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Cast

Van Heflin
as Webb Garwood

Evelyn Keyes
as Susan Gilvray

Katherine Warren
as Grace Crocker

John Maxwell
as Charles 'Bud' Crocker

Emerson Treacy
as William Gilvray

Madge Blake
as Martha Gilvray

Wheaton Chambers
as Dr. James

Robert Osterloh
as Coroner

Sherry Hall
as John Gilvray

Louise Lorimer
as Motel Manager

George Nader
as Photographer

Benny Burt
as Journalist

Louise M. Bates
as Doctor's Wife

Steve Carruthers
as Mr. Talbot

Betty Jane Howarth
as Mrs. Talbot

Fred Hoose
as Foreman

Alan Harris
as Clerk

Tiny Jones
as Airline Passenger

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Critic Reviews for The Prowler (Cost of Living )

Audience Reviews for The Prowler (Cost of Living )

• Aug 01, 2011

  This is why Losey is one of my favorite directors.
  Stefanie C Super Reviewer
• Sep 20, 2010

  a crazy film with van heflin in the lead, playing a creepy power abusing cop who takes advantage of a lonely married woman. he's great here and it seems a shame he was usually relegated to second banana roles. the film was made very cheaply and it's paranoid atmosphere is highly effective, ending with a big meltdown in the nevada desert
  Stella D Super Reviewer
• Mar 25, 2010

  Good Noir about a cop abusing his power to get what he wants. Good story and probably one of the first to deal with the "Unlawful Entry" plot that we have seen annually for the last 20 years. The story is at a good pace and very believable. It has a modern view on basketball, unhappiness with your career, and pre-marital sex. Van Heflin is great and his character is very realistic, he is bad, but not cartoonish. He does everything for love, he just approaches it all wrong. The very end is a little melodramatic, but overall a solid film. Not great, but worth a watch if you can find it.
  cody f Super Reviewer
• Mar 22, 2010

  In "The Prowler," police officers Webb Garwood(Van Heflin) and Bud Crocker(John Maxwell) respond to a call about a prowler that has been menacing Susan Gilvray(Evelyn Keyes). After being satisfied that she is safe, they leave. Later that night, Webb returns and the two find a common ground in both being from the same part of Indiana where he was a high school basketball star. Susan came west to become an actress but eventually married John Gilvray(Sherry Hall) who hosts a late night radio show, keeping her company on her sleepless nights. At first, she is resistant to Webb's rough charms but eventually agrees to meet him in Las Vegas. Director by Joseph Losey, "The Prowler" is a nifty noir film that is ahead of its time in its brief pre-credits sequence and in insinuating life beyond twin beds. In shifting gears from night to day, the movie is about two amongst many who come to Los Angeles to live a dream and end up having it unfulfilled, staying on to live a modest life. For Susan, it is life in a loveless marriage to an older man. The film looks down on Webb for hating being a policeman(This is a job you would have to love with all of its attendant hardships including long hours, low pay and the constant threat of violence.) which is a profession that provides a public service. He has larger dreams like owning his own motel on the way to Las Vegas. Like all plans, it all comes down to the details.
  Walter M Super Reviewer

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