The Killer Is Loose is a 1956 American crime film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Joseph Cotten, Rhonda Fleming and Wendell Corey.

Police inquiries led by Lt. Sam Wagner discern that soft-spoken bank employee Leon Poole is complicit in the crime.

Two years later, Sam has switched to a desk job at the behest of his wife Lila, who has feared his being killed on duty ever since she heard Poole threaten him.

By the time the authorities discover his absence, Poole has also murdered a farmer, stolen this victim's truck and clothing, and driven towards the city where the Wagners live.

He successfully passes through roadblocks and police patrols, having realized that nobody recognizes him when he takes off his distinctive glasses, needed for his extreme short-sightedness.

"[2] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Manufactured to formula, both in its main plot and the domestic side-issues, this thriller fails to crown its build-up with a sufficiently suspenseful climax.

"[1] Critic Dennis Schwartz wrote, "A typical 1950s noir, distinguished by its rapid pace and taut script, that delves mainly into the character of the villain—making him out to be someone who went over-the-edge when he couldn't take being ridiculed as a failure, anymore ...The suburban atmosphere and the no-nonsense style of telling the story add to the blandness of the story and the failure to elicit anything out of the ordinary to the build-up of the suspense that comes with the climax.