The Prowler (1951 film)
Encyclopedia
The Prowler is a 1951
black-and-white
thriller film directed by Joseph Losey
. It stars Van Heflin
and Evelyn Keyes
. Considered film noir
, it was produced by Sam Spiegel
(as S.P. Eagle).
by Susan Gilvray. Her husband works nights as an overnight radio personality. The cop falls in love with the young and attractive married woman.
Obsessed, he woos her despite her initial reluctance. Garwood finds out about an insurance policy on the husband's life. He dreams up a scheme in which a phantom "prowler" would be a good scapegoat if Susan's husband should happen to die mysteriously. After becoming a prowler himself, Garwood commits the murder and makes it look like self-defense.
Susan, who is pregnant, runs away with Garwood to a ghost town named Calico to have the baby without anyone back home knowing. Susan goes into premature labor and Garwood finds a doctor. Garwood intends to kill the doctor to preserve their secret -- Susan was pregnant several months before the marriage to Garwood -- but the doctor escapes with the newborn.
Garwood confesses to the murder of Susan's husband and she tells him to get out. He drives away, leaving his wife in Calico alone. On the way out of town, Garwood runs (literally) into his former partner on the police force. While attempting to escape, Garwood sees several police cars coming so he heads for the hills. He refuses to stop and a sheriff's deputy shoots him dead.
Dalton Trumbo
plays the voice of the John Gilvray, the night-time radio DJ.
1951 in film
The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
thriller film directed by Joseph Losey
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey was an American theater and film director. After studying in Germany with Bertolt Brecht, Losey returned to the United States, eventually making his way to Hollywood...
. It stars Van Heflin
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
and Evelyn Keyes
Evelyn Keyes
Evelyn Louise Keyes was an American film actress. She is best-known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
. Considered film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
, it was produced by Sam Spiegel
Sam Spiegel
Sam Spiegel was an Austrian-born American independent film producer.-Life and career:Spiegel was born in Jarosław, Galicia, Austria-Hungary as Samuel P. Spiegel to a German-Jewish father and Polish mother and educated at the University of Vienna. His brother was Shalom Spiegel, a professor of...
(as S.P. Eagle).
Plot
Webb Garwood, a disgruntled cop, is called to investigate a voyeurVoyeurism
In clinical psychology, voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other activity usually considered to be of a private nature....
by Susan Gilvray. Her husband works nights as an overnight radio personality. The cop falls in love with the young and attractive married woman.
Obsessed, he woos her despite her initial reluctance. Garwood finds out about an insurance policy on the husband's life. He dreams up a scheme in which a phantom "prowler" would be a good scapegoat if Susan's husband should happen to die mysteriously. After becoming a prowler himself, Garwood commits the murder and makes it look like self-defense.
Susan, who is pregnant, runs away with Garwood to a ghost town named Calico to have the baby without anyone back home knowing. Susan goes into premature labor and Garwood finds a doctor. Garwood intends to kill the doctor to preserve their secret -- Susan was pregnant several months before the marriage to Garwood -- but the doctor escapes with the newborn.
Garwood confesses to the murder of Susan's husband and she tells him to get out. He drives away, leaving his wife in Calico alone. On the way out of town, Garwood runs (literally) into his former partner on the police force. While attempting to escape, Garwood sees several police cars coming so he heads for the hills. He refuses to stop and a sheriff's deputy shoots him dead.
Cast
- Van HeflinVan HeflinEmmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
as Webb Garwood - Evelyn KeyesEvelyn KeyesEvelyn Louise Keyes was an American film actress. She is best-known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
as Susan Gilvray - John MaxwellJohn Maxwell (actor)John Maxwell was an American film and television actor who appeared in over 100 films of the 1940s and 1950s. Many times the actor appeared in films uncredited. Occasionally he played larger roles in movies, such as in The Prowler...
as Bud Crocker - Katherine WarrenKatherine WarrenKatherine Warren was an American film and television actress. She appeared in over 30 films and dozens of television programs including the TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the films Jailhouse Rock, The Glenn Miller Story, All the King's Men and The Caine Mutiny.-External links:...
as Mrs. Crocker - Emerson TreacyEmerson Treacy-Career:Treacy was teamed with comedienne Gay Seabrook to form the double-act Treacy and Seabrook. The team was very successful on radio and in theater during the early 1930s, with routines similar to those of real husband-and-wife team Burns and Allen....
as William Gilvray
Dalton Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo
James Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and novelist, and one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film professionals who refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry...
plays the voice of the John Gilvray, the night-time radio DJ.