The Prowler Directed by Joseph Losey
Written by Dalton Trumbo (originally credited as “Hugo Butler”); story by Robert Thoeren and Hans Wilhelm
1951/USA Horizon Pictures
First viewing/YouTube
[box] I am frequently told that my films don’t make money. Since I have averaged one film a year for thirty years – some of them expensive ones – I can only conclude that somebody is making money. — Joseph Losey[/box]
Joseph Losey turns film noir on its head with a homme fatale in this subversive chiller.
Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes) has a nervous and lonely life with her apparently much older husband (we never see him) who cannot give her children and leaves her alone every night while he does his radio show. She hears a prowler and calls the police. The two cops that answer the call find no prowler but one of them, Webb Garwood (Van Heflin), immediately starts checking out Susan and her lovely home. Later he returns alone and says department regulations require him to check up on her safety. They find that they went briefly to the same high school. Susan was from the right side of the tracks and Webb from the wrong side of Terre Haute, Indiana. Webb hates his job as a policeman and bears a general grudge toward the world. The next night Webb shows up in his civvies. He makes aggressive advances and Susan finally caves. They begin an affair.
When Susan’s husband discovers the affair, Susan tries to break it off. Webb wants her to go with him to Las Vegas where he has his eye on a motel, which he thinks is a way to make millions without working. She refuses. He starts agreeing they should call it quits and she starts pleading with him to take her back. Finally, while Webb is on patrol, he starts making prowling noises at Susan’s house. When Susan’s husband comes out to investigate, Webb shoots him.
A coroner’s inquest finds that the death was accidental. Susan and Webb both deny any prior relationship on the stand. Although Susan is initially very suspicious – even calling out “murderer” at the inquest – Webb soon manages to sweet talk her into a wedding and they depart for Las Vegas. Then Susan discovers she is four months pregnant. The increasingly paranoid Webb has some mighty peculiar ideas about this….
I loved this movie though it made me really uncomfortable. Van Heflin is seriously scary as the deranged Webb. He is able to convey so much greed, scheming, and paranoia just with his eyes. You can almost read his thoughts and they aren’t pretty. Evelyn Keyes makes a convincing lovelorn nervous Nellie, who turns out to have a will of her own.
One of the things I loved most was the way Trumbo and Losey commented on police corruption and the emptiness of the American Dream without making any of this explicit. Some folks find the ending unbelievable, and I suppose it is, but this didn’t bother me. The edgy score adds to the tension. Highly recommended.
I watched this on YouTube because I thought no U.S. DVD was available, but I now see that a restored version has been released with plenty of extra features.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR5r47Y6Zw0
Trailer – cinematography by Arthur C. Miller – don’t worry, the “voice of their conscience” is not in the film!
