Prowlers

The Chicago underworld shines in a lurid, hard-boiled light, in what may be Izzi's ( Invasions ) most dynamic performance to date. Scant honor but plenty of heart can be found among the ex-cons, mobsters, street punks and white-collar sharks who make up the well-drawn cast. On his release from prison, after taking the rap for powerful money-launderer Darrin Favore, B & E ace Catfeet Millard learns that the mob chief--vindictive because Catfeet has fathered a child by the only woman Favore can't lure into his bed--has kept the meter running on his loan to Catfeet of 28 grand. Enraged and apprehensive, Catfeet enlists the aid of his adopted son, an Ivy League ex-con; Favore summons his cheerily sadistic nephew; and the moves and countermoves begin. Their mutual love interest, Catfeet's mistress and Favore's secretary, a wonderfully realized, tough but openhearted black woman named Femal (her illiterate mother was confused by the birth certificate) adds abundant warmth to the tale. Further perspective on the grisly infighting is provided by Dick Baldane, an upright, uptight cop picking his dismayed way through police brutality and racism. Izzi hits the big time here. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo. (July)