"Stranger on the Prowl" is probably the one Losey movie most people haven't heard of. He made it largely on location in Italy in 1952 from a screenplay by Ben Barzman, (like Losey, Barzman was also a victim of the blacklist),and it gave Paul Muni a late starring role as a drifter on the run who strikes up a friendship with a small boy who comes to share his hiding place. Although technically an Italian film, it's in English and while hardly a masterpiece it's still a remarkable piece of work, a cross between Italian Neo-Realism and American Film Noir and it remains an essential part of the Losey canon.

It's a story the cinema has tackled many times with varying degrees of success. This one works in large part to the fine performances of Muni and Vittorio Manunta as the boy but mainly due to Losey's mostly unsentimental handling of the material and his brilliant use of his Italian locations. It may be difficult to see these days but it shouldn't be missed if you get the opportunity.

American expatriate Joseph Losey now working in Europe because of the blacklist teamed with star Paul Muni to make Stranger On The Prowl. It's a downbeat story of a man just looking for food and shelter and to earn passage on a ship.

A said combination of circumstances lead to the accidental death of an old woman shopkeeper and Muni is now wanted for murder. He teams up with a small boy Vittorio Manuta who has run away from home.

The story is uneven kind of moves in fits and starts. The best thing it has going for it is the stark cinematography of post war italy in particular Tuscany. Young Manuta delivers a good perforance and works nicely with Muni.

Another American expatriate Joan Lorring has a small role here.

Not one of Losey's best, nor hardly Muni's, but all right.

There is something familiar about this film - it reminded me a little of "Hunted" (also from 1952). Paul Muni is a homeless man who happens upon a young boy "Giacomo" (Vittorio Mununta),who has resorted to petty theft after he accidentally lost the money to buy the milk for him and his impoverished mother (Luisa Rossi) - and a bit of a tragic confrontation ensues between the pair and the elderly shopkeeper. In panic, they end up hiding in the same place, and after repeated attempts to get shot of the young lad, the two start to bond whilst trying to avoid the pursuing Carabinieri. It's an odd film to watch - it's really about the relationship between the two, but Joseph Losey doesn't really give us very much to work with. The script is really dry and though young Mununta is quite engaging, none of the adult performances really take off. Unlike "Hunted" - the film lacks focus and meanders along to a pretty predictable denouement just a bit too haphazardly as to be compelling. It is only 90 minutes but seems quite a bit longer and I doubt anyone would call it their best work.