Prowler [DVD] [1951] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Van Heflin plays Webb Garwood, a grumpy and unhappy cop who is called to investigate a suspected prowler at the home of Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes). Garwood is smitten with the young and attractive woman from the off, and sensing her marriage to a late night radio personality is far from happy, he sets about wooing her, obsessively. It's the start of a coupling that is going to travel down a particularly dark road.

The film opens quite brilliantly with a quick shift of tone, Susan Gilvary is pampering herself in her bathroom, we see her from the window, domestic contentedness. This shot is accompanied by jaunty and jolly music, but then in the blink of an eye, she spies something out the window {it's us you know}, a scream, the music becomes troubled and she draws the blind. Welcome to Joseph Losey's creepy skin itcher, The Prowler.

Very much a two character piece, The Prowler flips the favoured femme fatale formula around to great effect. Here it's the male protagonist that is the seducer, a cop no less, the abuse of power hanging heavy over proceedings like, yes, some "prowler" lurking in your back garden. It's made clear to us very early on that Garwood is troubled, he's up to no good, with a snarl here and a shifty smirk there, we just know that poor Susan is under threat from a man meant to protect her. Yet in a perverse piece of writing, Garwood surely does love Susan, but the bile within and the skew whiff way he now views the world-and his place within it, has ultimately made him a most dangerous anti-hero. It's evident that the makers here are wryly observing, but without preaching about, the shady underbelly of the American dream, the social differences of the two characters a most intriguing aspect of the story. As is the shift from the affluent setting of the Gilvray home in the first half of the piece, to the finale played out amongst the ghost towns in the Mojave Desert. The desolation of the landscape has rarely been so apt in a noirish world.

Technically The Prowler boasts high quality. Losey's direction is tight and holds the viewer in a vice like grip, while the art direction from Boris Leven is superb, particularly in that first quarter as the bright Gilvray house is cloaked in sparse darkness. But it's with Heflin, and to a lesser extent, Keyes, that the film reaches its high points. Keyes' character frustrates immensely, her decision making annoys and her surrender to Garwood is at first hard to swallow. But this is a testament to the good work that Keyes does, that she can induce these feelings for the character is surely a job well done. Heflin, tho, is a different kettle of fish. A criminally undervalued actor in his generation, Heflin serves notice here that he could play a bad guy convincingly, almost terrifyingly so too. His shift from meek, almost puppy dog love yearner, to conniving bastard is handled adroitly and gives film noir one of its best homme fatales.

Back on release big hitting critics such as Manny Farber and Wallace Markfield unreservedly praised the film. While pulp writer supreme James Ellroy is quoted as saying it was one of his favourite film's. So it's somewhat surprising that it took until late 2010 to receive a DVD release, that, much like the machinations of Webb Garwood, is very much a crime. Moody, bleak and corrosive in its telling, this is a must see for noir and Heflin purists. 9/10

United Artists presents "THE PROWLER" (1951) (92 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Joseph Losey's Bourgeois noir 'The Prowler' lingers long in the memory - and remains one of the genre's most emotionally powerful installments --- As harsh and gut-wrenching as it is bold and satisfying --- With great direction and an outstanding cast that brings realism with the label of "noir".

The story goes something like this, when officer Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) investigates a wee-hours peeping-Tom call with his veteran partner Bud (John Maxwell), he finds himself drawn to the victim - attractive and vulnerable housewife Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes) --- Dutiful and quietly desperate, Mrs. Gilvray spends evenings listening to her DJ husband John's late-night radio show - which he ends every night by cooing "I'll be seeing you Susan..." ---

Tense and taunt dialogue with one of his best performances by somestimes overlooked veteran actor Van Heflin.

The radio announcer heard throughout the film is actually the voice of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who wrote the film under the pseudonym, Hugo Butler.

Under the production staff of:
Joseph Losey [Director]
Robert Thoeren [Story]
Hans Wilhelm [Story]
Dalton Trumbo [Screenplay]
Hugo Butler [Screenplay]
Sam Spiegel [Producer] (as S.P. Eagle)
John Huston [Producer]
Lyn Murray [Original Film Score]
Arthur C. Miller [Cinematographer]
Paul Weatherwax [Film Editor]

BIOS:
1. Joseph Losey [Director]
Date of Birth: 14 January 1909 - La Crosse, Wisconsin
Date of Death: 22 June 1984 - London, England, UK

2. Van Heflin [aka: Emmett Evan Heflin Jr.]
Date of Birth: 13 December 1910 - Walters, Oklahoma
Date of Death: 23 July 1971 - Hollywood, California

3. Evelyn Keyes [aka: Evelyn Louise Keyes]
Date of Birth: 20 November 1916 - Port Arthur, Texas
Date of Death: 4 July 2008 - Montecito, California

the cast includes:
Van Heflin - Webb Garwood
Evelyn Keyes - Susan Gilvray
John Maxwell - Charles 'Bud' Crocker
Katherine Warren - Mrs. Grace Crocker
Emerson Treacy - William Gilvray
Madge Blake - Martha Gilvray
Wheaton Chambers - Doctor William R. James

SPECIAL BONUS FEATURES:
1. Documentary featurette "The Cost of Living: Creating The Prowler," with James Ellroy, Christopher Trumbo, Denise Hamilton and Alan K. Rode,
2. "Masterpiece in the Margins": Bertrand Tavernier on The Prowler,
3. "On the Prowl: Restoring The Prowler." The Film Noir Foundation & UCLA Film &TV Archive Partnership.
4. Audio Commentary by Film Noir Expert - Eddie Muller
5. Original theatrical Trailer
6. Photo Gallery
7. Optional English Subtitles

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 92 min on DVD ~ United Artists ~ (02/01/2011)

The re-mastering is brilliant and Evelyn Keyes looks terrific! As to the film itself, after a slowish start the tension builds rapidly and holds up right to the last frame. It isn't possible to say too much without spoiling the film for anyone who hasn't seen it. Sufficient to say that there are unexpected plot twists and turns which keep us guessing as to the final outcome. Highly recommended for all noir fans.