Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965)

A busboy at a disco has sexual problems related to events in his childhood. He becomes obsessed with a disc jockey at the club, leading to obscene phone calls, voyeurism, trips to the porn ... See full summary »

Director:

Joseph Cates

Writers:

Arnold Drake (screenplay), Arnold Drake (story),

Stars:

Sal Mineo, Juliet Prowse, Jan Murray

Cast

Cast overview:
Sal Mineo	...	Lawrence Sherman
Juliet Prowse	...	Norah Dain
Jan Murray	...	Lt. Dave Madden
Elaine Stritch	...	Marian Freeman
Margot Bennett	...	Edie Sherman
Daniel J. Travanti	...	Carlo (as Dan Travanty)
Diane Moore	...	Pam Madden
Frank Campanella
Bruce Glover
Tom Aldredge	...	Adler
Rex Everhart	...	Rude Customer
Alex Fisher
Stanley Beck
Casey Townsend	...	Ms. Nielsen

Storyline

A busboy at a disco has sexual problems related to events in his childhood. He becomes obsessed with a disc jockey at the club, leading to obscene phone calls, voyeurism, trips to the porn shop and adult movie palace, and more! A police detective is similarly obsessed with sexual materials, leading him to become personally involved in the case.

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Plot Keywords:

disco | police | detective | voyeurism | busboy | 

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Taglines:

Why with everybody else - why with every slob ... and not with me?

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Il sadico

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Goofs

During the first scene set at the discotheque, Juliet Prowse puts on a new record after we see the crowd dancing to the first song. However, minutes later, we see the crowd dancing to the first song again.

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Connections

References Love on a Pillow (1962)

User Reviews

A Masterpiece of Sleaze!

This film is truly a work of art of the highest magnitude and no, I am not kidding. Shot in glorious, high-contrast black-and-white, it reeks of exploitation from the note of the cheesy theme song all the way through the strobe-cut ending and every horn-blaring, high-heeling, hip-grinding moment in between. Sal Mineo plays a busboy obsessed with aspiring actress/club DJ Juliet Prowse (and Prowse is at her foxiest in this one, with her pencil skirts, kitten heels and cat eyes), coming off like a perverted puppy dog.

The obscene phone call bits--all heavy breathing, bulging tighty whiteys and sweat--will make you want to leave the theatre and take a shower. Or, if that isn't nasty enough for you, how about the scene with bulldyke Elaine Stritch fondling Prowse's fur (so to speak), or the retarded kid sister locked in the closet or the policeman obsessively playing audio tapes of various twisted criminal's confessions as his daughter listens wide-eyed from the other side of the door? Or how about the "twist lesson" that brings the film to it's climax (no pun intended)? Another asset of this great piece of cinema are its New York City location shots, especially when Mineo goes walking the city at night, looking for filth in scenes that must've influenced "Taxi Driver" (also love the W.S. Burroughs titles in the window of the "dirty bookshop"). I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. It's not available on video (Curses!), so if it's ever screened at the theater or on TV in your area, be there.