The Prowler

source: The Prowler

This one isn't around very often on television. I don't know why. It's a pretty good noir, in its own slightly screwy way. When we think of noir, we tend to think of some big dumb brute like Robert Mitchum being manipulated by a scheming woman. Here it's the other way around. Evelyn Keyes is a bored housewife whose husband is an all-night disk jockey in a thinly disguised Los Angeles. She reports a prowler one night and temptation knocks on the door in the form of police officer Van Heflin. Heflin smirks a lot but he seems to ignite Keyes and soon they are boffing each other while Keyes' elderly hubby is spinning records on the radio. She was unfulfilled before, her husband being impotent, but she's no long unfulfilled and falls in love with Heflin. I don't think I want to give away much more of the plot because this is one of those instances in which an inexpensively made movie actually has some unpredictable elements in it. Making this film must have been fascinating, in one way or another, for everyone involved. A middle-aged guy, John Maxwell, great name, pats his wife on the rump. Don't know how that made it past the gate. And the House Unamerican Activities committee was hitting its stride, of course. Joseph Losey, the director, simply gave up and moved permanently to England where he turned out some seriously perverted masterpieces like "The Servant" and some engaging whimsy like "Modesty Blaise." The writer Dalton Trumbo was blacklisted but continued working. Here he appears under the nom de plume "Hugo Butler," the name of a good friend of his. The producer, S. P. Eagle (aka Sam Spiegel) threw an expensive wrap party and asked everyone to chip in for it. But he'd worked the party into the budget, so he just pocketed everyone's contributions and walked away with the money. As Heflin's character says in a desperate attempt at self justification -- everybody is a little crooked, from bankers to grocery store owners. He could have added movie producers. I suppose it's possible to read communist propaganda into this movie. Movies cover a lot of ground and, like the Bible or the Constitution, you can pretty much find anything you're interested in finding. Why, for instance, did Heflin have to use bankers as one of several examples of crooked businessmen? True, Trumbo's lines did include grocery store owners and a couple of other working-class types but still -- bankers? Why cast such aspersions? Everyone knows bankers and brokers never cheat. And not just bankers. The protagonist is a greedy, murdering cop. Everyone knows cops are there to serve and to protect us. But there's your commie pinko talking for you, polluting our precious bodily fluids. Evelyn Keyes was just getting divorced from John Huston at the time this was shot, and her father-in-law, Walter Huston, had just died. That may account for the uneasy quality of her performance. She seems breathless and she trembles throughout. Van Heflin turns in a nice performance. His lies sounded very convincing, to me as well as to the object of his affection. And there are moments when he actually makes us feel sorry for him. But, honestly, wiliness and guile are not his shtik. He's better at straightforward villainy ("They Came to Cordura") and he was excellent as the simple but not unperceptive squatter in "Shane." The sets are minimal and uniformly bleak. The big "hacienda" that the wealthy Keyes lives in looks spare and barren. And Heflin's cop lives in what I guess is called a studio apartment and what I'm sure would be called a dump. Joe Friday was never this badly off.

In this case, Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes) sees a prowler standing outside her window and calls the police. She has the misfortune of one of those officers being whining scheming Web Garwood (Van Heflin), who sees Susan as not too hard on the eyes and also that she is the lonely young wife of a middle aged radio show cornball. Oh, and the cornball just happens to be wealthy. Usually you can see some good or mitigating factors in a film villain, but Webb is bad to the bone. He thinks he's been the victim all of his life, and he hates being "just another dumb cop". And Susan buys his lines. Did he plan what happened all along? I don't know, but I don't see how he could have figured it any other way. But then a monkey wrench gets thrown into his path that will tell the whole world what he is just when he thinks he is home free. But this is the production code era, so it had to be that way. But at least the way he is found out is rather unique. With John Maxwell as Bud Crocker, Webb's cop friend/partner who would drive anyone crazy with his endless dull talk about rocks. Highly recommended for those of you who like film noirs.

Prowler, The (1951) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Patrolman Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) gets a prowler call and goes to the home of Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes) whose beauty captures his eye. Later that night Webb goes back on his personal time and soon the two fall in love but she's married to a man who isn't about to let her go. After a bit of setting up, Webb finds himself back at the house on another prowler call but this time he has plans of getting the husband out of the way. This film-noir has gained a pretty good cult following over the past several years and while it does have some good moments for me it just didn't work in the end. I think the biggest problem I had was the entire plot dealing with the murder of the husband. I thought the entire set-up was something we had seen countless times in other movies so there really wasn't anything overly fresh in terms of that. I think what keeps the film moving a bit is the direction of Losey who adds a rather bizarre sexual feel to the movie. This film was a good nine-years before PEEPING TOM or PSYCHO but there's no question that Webb is a very disturbed man and you could easily say that his cop is a lot more dangerous than the prowler that was peeking in the window. I thought the strange sexual relationship between was something not overly common for this era of a film and then there's a subplot with a pregnancy that throws us for another loop. Heflin turns in a very strong and rather deranged performance. I really thought he was charming enough to have this woman fall for him but there's always that dark side that keep creeping around until it finally comes through. Both the "Jekyll" and "Hyde" of the character are handled very well by the actor. Keeys is also pretty good in her role, although I thought she handled things a lot better earlier in the picture when she's just that innocent woman who doesn't know the trouble she's in. I thought once she starts to figure out what's going on the actress didn't carry it as well as she could have. While both actors are fine on their own I think another problem with the film is that there wasn't enough chemistry between them. I think the sexual stuff in the film comes more from the direction and not from the actors doing their thing together. John Maxwell adds nice support as Webb's friend. The atmosphere is pretty good from start to finish as is the cinematography that has no problems with all the shadows. The final ten-minutes of the film really pick up and manage to be pretty intense so in the end there's certainly enough good things here to make THE PROWLER worth viewing.

