***

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!

MGM

Region 0 - NTSC

1.33:1 Open Matte format
Average Bitrate: 7:46 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

Single-layered Blu-ray

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• None

DVD Release Date: June 14th, 2011
Keep Case

Chapters 8

Chapters 17

ADDITION: Classicflix Region 'A' - Blu-ray - June 2017: This is ClassicFlix second Blu-ray - their first was another Essential Noir, Another Man's Poison. Someone has some good taste!

Thankfully ClassicFlix transfer it in its proper 1.85:1 aspect ratio. You can see that the superfluous space in the top of the frame is removed with more on the side edges. This composition looks far more correct than the SD treatment. I'd say the image quality is a success - darker, richer black levels, depth and wonderful grain texture. This is a gigantic improvement over the chroma-infested DVD for this lesser-known 'Dark Cinema' gem! This is great news - sweet!

As for the audio, ClassicFlix go DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel - 1771 kbps (24-bit). It sounds clean and the lossless nails the score by Lionel Newman (A Kiss Before Dying, Compulsion, The Boston Strangler, The Proud Ones). I thought I noticed some sync issues but, generally, crisp all-around and there are optional English subtitles on the region 'A'-locked Blu-ray disc.

No extras, as per Another Man's Poison. I'm okay with that as they seem to be just venturing into 1080P and doing a fine job. Perhaps in the future they will start adding commentaries etc. like smaller labels like Film Detective. This is a delicious 'B' Noir - great characterizations - especially Corey. Presently pricey but who can but a value on this nostalgic high-art? Absolutely recommended! A must-own for Noir aficionados.

***

The Killer Is Loose is a minor noir from Budd Boetticher, mostly known for his excellent westerns with Randolph Scott (SEE HERE) - I was also quiet amused by Legs Diamond. Joseph Cotten and Rhonda Fleming are good in their role of a detective and his wife, but the film belongs to Wendell Corey as the titular killer on the loose to avenge his wife's death.

Unfortunately this made-on-demand release from MGM has some major issues. The ancient transfer is in open-matte ratio, very soft, with poor contrast, some damage and often has chroma issues (check a tie on the fourth capture). Mono soundtrack is ok. There are no subtitles or captions and no extras, not even a trailer. A very poor presentation that, unfortunately, unlikely to get an upgrade in the near future.

  - Gregory Meshman

MGM

Region 0 - NTSC