It wouldn't be fair for me to rate this 1959 flick. On one hand, it has historical significance since it was one of the first movies denied release by American censors who found it forbidden fruit. On the other hand, as entertainment, I found the 79-minutes unfortunately too talky and boring to endorse. Hence, it doesn't seem fair to choose between the two poles.
The flick starts off well enough, at a filling station where two seedy drifters, Duke and Boots, look to fill their empty lives by pursuing a wealthy blonde for seduction purposes. Now that's a promising start, but from there on, except for the brief ending, the narrative flattens out into a basically one-note affair. After all, how long does it take wily Duke to infiltrate blonde Ann's hilltop mansion where she usually lives alone, her businessman husband out making money. Then too, it's a stretch that wealthy hubby would leave her alone without household help.
Thus, it appears budget constraints flatten the main storyline into a series of hilltop one-on-one talk-fests. Sure, Duke wants to insinuate himself into Ann's life by pretending to be a gardener. But needed suspense in his manuevers is sorely lacking. Still and all, the hilltop setting does furnish a good scenic view of greater LA that kept me watching.
All in all, it looks like the indie effort was a well-intended effort to escape the bonds of 50's studio productions held captive by a strict censorship code. But what might have been cutting edge then, seems banal now when much looser public standards prevail.
My advice: if you're looking for more than mainly talky flatlining, skip it. But if you're interested in former forbidden fruit grab it and bite.
The flick starts off well enough, at a filling station where two seedy drifters, Duke and Boots, look to fill their empty lives by pursuing a wealthy blonde for seduction purposes. Now that's a promising start, but from there on, except for the brief ending, the narrative flattens out into a basically one-note affair. After all, how long does it take wily Duke to infiltrate blonde Ann's hilltop mansion where she usually lives alone, her businessman husband out making money. Then too, it's a stretch that wealthy hubby would leave her alone without household help.
Thus, it appears budget constraints flatten the main storyline into a series of hilltop one-on-one talk-fests. Sure, Duke wants to insinuate himself into Ann's life by pretending to be a gardener. But needed suspense in his manuevers is sorely lacking. Still and all, the hilltop setting does furnish a good scenic view of greater LA that kept me watching.
All in all, it looks like the indie effort was a well-intended effort to escape the bonds of 50's studio productions held captive by a strict censorship code. But what might have been cutting edge then, seems banal now when much looser public standards prevail.
My advice: if you're looking for more than mainly talky flatlining, skip it. But if you're interested in former forbidden fruit grab it and bite.