Private Property

“Do you like grilled cheese sandwiches?” Released in 1960, Leslie Stevens’ bold and unusual Private Property is a perfect cinematic symbol of America’s rapid transition from the domestic conformity of the 1950’s to the social revolution of the baby boomers in the 1960’s. A crop of low-budget exploitation films had emerged at this crossroads, frequently featuring juvenile delinquents afflicted by boredom and nihilism, sometimes, as in this film, launching a direct attack on the status quo through home invasion or kidnapping. Private Property reserves most of its action and suspense for the final 15 minutes, but the slow boil of unpredictability is engrossing for the full running time, largely resting on the strong performances. Thuggish, handsome, and smart, a young man named Duke (Corey Allen) drifts into town with his insecure pal named Boots (Warren Oates) who, we’re led to believe, has never been with a woman. After a few episodes of troublemaking, the guys make the acquaintance of Ann Carlyle (Kate Manx), the sexy, discontented wife of an older businessman (Robert Wark) who frequently ignores her (“Roger, I’m ready for bed”), so Duke devises a scheme to apply his impressive seduction skills to loosen her up for Boots’ advantage. Naturally, this will not end well for anyone involved. (The homosexual friction between Duke and Boots becomes more and more palpable as the film goes on.) The intoxicated slow dance to the Ravelian music during which Duke slowly wears Ann down is a brilliantly shot emotional conflagration that leads naturally to violence and tragedy. The most notable noir talent attached to the film is cinematographer Ted D. McCord (Johnny Belinda, 1948; The Breaking Point, 1950; The Damned Don’t Cry, 1950) and it shows: extremely low angles, including from underwater; deep focus through a drinking glass; reflections of pool light on bedroom walls; and the film’s final frame shot at a Dutch angle, perhaps unique in all of noir.