By Zack Sharf
March 21, 2016

The noir hails from Orson Welles protégé Leslie Stevens.

Cinelicious Pics has announced plans to distribute a new 4k restoration of the long-lost 1960’s noir “Private Property.” The movie is directed by Leslie Stevens and stars American character actor Warren Oates in his first significant screen role. The 4k restoration will have its world premiere at the 7th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival, which runs from April 28-May 1 in Hollywood.

The official synopsis reads: “‘Private Property’ begins as two homicidal Southern California drifters wander off the beach and into the seemingly-perfect Beverly Hills home of an unhappy housewife. Shimmering with sexual tension and lensed in stunning black and white by master cameraman Ted McCord, ‘Private Property’ is both an eerie, neo-Hitchcockian thriller and a savage critique of the hollowness of the Playboy-era American Dream.”

“I was completely bowled over by the film,” said David Marriott, Cinelicious Pics’ Director of Acquisitions, in an official statement. “A sort of hothouse late-period film noir, ‘Private Property’ is deeply bizarre and incredibly compelling. Considering the talent involved – director Stevens, cameraman Ted McCord, actor Warren Oates – it’s very rare to rediscover a completely lost crime film like this.”

“We’re thrilled to be showcasing a discovery of this caliber at the TCM Classic Film Festival,” added Charles Tabesh, senior vice president of programming for Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “Our mission at TCM is to bring audiences great classic films and to help them discover unknown classics, such as ‘Private Property.'”

The film had a very brief theatrical release in the 1960’s but has been lost ever since. The title joins other Cinelicious restorations, including “Belladonna of Sadness.”