Stranger on the Prowl
Imbarco a mezzanotte is a 1952 Italian drama film directed by Joseph Losey and featuring Paul Muni.
The picture was the first to be made abroad by any blacklisted Hollywood director. Due to the political blacklist, Losey was credited for the story and direction under the name Andrea Forzano.
Muni traveled to Italy to star in the film partly as an act of solidarity and support for blacklisted friends living there in exile.
Plot
A disillusioned vagrant kills a shop owner, and is joined by a rebellious youngster in his flight from apprehension.Cast
- Paul Muni as The Stranger With A Gun
- Joan Lorring as Angela, a lonely woman
- Vittorio Manunta as Giacomo, a small boy
- Luisa Rossi as Giacomo's Mother
- Aldo Silvani as Peroni, the junk dealer
- Arnoldo Foà as Inspector-in-Charge
- Alfredo Varelli as The Neighborhood Patrolman
- Héléna Manson as Grocery Store Clerk
- Enrico Glori as Signor Pucci
- Linda Sini as Signora Raffetto
Retrospective appraisal
Film historian Foster Hirsch considers the Stranger on the Prowl deserving of “more attention than it has received.”The film is clearly influenced by Italian neorealism and consequently is “markedly different” in its mise-en-scene from Losey’s previous Hollywood, and his subsequent British produced films, notably lacking in their claustrophobic “closed qualities.” Hirsch writes:
Hirsch reserves special mention for American film star Paul Muni, who brings pathos and genuine dignity to the impoverished outcast and fugitive he portrays.