moonspinner55 Lonely housewife, whose disc jockey husband works the graveyard shift, calls the police one night to report a peeping Tom and attracts the attention of one of the two policemen who come to investigate. Later that same night, he drops by again, and soon they discover they have a lot in common. Not terribly interesting crime-melodrama, with Van Heflin's cop going from wolf on the prowl to murderer in an unconvincingly short amount of time. The script, credited to Hugo Butler (fronting for blacklisted Dalton Trumbo) from an original treatment by Robert Thoeren and Hans Wilhelm, seems to take its cue from "The Postman Always Rings Twice", only Evelyn Keyes (whose acting is dry and ordinary, like a colorless Susan Hayward) is hardly in Lana Turner's league. Third-act in the Calico ghost town does provide for an unusual climax, but by then the story has gotten all balled up. ** from ****

RanchoTuVu Webb Garwood (Van Heflin), a dissatisfied LA police patrol officer, answers a call about a prowler with his partner, "Bud" Crocker (John Maxwell), a desert enthusiast who explores abandoned mining towns along the desert drive from LA to Las Vegas. Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes) had been in the bathroom of her upscale home when she spotted a prowler peaking through the window. Heflin's Garwood sizes her up and returns later to put the make on her. She's married to local radio personality who's at least twice her age, and it doesn't take long for her to fall for Heflin. It's a hard decision to make between who's better, Heflin or Keyes. Heflin had the capacity to play the cowardly types up against the macho man's world of the postwar better than any actor ever. And Keyes excels in each scene along her route of discovery of Heflin's true nature. The entire affair between him and Susan is extremely sordid for 1951, but the director, Joseph Losey and the studio, Eagle, were camped far out on film noir's fringe.

Claudio Carvalho 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")

bkoganbing 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.