Once again, I can't help but draw comparisons between this rather lackluster film noir and Cape Fear, one of my favorite movies of all time. This film, while not having any of the big name actors of classic cinema I'm used to seeing (like Gregory Peck or Robert Mitchum) still manages to seize the audience with palpable suspense. Unfortunately, this only happens at any noticeable extent towards the end of the film. Before I get to that, I have to go over the rather generic storyline. A savings company gets held up by guys who have received insider knowledge from a bank worker named Leon Poole (Wendell Corey). Policeman Sam Wagner (Joseph Cotten) and some of his men arrive at Poole's apartment to arrest him for his part in the crime, but after breaking in his door, his wife is accidentally shot to death. Despite this tragic loss, Poole is still sentenced to 10 years in prison. Before he's sent away, he vows to Sam's face that he's going to get even with him one day. Two and a half years go by. Sam is now working at a desk because his wife Lila (Rhonda Fleming) was worried he was going to get killed after Poole's vow of vengeance. At the same time, Poole has been assigned farming duty in prison for good behavior. Even though he looks like a mild mannered, awkward nerd at first glance, Poole hitches a ride with a farmer in a cabbage patch, and then murders him with the blade he broke off his hoe earlier. Using the farmer's truck, Poole closes in on the town where Sam lives, managing to bypass roadblocks because he looks unrecognizable without his distinctive glasses. After Sam is brought back to the police force to track down Poole, he learns that he wants to make him suffer the way he did by killing Lila. With no reason, Sam sends Lila to a hiding place, which leads her to believe he is using himself to attract the attention of Poole. The latter gets into the house of Otto Flanders and finds his wife in the kitchen. Otto was Poole's superior when they were in World War II, and Poole hates Otto now for saying he could never do anything correct back then. When Otto arrives home, he is held at gunpoint by Poole, who proceeds to shoot him and then steal his wife's raincoat. As Poole tries to hunt down Lila, Lila gets mad at Sam for appearing so absorbed in his job, thinking he loves it more than her. She has sense talked into her by another wife staying with her in the hideout. Finally understanding how stressed her husband must be, Lila decides to walk to his house and make up with him. As she arrives on his street, Poole, posing as Otto's wife with the stolen raincoat, shadows her as she goes down the sidewalk. Unbeknownst to him, numerous cops are having a stakeout and watch his every move. However, they can't take the chance and shoot this person with the outward appearance of a woman just in case it isn't Poole. Sam deduces that the way he's walking is proof enough that it's Poole and the cops open fire before he has a chance to shoot Lila. Poole collapses and dies on Sam's front lawn, and he and Lila are reunited. I noticed some other people who reviewed this movie have been saying it's unoriginal, and I'd probably have to agree. Although this film predates Cape Fear (and believe it or not, the book it's based on) I can't help but feel the vibes of that movie when I watch this. Both films have a psychopath trying to hunt down someone who helped put them in prison once. The director of The Killer Is Loose, Budd Boetticher, was known for making movies on really small budgets. It should come as no surprise then that he managed to shoot this in a little over 2 weeks. The film was basically made in a hurry, and it shows. Still, Cotten delivers an admirable performance as he has to balance his pursuit of putting Poole back where he belongs as well as making sure his wife doesn't leave him. Overall, this movie was pretty typical by my standards. It does get tense at certain points, but they're few and far between and only the final minutes felt truly suspenseful.
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