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!

Van Heflin was a fine actor who never really seemed comfortable as a heavy so that arguably his finest achievement was as the 'decent' rancher in Shane, and perhaps that is why this early Losey film does not satisfy as much as it might. Evelyn Keyes in what is arguably her finest achievement scores heavily as the lonely, unfulfilled housewife -her husband works nights as a disc jockey on radio and has been unable to sire the child she craves - who is ripe for the plucking and once Heflin stumbles across her husband's Will, he moves into apple-stealing mode and manipulates Keyes until she is more than happy to convince herself that Heflin shot and killed her husband accidentally. In doomed-lover scenarios like this - think The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity etc - there's only one outcome so it's just a case of how enjoyable is the ride. Out of ten I'd say seven, tops.

Lonely housewife Susan Gilvray calls the police when she thinks she sees a prowler outside her bathroom window late one night; her husband works as a late night radio presenter and thus she is alone. The police check it out and can do very little but one of them, Webb Garwood, returns later that night to "check in on her". Finding common ground with her, they share a few more evenings of "checking in" as a relationship grows between them. Eventually the pressure builds on Susan to divorce her husband but this poses all sorts of problems and Webb starts planning alternatives. I watched this film without knowing much about it beyond the title; so when the main characters are introduced I really didn't even know if they were the main characters or not, or where the film was going with them. Part of the reason I felt like this was that I didn't think the characters worked and I couldn't get into the relationship between them. From the very start Webb is really creepily overly familiar and pushy and he is this way to the point that I didn't believe that Susan would let him stay in the house. This continued across the whole first half of the film and I never really believed it. Webb occasionally is friendly and normal but as a character he really doesn't have the charisma to sell this intrusion and rapid affair. The character of Susan sort of helps because she is timid, lonely and slightly nervous – so as a dynamic maybe this is why such a pushy guy would make inroads as he does. The plot gradual turns to darker twists but even at this point I didn't buy it. The actions and motivations of the characters felt like things that were written rather than things that these characters would really do – in particular some of the bigger plot points felt like a matter of moving the story along. The second half is a bit better because events drive the narrative and as such these engage more easily, but it was a shame that the first half was weak because this is the core of the film. The two-hander with Heflin and Keyes should have been as thrilling as the later events but the writing of the characters don't give them the material to work with and neither really nail the relationship dynamics between their characters. This is the problem with the film and it is one that it never escapes. The central relationship never feels convincing and because this is where all the events stem from, they are built on weak foundations. The events of the second half provide some interest and pace but generally it is not a great film thanks to it not getting the basics right from the start.

Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) is NOT your average policeman. After he and his partner respond to a prowler call, they leave....and Officer Garwood returns later. He claims he's just checking in on the woman but it soon is obvious that he is very interested in the pretty, well-heeled lady. At first, she rebuffs his advances...but soon is infatuated with him. The problem is that she is married...and Webb has a plan. You see, he's a master manipulator and his interest in Susan (Evelyn Keyes) is more than just sexual...he knows she has money...money which can help him retire in style! So he hatches a crazy plan to kill the husband...and thus live happily ever after! So what comes of this vicious plan?! In some ways, this is a good example of film noir--such as the dirty cop, the murder and the affair. But in other ways, it's not quite a typical noir. The camera angles and dark cinematography is missing and the picture is a bit more Hollywood in look than a typical noir. I'd more consider this one noir-lite! This isn't really a complaint...more just an observation about the style of the film. All in all, this is a very exciting and bleak film. The ending is top-notch and the film one of Heflin's best. Well worth seeing...and oddly not especially well known or formulaic in the least.

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.

One of the many great films noirs the director made in the fifties ,which would culminate in "time without pity" :and a very successful one, thanks to Van Heflin,who at first sight seems a helpful affable cop whereas he is actually a cupid embittered man:he was not given the chance to study at the university and he became a policeman by default.He must have gone through hard times :when the woman invites him for dinner ,he catches all that he can on his way to the dining room. In its second part the movie recalls Fritz Lang's "You only live twice "(after "the prowler" ,Losey remade "M"),but with a big difference : Lang's heroes are both victims of an unfair society whereas Susan is completely innocent (as far as the crime is concerned)but her new husband is dangerous ,verging on paranoia (the scene when you hear the dead speak on the record is stunning).It's perhaps one of the rare movies in which a baby becomes a living threat.Even the wind ,in the shack -probably Victor Seastrom's silent movie influence- becomes an enemy .