The shadow of the blacklist hung over the production of The Prowler. Director Joseph Losey fled the country after finishing the film. Don’t cry for Losey: He landed in London and went on to become Harold Pinter’s director of choice. You can, however, cry for screenwriters Hugo Butler and Dalton Trumbo. Trumbo was already blacklisted and on his way to prison on a perjury rap, so Butler served as his front for The Prowler. The witch hunters eventually came for Butler and he joined his colleague on the blacklist.
The blacklist story has legs in 2025 because it’s happening again. The CBS suits have cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The real reason is that Colbert criticized Paramount/CBS for settling President Pennywise’s specious suit against 60 Minutes. The good news is that Colbert will be on the air until May 2026 and he’s out of fucks to give. CBS will live to regret destroying The Late Show franchise. David Letterman weeps.
Let’s move on to the movie. As always, I’m using the actor’s not the character’s names. Why? Why the hell not?
The Prowler stars Van Heflin in a rare turn as a villain. He plays a former star athlete who lost his college basketball scholarship for being a creepy asshole. He’s become a shady LAPD officer. Heflin and his partner, John Maxwell, investigate a report of a prowler at the mansion of a well-known radio personality back when radio was king. His queen is played by Evelyn Keyes.
Heflin and Keyes turn out to be from the same part of Indiana. She remembers his basketball exploits and they do some Hoosier bonding. It turns sinister when the two become involved in an affair as Heflin goes from Mr. Charming Jock to Mr. Creepy Cop.
Heflin hates being a cop and dreams of owning a motel in Las Vegas but lacks the resources. If her husband is out of the way, Evelyn Keyes has the bucks. You know where this is heading. The Prowler is often compared to Double Indemnity but unlike Barbara Stanwyck in that classic noir, Keyes isn’t in on the plot, just the cover up.
The death of Keyes’ spouse becomes a scandal because it’s a police involved shooting. Guess who?
An inquest rules it a righteous shooting but Keyes is repulsed until she’s not. Heflin’s character is a bona fide sociopath who will say and do whatever the situation requires to win her back.
The couple marry and move to Vegas. The motel is purchased with Keyes’ money. Imagine that.
The action in the third act moves to a hovel in a ghost town where the couple hide out because of the timing of Keyes’ pregnancy. It was 1951 and propriety was everything, even for a creep like Heflin’s character.
Dig the picture below. I told you it was a hovel. Apparently, windows were optional:
The ending of The Prowler is thrilling but I’ve already shared too many plot details. A reminder that this feature is called pulp fiction, not pulp spoilers, so I’m leaving it at that.
The acting is superb. Heflin’s character is bat shit crazy but comes off as a normie. Keyes is excellent as his victim, for part of the movie we wonder if she was involved in the murder plot because she wants a child and her ex was sterile. She was not involved in the scheme but got a baby out of this mess.
The stand out supporting performances come from John Maxwell as Heflin’s loquacious partner and his wife played by Katherine Warren. It’s in conversations with them that the audience learns how mad Heflin is. Ain’t nothing worse than a lunatic with a badge.
Grading Time: I give The Prowler 4 stars and an Adrastos Grade of A-. The movie is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and the YouTube.
Let’s take a trip to poster land, a place where the houses have windows and stalking is discouraged.
We begin with the excellent quad poster:
Next up, side-by-side long sheets of the American and Danish posters:
I find myself craving a Cheese Danish. Let’s check in the lobby and see if they have any:
I’m SOL again. Oh well, what the hell.
Let’s move on to the lobby cards. Van and Evelyn were not only doomed, they were gorgeous.
All aboard the trailer:
The last word goes to Eddie Muller with his Noir Alley intro and outro:
