Runtime:
92 minutes
Directed
by: Joseph Losey
Starring:
Van Heflin, Evelyn Keyes, John Maxwell, Katherine Warren, Emerson
Treacy
From:
Horizon Pictures
I finally see another noir, and it was long overdue. Thankfully this is well worth checking out:
In
hindsight, perhaps due to my A/C problems (which are now fixed; a
clogged pipe was the issue) I should have watched something like Body
Heat last night as I was outside on the laptop. Alas... there are
plenty of hot days in Florida so one day I'll get to that.
I
realized recently it had been too long since I had watched a film
noir; also recently a mutual gave this a strong review and this was
one I had heard of before. As it's free on Prime, this seemed like a
natural choice. This reminded me how noirs can be a lot of fun to
explore; even one like this that is not as famous as the shining
genre examples... this is something I am glad I saw as it is very
good.
Van
Heflin is police officer Webb Garwood; he and his polar opposite
partner Bud Crocker respond to a prowler call at the house of Susan
Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes). Garwood becomes smitten with her and it
quickly turns to obsession. Unfortunately for him, she's married...
although it is a loveless marriage. At first you think that only he
will manipulate her; then you find out she reciprocates things as she
also manipulates him.
This
story proved to be quite interesting, with some unique complications
happening for the two leads; it has to be noted that Dalton Trumbo
did uncredited work on the script. Much of the movie is just the two
leads acting against each other, and thankfully both Heflin and Keyes
were great in roles that turned out to be pretty layered. To give an
example, Garwood is haunted by his inadequacies and this has been a
long-seated issue. Of course it becomes a big deal later on.
The
Prowler is a particularly dark noir and those that dig the genre
should check this out, particularly for the lead performances.
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