film, a bank robber (Wendell Corey) gets away from the scene of the crime but a detective (Joseph Cotten) tracks him down to his apartment.
When the detective breaks the door in he accidentally kills the man's wife (Rhonda Fleming).
The robber is eventually sent to prison but he escapes and plans his revenge by killing the detective's wife.
Cotton is very good in his role as is Fleming but the film belongs to Corey as the deranged psychopath.
It had a few redeeming features: better than average b/w cinematography, including rain sequences (in LA!); location photography which fascinated me, as I tried to identify street corners; better than average acting for a low-budget mid 50s b/w post-studio heyday film; and Wendell Corey who, believe or not, I've always loved; and an always-reliable Joseph Cotten.
The downsides: a script that defies credulity over and over, from Corey being a psychopath, to his escape when he is close to parole, to the actions of Fleming at the end, to Fleming's unconvincing performance and casting, to the bland storyline, to the cops' ineptness, to the hackneyed storyline of a cop's wife's frustration.
The only thing that makes this one watchable is Corey's performance as the lunatic killer on the loose.
Bank robber, cornered in his room by the police, refuses to give up and shoots at an officer; they return fire and accidentally kill his innocent wife.
Two-and-a-half years after sentencing, the deceptively mild-mannered thief escapes from a prison work farm, kills a guard and a farmer, and sets out to kill the police detective's wife to avenge his own spouse's death.
The dated police business seems very naïve, and most of the female characters are weak-kneed ninnies (a tiresome cliché); however, the usually-bland Wendell Corey gets a rare chance here to play the villain and he's very effective.
This noir features Wendell Corey as a very creepy psycho in a plot that brings instantly to mind a much more famous movie, "Cape Fear." Corey is sent to prison for aiding a bank robbery.
But Corey's way of realizing his vengeance on Cotten is by threatening Cotten's wife, played by Rhonda Fleming.Corey plays the killer very quietly and emotionlessly, which makes him much scarier than if he had resorted to histrionics, and it makes the killings in the film, which are actually fairly shocking, much more effective because of their cold bloodedness.
Women aren't going to be much pleased by the portrayal of the female characters and the way the film either disposes of them or has them do foolish things that service the movie's plot, but this was the 1950s, so we can't expect too much.Grade: A-.
Corey is effective as the disturbed, cold-blooded killer who targets Fleming, Cotten's wife, because the latter accidentally killed Corey's wife.
The problems: Joseph Cotten (whom I often like) isn't particularly good here, looking rather tired and perhaps a little disengaged; the character of his wife, played by Rhonda Fleming, is considerably shrill and annoying, to the point of being very nearly unsympathetic; the story itself is considerably simple; and the climax is rather weak and too abrupt.
Still, Wendell Corey is quite convincing as psychopath Leon "Foggy" Poole, and it's fun to see some of the settings, styles, and conventions of mid-50s Los Angeles.
Rhonda Fleming seems right as police detective Joseph Cotten's wife, Lila, but her role is so poorly conceived (and she becomes so annoying), that I lost all interest and sympathy for her.
Even worse, you can't watch him without seeing Joseph Cotten; he doesn't create a character and his movements seem all wrong as a cop.
Boetticher seems to have waived rehearsal time and settled for the first take as leads Joe Cotton and Rhonda Fleming put little effort into their roles, delivering lines flatly and without energy.
Mild mannered employee Leon "Foggy" Poole works as an inside man on a bank job that goes bad and gets his wife killed in the process.
Hundreds of cops are mobilized to keep him from getting to the home of the intended who has been moved to another location but wouldn't you know in the films final moments we have Foggy trailing feet behind the victim (who thought somehow that taking a bus back to the house was a sound move) while a company of cops observe and bicker over what action to take.
As Poole, Wendell Corey is the best thing in the film managing to evoke great sympathy as he transitions from gentle soul to murderer.
The most remarkable thing about this film is the lead performance from Wendell Corey.
He provides a different kind of villain to what most people will be used to seeing; he's calm, cool and collected and clearly only intending to kill the cop's wife because he wants revenge, not because he's a deranged psycho.
The film belongs to Wendell Corey in the title role.Now I'm not saying that Corey's character is anything like the lovable, multi-phobic Adrian Monk.
But in the way that Monk was so fanatically attached to his late wife who was killed it strikes a similar note in me when I watched this film and Wendell Corey's performance.The film begins with a bank holdup in which teller Corey tries to stop the bandits and is pistol-whipped.
The tap points the finger at Corey as the inside man.But in trying to take him, Pate is wounded and then Cotten fires through the closed door.
At his sentence Corey vows vengeance and later on much into his sentence he's given the honor farm for good behavior and kills a guard in his escape.
He told cell-mates he was going to kill Rhonda Fleming who is Cotten's wife in retaliation.The key scene in the film is when he holds his former army sergeant John Larch and his wife Dee Thompson as hostages while he figures how to get to Cotten.
Like Monk, his whole world was shattered when she was killed.Corey is a frighteningly ordinary man which makes his psychotic behavior all the more frightening.Director Budd Boetticher, known primarily for those Randolph Scott westerns, gets a good performance out of the cast.
In "Killer is Loose", a relatively minor effort, one gets the impression that Boetticher is merely doing routine job, which is to say there is nothing genuinely personal or elating about it.Nonetheless, in its own ways "Killer is Loose" works and remains fascinating, sometimes terrifying film noir that packs a wallop thanks to its skill and compactness.
The film anticipates Hitchcock's "Psycho" in its focus on the psycho killer on loose, brilliantly played by Wendell Corey.
But I liked the way she handled the moment when the killer is stalking and walking behind her as she heads home and at the same time the police are watching them.
