Stranger on the Prowl

Upon its initial American release, Stranger on the Prowl's credits read: written and directed by Andrea Forzano. In truth Forzano was two people: screenwriter Ben Barzman (Back to Bataan) and director Joseph Losey (The Servant, The Lawless), both of whom had been blacklisted by Hollywood and were forced to work under pseudonyms. The film stars screen legend Paul Muni (Scarface) as a disillusioned vagrant who accidentally kills a shop owner. While on the lam he befriends a young street urchin (Vittorio Manunta) who suspects the police are after him for stealing milk from the same shop owner. The police pursue the two lost souls through the war-torn streets and buildings of an Italian port city. This neorealist film noir was based on a story by novelist Noel Calef (Elevator to the Gallows).