The Prowler (1951)

Great Film overall

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The very end of the movie, when the cops shoot Van Heflin in the back while he's climbing up a dirt mound without knowing whether he even has a gun, seems very callous towards human life. He's just a suspect at this point.Other than that, I can't praise the film highly enough - and I'd never heard of it until I read about it on a Top Ten film noir list!

In "The Prowler", an adulterous affair born out of greed and betrayal leads inexorably to murder as a manipulative man pursues the wealth and status that he believes have only been denied to him in the past because of "lousy breaks". His cynicism is perfectly exemplified when he says, "so I'm no good, but I'm no worse than anyone else", and his ambition to own his own motel in Las Vegas is attractive because it offers him the chance to be able to earn money even when he's sleeping. This sordid tale contains numerous elements that are immediately recognisable as being similar to "Double Indemnity", "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and a number of home invasion movies but it's also brilliantly directed, extremely tense and full of interesting twists.After a woman who lives in an affluent neighbourhood of Los Angeles reports the presence of a prowler on her property, a couple of cops call by to investigate. When the older, more experienced Bud Crocker (John Maxwell) interviews Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes), his partner, Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) checks around for any obvious evidence that might help to identify the intruder. Although no evidence is found, Susan seems reassured by the officers' prompt response and the advice that she's been given about how to avoid attracting peeping toms in future and the police officers leave. Shortly after, Webb returns, ostensibly to make a follow-up call and this proves to be the first of a series of nightly calls that he makes to Susan's house.It transpires that Susan is a lonely, bored housewife who spends her evenings alone because her husband is a night-time radio D.J. She doesn't particularly like Webb at first but after they discover that they both came to California from Indiana and she remembers seeing him during his time as an accomplished basketball player, she warms to him and they embark on an affair.Webb had been attracted to Susan because of her looks and her obvious wealth but one evening after seeing her significantly older husband's will, he becomes aware that she'll be the recipient of an enormous inheritance after his passing and so concocts a plan to kill John Gilvray (Sherry Hall). His plan works perfectly but Susan is immediately horrified because she believes that he's murdered her husband.In the coroner's inquest that follows, Webb's account of the circumstances under which he killed his victim are believed by the jury and Susan also feels compelled to lie in support of his evidence because to do otherwise could expose the fact that they were having an affair and she might be suspected of being an accomplice. A verdict of accidental homicide follows and so does Webb's next plan to convince Susan that he's genuinely innocent of the crime.A short time later, after Webb has brought Susan around to the belief that he's innocent and he's finally left the job that he despises, the couple get married and buy a motel in Las Vegas but just at the point where he thinks that all his scheming has finally paid off, Susan tells him that she's four months pregnant and the implications of this information becoming widely known sends them into hiding in a desert ghost town before a series of further twists follow.One of the creepiest features of "The Prowler" is the way in which John Gilvray's voice always seems to be present during the couple's affair and is even heard after his death when they're hiding out in the desert. His regular way of signing off his broadcasts with the words "I'll be seeing you, Susan" is similarly disturbing and makes her betrayal seem even worse. The insinuation of voyeurism that Joseph Losey's direction emphasises at the very beginning of the movie and the way in which Webb is then shown framed by the bathroom window a little later, are both wonderfully executed and inherently sleazy.Webb and Susan were both dissatisfied with their lives and were desperate for something better but their union didn't ultimately achieve what they'd hoped it would. Van Heflin is totally believable as Webb and Evelyn Keyes does a great job in giving out the mixed signals that are symptomatic of someone who's in constant turmoil because her desires and her sense of guilt are constantly in conflict with each other.

I purchased, "The Prowler" on DVD a few years ago. It includes several extras, with a full length, excellent commentary by Noir expert, Eddie Muller. Van Heflin gives a stellar performance as a cynical police officer who doesn't "protect and serve" anyone other than himself. Officer Webb Garwood (Heflin) blames all of the people along the way in his life, for the fact that he isn't a great success. He is a shiftless and lazy character who sees the finer things in life as his, for the taking. The film opens with Garwood and his partner, Officer Bud Crocker (John Maxwell) responding to the home where a prowler has been reported. Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes) has just finished bathing, and tells the officers she saw a prowler. Bud Crocker is a true-blue cop who loves his job and treats Mrs. Gilvray with courtesy and respect. Garwood doesn't really believe there was a prowler, and doesn't care if there was; for then he might have to do some actual work! Susan's somewhat older husband hosts an all night radio program and thus, she is alone. The Gilvrays are financially secure, but Susan the woman, is insecure. Evelyn Keyes shines in the role of Susan! The body language gives credence to the two main characters, who otherwise might have seemed contrived and caricatured. Webb sees an opening for himself with the vulnerable housewife who is left alone each night. She isn't QUITE alone, as the radio is always on. Her husband's voice (doing his idiotic radio show) in the background, provides a level of quirky tension to the goings-on in the Gilvray residence! I certainly won't give anything more, but hopefully I've given just enough of the plot from, "The Prowler", to interest you! I have seen Van Heflin in numerous films, and he is wonderful; playing a guy choosing to do the "right thing" in those films. Heflin's off the chart performance as Webb Garwood is the complete antithesis of the Van Heflin roles I was familiar with. It's an absolute joy to see him in the role of a morally bankrupt cop who hates the world and wants something for nothing! Evelyn Keyes bangs it out of the park in her role as Susan Gilvray. Keyes wanted a role she could sink her teeth into. She'll leave you with some bite marks, too; giving a believable performance as a married woman without children, and lonely. She has morals, and tries to believe she is happy with her life. Webb Garwood senses her vulnerability and pounces, figuratively and literally. "The Prowler" is fun-fun-fun from start to finish. See it, love it and own it!

The Prowler marked the last time Joseph Losey would be working in America for years. Still despite him being a prominent name on the blacklist, Losey turned in some real classics when he was working in the United Kingdom, especially when he teamed with Dirk Bogarde. I could easily have seen Bogarde in the role that Van Heflin plays here had The Prowler been done across the pond.Heflin stars as a cop who thinks that after being a high school basketball star that life should have given him a better existence. When he and partner John Maxwell stop at Evelyn Keyes's house answering a report of a prowler, Keyes remembers him as the bigshot high school jock he once was. With some trepidation Heflin and Keyes are soon carrying on behind her husband's back.She tries to break it off, but Heflin is obsessed with her, much like Montgomery Clift was obsessed with Elizabeth Taylor in A Place In The Sun. Being a cop Heflin frames up a murder where husband Emerson Treacy is killed by Heflin answering the call of another prowler on the premises. He gets away with it and Heflin and Keyes are married.Needless to say it all unravels as Heflin's obsession with both success and Keyes get intertwined. The Prowler is cleverly directed by Losey who brings out the degeneracy in Heflin's character. The Prowler has to rank as one of Van Heflin's best screen performances.Some elements of this film are also found in the Kurt Russell/Ray Liotta film Unlawful Entry from the Nineties. For fans of the director and the stars, a must see item.