The Night the Prowler
Cover of screenplay
Directed by	Jim Sharman
Written by	Patrick White
Produced by	Anthony Buckley
Starring	Ruth Cracknell John Frawley Kerry Walker
Cinematography	David Sanderson
Edited by	Sara Bennett
Music by	Cameron Allan
Production companies	Chariot Films New South Wales Film Corporation
Distributed by	International Harmony (US)
Release dates	2 June 1978 (1978-06-02) (Sydney Film Festival) 15 June 1979 (1979-06-15) (Australia)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	AU$417,000[1]

The Night the Prowler (also known as Patrick White's The Night the Prowler) is a 1978 Australian film written by Patrick White, produced by Anthony Buckley and directed by Jim Sharman.^[2] Ruth Cracknell was nominated in 1979 for an AFI Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role for her part.^[3]

Cast

• Ruth Cracknell as Doris Bannister
• John Frawley as Humphrey Bannister
• Kerry Walker as Felicity Bannister
• John Derum as John
• Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madge Hopkirk
• Terry Camilleri as The Prowler
• Harry Neilson as Old man
• Alexander Archdale

Production

Sharman had worked successfully with White directing the latter's play The Season at Sarsaparilla. White suggested that his book The Night the Prowler might make a film; Sharman agreed and White wrote a screenplay.^[4]

The film was shot in November and December 1977.^[5]

Release

The film was selected to open the 1978 Sydney Film Festival and was harshly received.^[1]

Reception

Paul Byrnes of Australian Screen Online wrote the following in his review:

The film is a savage satire on the neuroses of the privileged of Sydney’s eastern suburbs, where White lived, and the director Jim Sharman grew up. Much of the satire verges on invective, and the film was criticised for being ponderous, pretentious and condescending. Parts of it are like that—especially some of the dialogue—but the film also has some moments where everything works.^[6]