The Killer is Loose (1956)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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. Interesting low-budget crime-melodrama, though one that's possibly too tidy and simple to make much of an impact. 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. Script by Harold Medford, from an original story by John and Ward Hawkins, has some amusing similarities to the later "Cape Fear". **1/2 from ****

As a huge fan of Budd Boetticher's Randolph Scott westerns, I really looked forward to this 1956 thriller. Though it certainly held my attention, the movie was a disappointment. The tension it managed to create early on as Wendell Corey escapes from a prison trustee farm really went slack--done in by a lousy script. Boetticher keeps things moving, helped immensely by Lucien Ballard's terrific black-and-white camera work. But I don't get the feeling the director was very interested, aside from the scenes focusing on Corey. Other reviewers have rightly praised the scary, yet oddly sympathetic, character that Corey creates here. It's just too bad the script was so perfunctory. 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. The other big negative is Joseph Cotten, at 50+, too old for the police detective. 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. Great 1950's LA locales, though. And worth catching for Corey's performance.

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. JOHN LARCH is especially good as an ex service buddy who used to taunt him for his lack of skill with a rifle. 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.

Good touch when pots and pans clang to the floor after the John Larch character gets blown away by an unblinking "Foggy" Poole (Corey). Old Foggy may not be much in the charm department, but behind that deadpan stare lurks an iron will that won't be deterred. Corey's offbeat impersonation is one of the more memorable villains of the period, foreshadowing the complex bad guys of director Boetticher's celebrated Ranown Westerns. Cop Joseph Cotton doesn't realize that old Foggy is too addled to distinguish between intention and accident. Poole only knows that his one emotional link to the world, his beloved wife, has been killed by the cop, and by golly it's an eye-for-an-eye. And when he speaks lovingly of his need for her, the one person in his life who's treated this bespectacled weirdo with respect, he's humanized in ways that screenplays seldom bother with. As an actor, Corey was known for an exceptionally cold demeanor, but when his cold-blooded killer speaks those lines from behind the coke- bottle glasses, an unexpected pathos emerges. 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. There's an obvious effort at building up Fleming's role as the cop's wife. After all, she was a glamour star at the time (note the eye-catching tops she sports). And working her somehow into the woman-in-danger finale is pretty predictable. Nonetheless, Boetticher puts it all together in compelling fashion, including the persuasive LA locations, especially the freeway roadblock. The tie-up looks real, but if it was, I wonder who pacified the long lines of stuck motorists. Also, army guys who've suffered under an arrogant non-com like Larch's probably get some perverse satisfaction out of seeing a sadsack like Foggy finally blow his tormentor away. I suspect this was an instance of writer's revenge. Anyhow, despite the many clichés, there are a number of nice touches, but most of all, there's the truly offbeat approach to the whole idea of 50's movie villains.