The Killer Is Loose 1956

Detective Sam Wagner uncovers a bank robbery that looks almost too familiar, as the thieves move with a casual confidence inside the building that feels less like criminal calculation and more like a practiced routine. The investigation points to Leon ‘Foggy’ Poole, a soft-spoken bank employee whose demeanor strangely masks a deadly ruthlessness. When Poole’s apartment is raided, a tense gunfight erupts; Poole surrenders only after Sam unexpectedly shoots and kills Poole’s wife, a woman neighbors insist was not even inside the apartment. Poole later calls her the only person who ever truly respected him and gave his life meaning. The bank teller involved in the robbery is sentenced to ten years, and he vows revenge on Wagner, setting the stage for a long, personal vendetta.

Two years slip by, and Sam Wagner has shifted to a desk job at his wife’s urging, as she fears for his life after Poole’s threats. Poole, meanwhile, is moved to a prison honor farm for good behavior, where his calm exterior continues to mask a dangerous hunger for revenge. The moment the opportunity arises, Poole kills a guard and escapes, stealing a farmer’s truck and clothing as he heads toward the city where the Wagners live. He proves nearly undetectable as he slips through roadblocks—his disguise aided by removing his distinctive glasses, which reveal his near-sighted vulnerability only to those who know him. The chase resumes with Sam back on active duty, even as Lila Wagner worries for him. Sam tries to downplay the danger, insisting he can handle whatever comes next.

Interviews with Poole’s former cellmates reveal a man consumed by revenge and fixated on turning his torment toward Sam’s family, specifically threatening to kill Lila. In response, Sam arranges for Lila to hide with a trusted police colleague, though he keeps her in the dark about the reason, letting her fear that he’s using himself as bait to draw Poole out. She confronts him, accusing him of prioritizing his job over their marriage, and vows to leave if things don’t change. Yet when the moment comes, Sam’s home—turned into a trap by Poole—is where the danger intensifies and the danger is almost intimate.

Desperation drives Poole to the home of his former army sergeant, Otto Flanders, where he terrorizes Flanders’ wife and, when challenged by the retired sergeant, ends up killing Flanders in cold blood. Poole then escapes with a raincoat stolen from Flanders’ wife, a detail that will help him slip into the city unseen once more. After a tense interval, Lila decides she cannot abandon Sam, but a frank revelation from a colleague’s wife makes her realize the full emotional strain on all police families and the stakes involved. Ashamed and resolved, she heads home to reconcile with Sam, even as Poole tails her, disguising himself in the stolen raincoat and posing as a woman to blend into the crowd.

With nerve and danger converging, Lila stays calm, guiding Poole into an undercover ambush laid by the police. In the ensuing confrontation, Poole is shot down, the threat finally neutralized. The danger has passed, and Sam and Lila embrace, surrounded by the patrolling officers as Poole’s body lies at the end of the line, a stark reminder of the cost of vengeance and the fragile bond that holds a family together under siege.