Duke (Corey Allen) and Boots (Warren Oates), two young thugs, hold up a California gas-station owner. Duke, virile and savage, taunts the slower and psychologically-confused Boots because he has never made a sexual conquest.
This film came about due to press agent Stanley Colbert, who hoped to move Leslie Stevens from Broadway (where he was a playwright) to Hollywood. Along the way, Colbert introduced Sevens to Kate Manx, and they were soon wed. The three combined birthed Daystar Productions, and with it, "Private Property".
The hiring of the camera crew happened by accident, and was fortuitous; the picture looks great. Colbert hired a nobody, Conrad Hall. And Hall brought with him a minor legend: Ted McCord, a veteran of "East of Eden" and "Treasure of Sierra Madre", as well as scores of others. Hall today is better known than McCord, as he went on to great things over the next three decades -- not only as a regular under Stevens on "Outer Limits", but as the cinematographer for such classics as "Cool Hand Luke" and "American Beauty".
How long has this film been buried? Apparently it had become largely lost and forgotten because it couldn't get a production seal in America. Today, the film is tame, but apparently not then. Making a profit in Europe before disappearing, in 2016 it was recovered and given the proper Blu-ray treatment. If nothing else, it deserves this for the names involved: Leslie Stevens (creator of "The Outer Limits"), Corey Allen ("Rebel Without a Cause" and Warren Oates ("Dillinger"). These three men had only just begun in 1960, but were each soon giants in their own way.
But it also stands on its own as an interesting crime film. Part home invasion story, part "Without Warning", and part "Of Mice and Men", it is hard to categorize. Not quite film noir, but still something different. It almost evokes the feeling of a BBS film, something independent that might have been more at home in the 1970s. Coupled with strong performances from the three leads, it is worth tracking down. There is an unusual exchange between Manx and Allen when he reveals that he has been squatting next door that has to be seen to be believed, it is so hypnotic.
The Blu-ray's greatest feature is the film itself, but it also has some highly informative liner notes and an 18-minute interview with photographer Alexander Singer. Singer covers a wide range of topics, from his time on Kubrick's "Killer's Kiss", to the more technical explanations of "softening" the lens and how it has been accomplished over the years.
