Sciacalli nell'ombra

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")

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 .

The most unsettling thing about THE PROWLER is the way Van Heflin inhabits the role of a corrupt police officer who worms his way into the life of an innocent woman (Evelyn Keyes), a bored housewife trapped in a loveless marriage with a jealous older man.

From the very first scene, we know that Heflin is going to set a trap for this woman and that eventually she'll succumb to his dubious charm merely to break the cycle of loneliness she's used to. The plot sustains interest up until the cliffhanger of an ending in which all hell breaks loose.

But along the way, there are several glaring faults in the script. Keyes falls in love much too quickly, needing him at her side so desperately that he concocts an accidental shooting to get rid of her hubby. And from then on, her motivations for lying at the inquest are shaky, to say the least. Credibility begins to slip as we lurch toward a very effective ending which won't be revealed here.

In the meantime, the performances are professional, with John Maxwell excellent as a loyal friend and Wheaton Chambers fine as a reluctant doctor. Joseph Losey gets all the suspense he can out of the script, but in the end the bleak low-key photography and sparse sets gives it the feel of a hurried programmer rather than an A-film.

As the story unfolds we see the true personalities of the main charcters come clearly through the film screen. There is the beautiful wife Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes) who married a successful but older radio host who provides for his wife Susan but keeps her more as another prized possession under lock and key, than as his loving wife. When a prowler is spotted outside Susan's window she calls the police and two (2) policeman show up one of whom is a rugged looking unmarried and very single policeman named Webb Garwood (Van Heflin).

Officer Webb Garwood is immediately attracted to the pretty and helpless Susan, who spends her evenings alone listening on the radio to her older husbands well known radio broadcasts. So Webb makes some more than frequent late evening and impromptu visits to check up on the pretty Susan who falls prey to Webb's flattery and promises of a better life if she agrees to leave her wealthy husband for a beat cops salary.

The story unfolds slowly with lust and unfulfilled dreams becoming the films main focus with the third wheel becoming Susan's absent husband so Webb decides he has to make a plan to free Susan so that the two of them can have an open relationship.

As with any good plan there are flaws with Webb's own plan and we realize that the noose is closing in on these two adulterous lovers. Greed, lust and looking for a short cut to happiness can only end up in a bad result and this film is a good example of a film noir that works quite well and will hold your attention throughout.

I give it a solid 8 out of 10 rating.

This is a really good and sadly overlooked film noir. No happy endings are to be found here, just good performances and writing and a close to perfect example of the film noir genre.