TV and Movies

[Oznell]

8:00 a.m. Eastern--  "The Prowler" Van Heflin, Evelyn Keyes

It's 'Van Heflin morning' on TCM, and he never lets us down, does he gang?

Especially here, in this very memorable little Joseph Losey-directed suspense thriller.  Blonde Evelyn Keyes, a cool, cerebral actress (with a fascinating take on Hollywood--read her memoirs) is married to a night-time radio broadcaster, and nervous to stay alone.  Her fears bring an investigating police officer (Van Heflin) to her house, and a furtive relationship develops, travelling down a desperate road to obsession, illicit romance and more.

The always inventive Heflin makes a persuasively calculating and devious figure, capable of exploiting and manipulating Keyes.  The story, the complexity of their characters, the uneasy ambiance of the film and noirish cinematography, have made critics compare it to "Double Indemnity"-- only this time, it isn't the woman who is the instrument of seduction, it's the man.

Here he lays his trap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaNpMDCwUKk

[cotton4me]

Thanks for the heads up.  Sounds like a good one. 

[Oznell]

Oh, it is, @cotton4me.  I think I remember that it was one of those where the film was physically deteriorating, and it had to be meticulously rescued and restored.  So, until relatively recently, it was not seen often. 

Film noir critics love it, and in this case they're fully justified in their assessment, I think.  My only problem is, I adore Van Heflin, and he's so effectively a sociopath in this, I'm a bit creeped out!

[drizzellla]

I was late arriving to watch the movie. And missed bits and pieces along the way. I know - not the best way to watch a movie.

But what really got me was the ending scene. Here they are out in a desolate area. Van Heflin is trying to escape because everyone is on to him. So how does he choose to escape? He picks a hill of small rocks that slow him down. Which made it so easy to pick him off. 

I am sure they were out for dramatic effect. But Van Heflin sure picked a cumbersome route to try and escape. Maybe that was the point of the entire movie. They made bad choices and look how they ended up.

[GingerPeach]

Oh, no.  8 AM, not pm.  Darn.

Oh, thank goodness, it'll be repeated on TCM 19-JAN-19 01:45 PM

(Not to mention, I've been thinking today was FRIDAY!)

[Judaline]

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@GingerPeach wrote:

Oh, no.  8 AM, not pm.  Darn.

Oh, thank goodness, it'll be repeated on TCM 19-JAN-19 01:45 PM

(Not to mention, I've been thinking today was FRIDAY!)

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@GingerPeach  thanks for this-I missed it today-I didn't see @Oznell's post till this evening-dunno why.

@Oznell  I heard Evelyn Keyes was quite the gadabout in her day. A far cry from her character in GWTW.

[Oznell]

Yeah, @Judaline, she led quite the life.  I wish I could remember the name of her memoir-- was it something like "Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister", or something like that?  Despite the goofy title, it was very good-- a cut above the usual Hollywood bio or autobio.

I wonder how she stood being married to John Huston-- despite his talent, he's always seemed to me like he would have been quite a pill to live with, ha.  Anyway, I found Evelyn Keyes' take on things to be quite refreshing--- wish she had had the sort of career she was hoping for...

[GingerPeach]

I remember reading her biography back in the day.  You've got the title right, @Oznell.  It was her best-known role, apparently.  Now I wish I'd bought it instead of borrowing it from the library.  I do recall some of her descriptions of some "standard" Hollywood "practices" that we all know have carried on to today - and are being widely protested today.

[Judaline]

@GingerPeach  While nosing around I see that Ms. Keyes wrote another book-I'll Think About that Tomorrow. She evidently talks about her marriage to Artie Shaw. Who wasn't that guy married to, lol.