Private Lessons
Directed by Alan MyersonAn 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.
- Rob MacKinnonApril 16, 2026Holy cow. Firstly, let me say that I am shocked that my mother let me and my friends rent and watch this movie. This was during the time when we had to rent the movies AND the player. I think we got the player and 3 or 4 movies for the weekend. I’m sure she had no idea what it was about. I remember that Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman) was in it, but I had no memory of the blackmail plot. As a 13 or 14 year old boy, my mind was focused on the other aspects of the story. That being said, apart from the obvious inappropriateness of the central relationship, this is otherwise a kind of charming coming of age story. And the soundtrack! I’m guessing a full half of the budget was spent on the needle drops. Amazing. Ed Begley, Jr. - hilarious as tennis instructor turned fake cop. Later, we rented Private School and Risky Business, also with no complaints from mom.
Private Lessons Trivia
Private Lessons was released on May 1, 1981.
Private Lessons was directed by Alan Myerson.
Private Lessons has a runtime of 87m.
Private Lessons was produced by R. Ben Efraim.
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.
The key characters in Private Lessons are Mallow (Sylvia Kristel), Lester (Howard Hesseman), Philly (Eric Brown).
Private Lessons is rated R.
Private Lessons is a Comedy, Romance film.
Private Lessons has an audience rating of 3.2 out of 10.
Private Lessons had a budget of $2.8M.
Private Lessons has made $26.3M at the box office.