The Killer Is Loose

1956
Approved
1h 13m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

2.6K

YOUR RATING

Joseph Cotten, Wendell Corey, Martha Crawford, and Rhonda Fleming in The Killer Is Loose (1956)

An unhinged, deceptively mild-mannered bank robber escapes prison, seeking revenge on the cop who accidentally killed his wife during a gun battle.

Play trailer2:11

1 Video

33 Photos

Film Noir Serial Killer Crime Drama Thriller

An unhinged, deceptively mild-mannered bank robber escapes prison, seeking revenge on the cop who accidentally killed his wife during a gun battle.An unhinged, deceptively mild-mannered bank robber escapes prison, seeking revenge on the cop who accidentally killed his wife during a gun battle.An unhinged, deceptively mild-mannered bank robber escapes prison, seeking revenge on the cop who accidentally killed his wife during a gun battle.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

2.6K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Videos1

Trailer 2:11

Trailer

Photos33

Top cast34

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Joseph Cotten

Detective Sam Wagner

Rhonda Fleming

Lila Wagner

Wendell Corey

Leon Poole

Alan Hale Jr.

Denny
(as Alan Hale)

Michael Pate

Detective Chris Gillespie

John Larch

Otto Flanders

Dee J. Thompson

Grace Flanders

John Beradino

Virginia Christine

Mary Gillespie

Paul Bryar

Greg Boyd

Stanley Adams

Honor Farm Guard
(uncredited)

Leon Alton

Bank Robber
(uncredited)

Don Beddoe

Mr. Freeman
(uncredited)

Gail Bonney

Mrs. Andrews
(uncredited)

John Cliff

Ed
(uncredited)

Richard Collier

Assistant District Attorney
(uncredited)

Martha Crawford

Doris Poole
(uncredited)

Richard H. Cutting

Judge
(uncredited)

Director
- Budd Boetticher
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Baseball player turned actor John Beradino appears as Mac. He would go on to star as Dr. Hardy on General Hospital (1963). Beradino played Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Browns, the Cleveland Indians, and the Pittsburgh Pirates for 11 seasons from 1939 to 1952 (interrupted for WWII service).

Goofs
When Poole pulls the stolen Ford truck into the farmer's yard, crew members and lights are visible reflected in the side of the truck. As he moves away from the truck, the cameraman is seen moving along with him.

Quotes
Detective Sam Wagner: Could've been worse, Poole.
Leon Poole: It was worse, remember? I remember.
Detective Chris Gillespie: Poole, we tried to explain.
Leon Poole: Someday, Wagner, I'm gonna settle with you for it. I'm certainly gonna settle with you for it.

Connections
Referenced in Trapped Ashes (2006)

User reviews56

Review

Featured review

8/10

Corey, the man with a murderous mission, could give you nightmares

Wendell Corey is superb in this. He's scary in the title role. 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. Ms. Fleming seems ready to burst out of some of her costumes; but not in areas where babies are carried.

Both are good, though. John Larch and Dee J. Thompson are a c couple in the killer's path who are extremely hard to find sympathetic -- as unappealing the script calls for them to be.

Everyone is good in this frightening noir.