The Prowler (3 stars)

The Prowler, from 1951, is a mildly suspenseful film noir starring Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes.  Though I am not overly familiar with Miss Keyes, I was quite interested in this film because of Van Heflin.  Since I've developed an appreciation for him, I've been trying to catch as many of his films as possible.  He definitely had a vast range of ability, as this film finds him playing what I would say is against type.

When Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes) discovers a man peering in her window while she is taking a bath, she puts in a call to the police.  Two officers, one of which is Webb Garwood (Van Heflin), answer the call, but after looking around a bit and finding no evidence of a prowler, they take their leave.  Soon though, Officer Garwood, who had been instantly attracted to the beautiful, wealthy woman, is back again.  Telling Susan that it is routine to make a follow-up visit, he manages to get invited into the house, where he has a glass of milk and a bit of conversation.

Since Mrs. Gilvray's husband works nights, Officer Garwood tells her that he will make it a point to stop by regularly to check on her, just to be sure that there aren't any prowlers hanging around.   Eventually---though Susan is at first reluctant---the two of them fall into a passionate affair.  Wanting not only Susan, but her husband's life insurance money, Webb jumps to the other side of his badge and kills Mr. Gilvray.  Claiming he shot at a prowler while keeping watch on the home, Webb is cleared of any wrongdoing...but can he really get away with murder?  Can he and Susan have any kind of a future together when their being together was accomplished through such devious means?  Will Susan, who has come to see Webb's wickedness, even want to stick by him?  These are the questions which play out in this exciting little film.

The Prowler is definitely an interesting, enjoyable movie.  Quite honestly, I was going to go with 4 stars, except that the last 20 minutes (the ghost town scene) were too far-fetched for me.  (Maybe because I'm not a lonely, desolate place kind of gal, so settings like that just seem bizarre.)  Anyhow, this is really more like 3.5 stars.  I am only just now getting into Van Heflin, so I haven't seen a whole lot of his work; however, of the films I've seen, with the exception of They Came to Cordura, he has always been a solid, upstanding, very likeable kind of man.  This role definitely showed another side to him, and I think he played the part very well.  Evelyn Keyes was good and believable in her role as well, and she and Mr. Heflin worked well together.

This film is out on DVD, and it is also available in its entirety on YouTube, so you shouldn't have any problem tracking it down.

Happy viewing!!