Private Lessons (1981)

Director:

Alan Myerson

Writers:

Dan Greenburg (novel)
Dan Greenburg (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 August 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

When EMANUELLE's Sylvia Kristel is your teacher the bedroom is the classroom [DVD Australia]

Plot:

An immigrant housemaid seduces a 15-year-old boy and later fakes her own death as part of his chauffeur's blackmail plot. Troubles arise when the two start to fall in love.

Plot Keywords:

Blackmail | Chauffeur | Housemaid | Sex | Love

Cast

Sylvia Kristel	...	Nicole Mallow
Howard Hesseman	...	Lester Lewis
Eric Brown	...	Phillip Fillmore
Meridith Baer	...	Miss Phipps
Pamela Jean Bryant	...	Joyce (as Pamela Bryant)
Peter Elbling	...	Waiter
Patrick Piccininni	...	Sherman
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Jack Travis
Ron Foster	...	Mr. Fillmore
Dan Barrows	...	Green, The Gardener
Dan Greenburg	...	Hotel Owner
Marian Gibson	...	Florence
Judy Helden	...	Miss Kristel's Double
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Linda M. Bass	...	Woman in movie theater audience (uncredited)
David Lee Rawlings	...	Lover boy (uncredited)

Directed by
Alan Myerson

Writing credits
Dan Greenburg		(novel "Philly")
Dan Greenburg		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jack Barry	....	executive producer
Steven Bassin	....	co-executive producer
R. Ben Efraim	....	producer
Dan Enright	....	executive producer
Irving Oshman	....	co-executive producer
Maurie M. Suess	....	associate producer (as Maurie Suess)

Original Music by
Willie Nile

Cinematography by
Jan de Bont

Film Editing by
Fred A. Chulack		(as Fred Chulack)

Casting by
Erica Enright

Art Direction by
Linda Pearl

Makeup Department
Yvonne Curry	....	makeup artist
Gigi Williams	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Maurie M. Suess	....	unit production manager (as Maurie Suess)
Tony Wade	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Beau Marks	....	first assistant director
Stephen Sassen	....	second assistant director (as Steve Sassen)
Russell Vreeland	....	first assistant director
Tony Wade	....	second unit director

Art Department
Kathleen Hughes	....	property master
Kevin Hughes	....	assistant property master

Sound Department
Andy Babbish	....	sound
Gordon L. Day	....	re-recording mixer
Michael Hilkene	....	sound editor
Mel Metcalfe	....	re-recording mixer
Russ Tinsley	....	sound editor
Stan Wetzel	....	re-recording mixer

Stunts
Judy Helden	....	stunt double: Sylvia Kristel

Camera and Electrical Department
Frank Byers	....	gaffer
Kenneth J. Jones	....	key grip (as Ken Jones)
Michael Paris	....	still photographer
Mark Wade	....	director of photography: second unit
Arledge Armenaki	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Lynn Kressel	....	casting: New York

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Linda M. Bass	....	wardrobe (as Linda Bass)

Music Department
Robert Fawcett	....	music editor

Other crew
Margaret Goldsmith	....	production assistant
Robert Jellen	....	insurance provider (as Bob Jellen)
Coby Turner	....	continuity
James Fargo	....	director: additional scenes (uncredited)
Alicia Rivera Frankl	....	production executive (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Barry & Enright Productions
• Jensen Farley Pictures

Distributors

• Citadel Films (1981) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Jensen Farley Pictures (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Echo Film Services  sound editing
• Glen Glenn Sound Company  rerecorded at (as Glen Glenn Sound)
• Lynn Kressel Casting  casting: New York
• Film Producers Warehouse  location services & extra casting
• Cinemobile System  locations equipment by (as Cinemobile Systems)
• Albert G. Ruben and Company  insurance provided by (as Albert G. Ruben & Company, Inc.)
• Dick Brooks Unlimited  publicity
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)  titles & opticals
• Phoenix Film Office  special thanks (uncredited)

Also Known As:

"Lecciones privadas" - Mexico (imdb display title), Peru (imdb display title)
"Devoirs de vacances" - Canada (French title) (imdb display title)
"Hamos!... sto krevvati mou" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Kylvetäänkö yhdessä, neiti Mallow?" - Finland
"La primera lección" - Spain
"Lezioni maliziose" - Italy
"Lições Privadas" - Portugal (imdb display title)
"Magánórák" - Hungary
"Primera lección" - Mexico (imdb display title)
"Uma Professora Muito Especial" - Brazil
"Zärtlich fängt die Liebe an" - West Germany

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:(Banned) (original rating) | Australia:R (cut) | Australia:R (2006 re-rating) (uncut) | Norway:16 | New Zealand:(Banned) | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | UK:18 (cut) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Barry & Enright Productions

Trivia:

While most of the movie was filmed in the Pheonix, Arizona area the production had to cross the border into New Mexico to film the love scenes as the age of consent in Arizona is 18 and in New Mexico it is 16.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After Nicole tells Philly to close the door to her room but before she sits down on the bed, a crew member can be seen pulling something out of the way beyond the door.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)

Soundtrack:

Doc

Private Lessons (1981) ***

When a rich man leaves town for a business trip, he leaves his young 15-year-old son Philly (Eric Brown) at home in the care of his sexy foreign housemaid, Miss Mallow (Sylvia Kristel) and their sniveling chauffeur Lester (Howard Hesseman - 'Johnny Fever' of WKRP IN CINCINNATI). Like many red-blooded teenage boys, Philly and his young buddy Sherman are looking for cheap thrills by spying on sun bathing girls and dreaming of sex. What a surprise Philly's in for when Miss Mallow catches him watching her undress from outside the window one night and then invites him inside to get the best view. Soon, the maid is seducing the boy, and Philly begins to experience every adolescent male's fantasy - scoring with an older woman. The problem is, Miss Mallow and her partner Lester have other plans in store for this aspiring Casanova.

I first saw this unusually risqué teenage comedy/sex fantasy back in 1981 when I was 19, which was considerably older than the 15-year-old character is. But the dream was still something I could relate to, and when I saw that a DVD release was coming out I decided to revisit it and see how it stood up, so to speak, after 25 years. Turns out it's still fun, and Eric Brown is humorous as he stammers while trying to contain his excitement at seeing Sylvia Kristel (and her body double in some shots) naked. Kristel was popular doing this type of film in Europe, so it was interesting to see her in an American production doing something that would never be allowed at your local cineplex today. Not only are some of her sequences sensual, but there are a fair amount of laughs, some of them courtesy of Philly's pudgy know-it-all friend Sherman, and also from Howard Hesseman who has some funny moments being pushed around and humiliated by Ed Begley Jr! As is the case with many early '80s teen comedies, the soundtrack is pretty good too, and features music from Rod Stewart, Air Supply and John Cougar, among others.

The most easily obtainable version of this film I would guess is now the 2006 Lions Gate DVD, but purists should be warned that a couple of quick lower frontal nudity shots have been obscured on this release by an annoying white dot. Well, it's not like this is great art, and the movie doesn't really suffer from the brief obliteration. Besides, this was a forgotten cult classic of sorts and hard to locate for so long that it's just good to be able to view it again. I know some people get uptight about this daring film, especially in these days, but relax. It's just a fun little movie, if not a great one, and sometimes even has a little bit of charm to it as well. And it's nothing that many average teenage boys aren't thinking about already.