Private Property (Leslie Stevens, 1960)

Once thought lost, Private Property—presented here in a new restoration—is a major rediscovery for noir and crime film fans. Peerless character actor Warren Oates (in his first great performance) and the underrated Corey Allen (James Dean’s hot-rod rival in Rebel Without a Cause) play two drifters who wander into the impeccable Beverly Hills home of a unhappy housewife (played by Kate Manx, the wife of writer, director, and Outer Limits creator Leslie Stevens, who also filmed the movie in his own home). Like a hardboiled novel by American pulp writer Jim Thompson, this thriller is rife with sexual tension and savage critiques of the American dream. (79 mins., DCP)