DVD pressing. Newly transferred and restored. First time on DVD in original aspect ratio (1.85:1) Detective Sam Wagner's job is never easy. Even an average day proves stressful for him and his family. But this is no ordinary day for Wagner (Joseph Cotten) or his wife Lila (Rhonda Fleming). After pegging a recent bank robbery as an inside job orchestrated by mild-mannered clerk Leon Poole (played by a bespectacled Wendell Corey), Wagner heads to the suspect's apartment to make the arrest expecting him to be alone. Instead, Poole's beloved wife is with him and caught in the crossfire of a shootout leaving her dead. Sent to prison, and believing Wagner is responsible for his wife's death, Poole is desperate for revenge. Escape and murder soon follow with the haunting Poole bent on taking away the woman Wagner loves. Will the detective and his men save her in time? Helmed by the gritty Budd Boetticher, The Killer is Loose takes the director's unique visual style away from the plains and into the world of suburbia for this taut and suspenseful thriller. Close your windows, lock your doors - The Killer is Loose!
A**N
KILLER IS LOOSE Region One DVD from CLASSICFLICKS
A very good transfer - B/w Clear picture, good sound and excellent optional English subtitles. A little gem of a thriller directed by Boetticher just before his classic westerns with Randolph Scott. A fast moving tale of revenge and police proceedure with Cotten on top form as a policeman responsible for the death of thief Wendell Corey's wife. Corey escapes from prison and goes after Cotten's wife (Rhonda Fleming). Hardly a minute is wasted as relentlessly Corey pursues his goal, and the final minutes are genuinely tense. Good to see Alan Hale in a decent role, along with a very good Michael Pate, and John Larch, and new to me Dee J.Thompson as Larch's wife. Great script and acting. A must see for lovers of the period and a good thriller. (Pity they made the gorgeous Rhonda's character rather unsympathetic, but she looks marvellous - even in B/W). Highly recomended.
R**E
very taut and suspensful
Sorry to be picky, but this is not film noir. Its a straight forward suspense movie. But a very good one! Yes, the wife is very unlikeable (but attractive!). The villain is unusual, not a one dimensional evil doer of the 50s. And the story is good, short (a little over an hour) and non stop suspense/action, specially for a 50s film. I can imagine this being the B movie played before a major film (and maybe outdoing it!)
S**I
REALLY ENJOYED THIS FLICK!
I am always trolling Prime for old black and white movies because I believe that they are the best! I thoroughly enjoyed this film noir. I thought I had seen all the film noir's but I had a great time watching this movie. 5 stars well deserved. Great acting!
K**O
Ouch!
Wow! What pathetic police work: nobody wanted to make a decision ... especially at the conclusion with the shoot-out on the neighborhood lawn at the end.Joseph Cotton couldn't make it out of his house to help his wife without clumsily knocking over the lamp after falling by the couch. Outside, his wife was no different: she tripped heading up the driveway.I bet they also probably shot the neighbor's dog. What action! Ha!
R**S
pretty good old black and white noir movie
pretty good old black and white noir movie... I remember these cars and stuff when I was a youngster, fun to see them again and the movie is good old fashioned morality tale. Not much amoral shades of gray crap here except the detective felt guilty when it wasn't his fault, the crook put his wife in danger by his choices.
A**R
Okay but have seen better
I enjoy Joseph Cotton and Wendell Corey movies. However, this one was okay but not up to par with prior movies. It was somewhat suspenseful at times.
D**N
Good, not great
I primarily watched it to see Joseph Cotton, who turned out to be kind of wimpish during the stake out! I love watching old TV shows and movies to see who I can recognize. In this one, the Captain from Gilligan and Steve Hardy from General Hospital.
J**I
Fit to be Another Cult Classic!
If this movie wasn't intentionally made to be funny, I'd be very surprised--so many characters do something obviously dumb that it's hard to believe that it's not meant to be amusing. Would have been the perfect subject for a Mystery Science Theater episode. We watch this every few years for a hoot.