Overall, "Killer is Loose" is a good noir, but not one of Boetticher's best..
Surprisingly, for a movie that runs for only 78 minutes, "The Killer Is Loose" features a bank robbery, a jailbreak and a manhunt as well as a series of murders, a home invasion and a stalking sequence before eventually reaching its tense climax.
More importantly though, it's a well-written revenge thriller that does a particularly good job of explaining the reasons for the killer's psychosis and by doing so with great pace and clarity, ensures that the story's excitement, suspense and enjoyment are all kept at a high level from start to finish.One day, when he's carrying out his routine duties, bank teller Leon "Foggy" Poole (Wendell Corey) is confronted by his old Army sergeant Otto Flanders (John Larch) and immediately feels uncomfortable because this man habitually used to ridicule him when they served together in the South Pacific and unkindly named him "Foggy" because of his poor eyesight.
Before they can become fully reacquainted, however, it becomes evident that the bank is being robbed and as the thieves make their escape, Poole is injured after trying to stop one of them from getting away.Shortly after, when LAPD Detective Lieutenant Sam Wagner (Joseph Cotten) is investigating, he quickly recognises that Poole was actually an accomplice to the heist and with a few of his colleagues, goes to the bank teller's apartment to arrest him.
He then also kills a neighbouring farmer so that he can use the man's truck and clothes to make his getaway without being recognised.On hearing about Poole's escape, Wagner attempts to protect his now pregnant wife from any anxiety or danger by moving her out of their house temporarily and staying there himself in the hope that the killer will come looking for Lila and be apprehended by the police officers who are keeping his home under constant surveillance.
Detective Wagner's plan seems to be working well until Lila fully realises what's going on and puts herself in danger by heading home to be with her husband.Despite its modest budget, this movie features a good cast of actors whose performances more than adequately meets the requirements of their various roles.
The way in which Corey makes his psychopathic character's various qualities credible is tremendously subtle, well-balanced and totally convincing and also one of the most powerful reasons for watching this fine movie..
But after the end of the movie, I didn't remember the last name of Cotten's character (Wagner).
Which is what sends Leon over the edge But Corey as Poole is, even as a killer, a sympathetic character.
In the apartment after the shooting he seems more dazed than crazed as he asks Wagner "Don't you see how wrong it was to do that?" The movie then jumps to Poole's trial, where he gives the calmest revenge threat I've ever seen.
A great bit of irony.This movie's only real weakness is that that Rhonda Fleming lives through it.
At the same time, though, the writers wasted effort on the cliche of the cop's wife wanting a more secure life and leaving him because she hates the kind of work he does.
Good touch when pots and pans clang to the floor after the John Larch character gets blown away by an unblinking "Foggy" Poole (Corey).
It's a first-rate performance, such that were the Oscars not so prejudiced against low-budgeters like Killer, Corey would have been considered for a presentation.The Foggy role is clearly the best thing the movie, which otherwise is pretty much standard thriller fare.
Wendell Corey, mousy bank clerk plans the bank holdup and is holed up in his apartment where Joseph Cotton, good cop, goes to arrest him.
In the confusion Cotton accidentally kills Corey's wife.
Wendell Corey usually played the boring, uptight second lead in his film roles so his character in this little "B" noir is a huge surprise.
He is out for revenge on Joseph Cotten who sent him up the river for his participation as the "inside man" in a bank heist which resulted in Corey's wife being killed accidentally.
After his escape from an Honor Farm where he was serving the remainder of his sentence, he starts stalking Cotten and his wife (Rhonda Fleming) with a few incidental murders along the way.
Years have past since Detective Sam Wagner(Joseph Cotton)brought bank robber Leon 'Foggy' Poole(Wendell Corey)to justice and in the crossfire accidentally killed the crook's wife.
When the once mild mannered convict escapes jail, he is crazed with just one thing on his mind and it is to get revenge by killing Wagner's wife Lila(Rhonda Fleming).
Instead, the movie seems to be more interested in the lead cop character and his wife, which eventually gets to be quite tiresome, especially since the wife doesn't come across as totally likable (or smart).
But the movie is never dull, and has some really good moments (the best being when the Corey character confronts an old army acquaintance).
So when you balance the good and bad stuff, the movie ends up being okay..
Wendell Corey is perfectly cast as the personality absent loan shark clerk who botches a robbery that ends up with police officer Joseph Cotten accidentally killing his wife.
On his way to prison, Corey looks Cotten's wife (Rhonda Fleming) right in the eye and promises he will venge his own wife's death.
**SPOILERS** Having it in for Det. Sam Wagner, Joseph Cotten, since he shot and killed his wife Doris when bank teller Leon Pool, Wendell Corey, was hold up in his apartment as he was holding off the police.
Pool was part of a robbery, with him being the inside man, of the bank that he worked for and his actions lead to his innocent wife Doris losing her life.
Sentenced to ten to twenty for armed robbery and resisting arrest Pool tells Det. Wagner at the conclusion of his trial that he'll get even with him by murdering his wife Lila, Rhonda Fleming, like he murdered his sweet and dear old lady Doris.After almost three years behind bars Pool makes his long planned escape from the prison's "honor farm" for model prisoners where he ends up killing a guard and then taking off with the prison lettuce truck and then murdering a local farmer and taking off with his pick-up truck drivers license as well as identity.
Making his way to the house of his former army staff Sergent Otto Flanders, John Larch, Pool hold's Otto's wife Grace, Dee.J Tompson, hostage and when her husband shows up.
Wendell Corey as the psycho killer Leon Pool made a name for himself here as one of the most unusual and creepy villains of film-noir movie history.