The Prowler

1951
Approved
1h 32m

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

4.5K

YOUR RATING

After Susan Gilvray reports a prowler outside her house police officer Webb Garwood investigates and sparks fly. If only her husband wasn't in the way.

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Film Noir Psychological Thriller Drama Thriller

After Susan Gilvray reports a prowler outside her house, police officer Webb Garwood investigates and sparks fly. If only her husband wasn't in the way.After Susan Gilvray reports a prowler outside her house, police officer Webb Garwood investigates and sparks fly. If only her husband wasn't in the way.After Susan Gilvray reports a prowler outside her house, police officer Webb Garwood investigates and sparks fly. If only her husband wasn't in the way.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

4.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Grace Crocker
(as Katharine Warren)

Emerson Treacy

William Gilvray

Madge Blake

Martha Gilvray

Wheaton Chambers

Doctor James

Robert Osterloh

Coroner

Sherry Hall

John Gilvray

Louise Lorimer

Motel Manager

Herbert Anderson

Reporter
(uncredited)

Louise Bates

Evelyn
(uncredited)

Jack Baxley

Juryman
(uncredited)

Benny Burt

Journalist
(uncredited)

Steve Carruthers

Mr. Talbot
(uncredited)

John Damler

Airline Clerk
(uncredited)

Bess Flowers

Spectator at Coroner's Inquest
(uncredited)

John George

Man in Crowd
(uncredited)

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Uncredited producer John Huston conceived this project as a star vehicle for his estranged wife, Evelyn Keyes, as a sort of parting gift. She had long complained about her lack of challenging roles while under contract at Columbia. They were divorced by the time production began. Although more famous for her role in Gone with the Wind (1939), Keyes felt this to be the best role and best performance of her career.

Goofs
Webb tells Susan the birth of their baby will increase the ghost town's population by 33-1/3%. The birth will increase the population by 50% because the population will go from two to three.

Quotes
Webb Garwood: [working on picking the lock of her husband's storage box] Does he keep everything locked up?
Susan Gilvray: Mostly.
Webb Garwood: You, too?
Susan Gilvray: That's a leading question.
Webb Garwood: Ha, probably does. A mean, jealous guy like that wants his wife all to himself. I can't say I blame him, though. I'd do the same myself...
Webb Garwood: [managing to pick the lock and open the storage box] There. See how silly it is to keep things locked up?
Susan Gilvray: Maybe. But it did delay you for a little while.
Webb Garwood: Is that all he wants, just to delay things?
Susan Gilvray: Sometimes a little delay does the trick.

Connections
Featured in Kika (1993)

Soundtracks
Baby
Lyrics by Dick Mack
Music by Lyn Murray
Sung by Robert Carroll (as Bob Carroll)

User reviews59

Review

Featured review

9/10

He's certainly NOT your average cop...

Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) is NOT your average policeman. After he and his partner respond to a prowler call, they leave....and Officer Garwood returns later. He claims he's just checking in on the woman but it soon is obvious that he is very interested in the pretty, well-heeled lady. At first, she rebuffs his advances...but soon is infatuated with him. The problem is that she is married...and Webb has a plan. You see, he's a master manipulator and his interest in Susan (Evelyn Keyes) is more than just sexual...he knows she has money...money which can help him retire in style! So he hatches a crazy plan to kill the husband...and thus live happily ever after! So what comes of this vicious plan?!

In some ways, this is a good example of film noir--such as the dirty cop, the murder and the affair. But in other ways, it's not quite a typical noir. The camera angles and dark cinematography is missing and the picture is a bit more Hollywood in look than a typical noir. I'd more consider this one noir-lite! This isn't really a complaint...more just an observation about the style of the film.

All in all, this is a very exciting and bleak film. The ending is top-notch and the film one of Heflin's best. Well worth seeing...and oddly not especially well known or formulaic in the least.