El merodeador

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 .

Van Heflin is "The Prowler" in this 1951 noir directed by Joseph Losey and also starring Evelyn Keyes. Heflin plays a bitter cop named Webb who meets the lonely Susan (Keyes), whose husband works at night on the radio, when he investigates a prowler at her house. He returns, ostensibly to check up on her, and they discover they're from the same part of the country. Soon, they're involved in a love affair that has serious implications.

Losey was a hit or miss director. He was blacklisted and made several films starring Dirk Bogarde in Europe, including the amazing The Servant and a big miss, Modesty Blaise. Here he's on the money with a suspenseful, well done film. Van Heflin is brilliant as Webb, who finally sees a chance at making his dreams come true, and Keyes is wonderful as Susan, disappointed in her marriage.

"The Prowler" was restored by UCLA, and for some reason, when Christopher-Jan Horrocks discussed it on TCM, he described the story incorrectly.

Frankly, I thought this film had a couple of plot problems, but I can't go into them without giving the film away. The event that the plot hinges on is certainly a daring one for those days. I'll just say that the two main characters would have had to have been Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt for a total stranger to have realized what he realized immediately.

Well worth checking out.

In California, the gorgeous housewife Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes) glances at a prowler outside her house in a wasteland and she calls the police. Officer Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) and his partner attend the call and do not find anyone. Later Webb returns to her house with the pretext of checking if everything is OK with Susan and she invites him to drink a coffee with her. Soon he learns that Susan is married with John Gilvray (Sherry Hall), a middle age broadcaster of a late night radio show. Further, they discover that they are from the same homeland. Webb hits on Susan and soon they have a love affair. But when John suspects of Susan, their relationship comes to an end.

Webb plots a scheme to get rid off John and he kills John simulating an accident. Webb goes on trial and is considered not-guilty for the murder of John. Webb quits the police and manipulates John's brother to get close to Susan again. He learns that John could not have children and their marriage was not perfect. Webb meets Susan and convinces her that he is really innocent. Soon they get married and they buy a motel to start a new life. But in the wedding night, Susan discloses that she is four months pregnant. How could they explain the baby to the press after the publicity around the case?

"The Prowler" is a great but unknown Film-Noir directed by Joseph Losey with a story of adultery and greed. Webb Garwood is a sordid frustrated man that manipulates the housewife Susan Gilvray, who has a loveless marriage without children with an older man, to marry him. The conclusion is moralist but does not spoil the story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Cúmplice das Sombras" ("Accomplice of the Shadows")

Patrolman Webb Garwood (Van Heflin), called to the upscale home of a late night radio DJ to investigate a reported prowler, covets the man's wife (Evelyn Keyes) and lifestyle and proceeds, through seduction, manipulation, and murder, to attain them with ironic results...

Alain Silver, in his "Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference To The American Style", notes that "like most of Losey's American films, THE PROWLER is concerned with complex social issues, which make it marginal to the film noir series." I couldn't agree more that using Film Noir to enlighten dilutes the dark universe the cycle represents but in this case that's a moot point. THE PROWLER doesn't examine social issues, complex or otherwise, and isn't an indictment of America in the mid-twentieth century as much as it is an expose of modern life itself with all its banality and dull aspiration. Better yet, there are no explanations, causes, or, thankfully, remedies offered for the ultimately empty American Dream. Existentially, there's no escape for the outwardly normal anti-hero who is, ironically, a psychopath sworn to "protect and serve" the very ideals he doesn't share. Lonely housewives in unhappy marriages, failed dreams of stardom and college scholarships, soulless ambition for mediocre achievement hidden beneath deceptive outward appearances, and hopes for a future (linked to a motor court) that isn't much better than the past or present all serve to point up the futility of upward mobility. In a bitter irony, Garwood has perverted the American dream but, once attained, that very dream becomes inverted and its ultimate reward (creating a family) proves his undoing. That the birth takes place in a desert ghost town perfectly illustrates a wasteland where everyone is either unfeeling, unsuspecting or dull-witted ...and everything's nothing, really. In its depiction of a monotonous, gray world, THE PROWLER is pure Film Noir and Joseph Losey skillfully conveyed the often pervasive sense of dissatisfaction and ennui with bourgeoisie life but, because of his off screen politics, the film was unfairly tarred with the same brush that derailed the director's career in Hollywood.

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.