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Who Killed Teddy Bear
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| Year: |
1965
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Director: |
Joseph Cates
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| Stars: |
Sal Mineo, Juliet Prowse, Jan Murray, Elaine Stritch, Margot Bennett, Daniel J. Travanti, Diane Moore, Frank Campanella, Bruce Glover, Tom Aldredge, Rex Everhart, Alex Fisher, Stanley Beck, Casey Townsend
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| Genre: |
Thriller |
| Rating: |
  6 (from 1 vote) |
| Review: |
Norah Dain (Juliet Prowse) works at a New York City discotheque, putting the records on for the dancers, but this evening she is perturbed after an early morning telephone call from a pervert. She hopes it's just a random occurence and she is not being targetted, unaware that she can be seen from her apartment window by hidden eyes. Tonight there is some trouble at the disco: after a customer tries to pick her up with increasing determination, one of the bouncers throws him out, but the man pulls a knife on him, which ends up in the would-be assassin's chest. Norah has to go to the police to be interviewed, and meets someone who might help her...
But even those who can help Juliet have their own agenda in this surprisingly seedy, for 1965, thriller, which took advantage of the loosening censorship to explore the mind of a sexual psychopath. Maybe too much advantage, as the film was banned in the United Kingdom for its lurid subject matter, and being a low budget movie it didn't have any big studio clout to ensure it would enjoy a wide release. For the first half of the story it all plays as a mystery, sort of a whodunnit about identifying someone who might not have dunnit yet, but could snap at any time, which is what happens. Writers Arnold Drake and Leon Totakyan certainly wallowed in the sleaze, which can leave the viewer uneasy even today.
Director Joseph Cates (father of film star Phoebe Cates) shovels on the atmosphere to crushing effect, an oppressive style that makes Who Killed Teddy Bear hard to derive much pleasure from. The man who Norah meets at the cop chop is Lieutenant Dave Madden (stand up comedian Jan Murray in a curious straight role), who is far more interested in her unwanted phone calls than the stabbing. Madden fancies himself as a criminal psychologist, and we see he has a wealth of material on the subject that it's implied his young daughter might be growing affected by. His wife is nowhere to be seen, and we find out why soon enough: this is not work he is studying for, it's something more personal.
Indeed, when Madden comes over to make sure Norah is all right after she finds someone has broken into her apartment and left a teddy bear with its head almost cut off in there, she begins to suspect that his interest might be masking something less salubrious. He is the main suspect until the second half where we find out the reason he's obsessed with deviant sexuality (which he tries to have too-casual conversations about at the drop of a hat), and then the film turns to concentrate on the true culprit. If you notice the opening credits and see that Sal Mineo is top-billed, then wonder why he only has about two short scenes in the initial half, then all your questions will be answered in time.
Mineo's Lawrence Sherman works as a busboy at the discotheque and he becomes very important to the plot later on. Actually the film begins with a short sequence of a little girl spying on a couple, then fleeing in fright, falling down the stairs as a result. We discover presently that this is Lawrence's sister Edie (Margot Bennett), who has been brain damaged because of that accident, and now he has to look after her, ashamed of the constant reminder that he is responsible for her retardation. A troubled soul, the filmmakers cannot make up their mind whether they want him to be sympathetic or villainous, settling for switching between both in a bumpy fashion. There's also Elaine Stritch as poor Norah's boss, who thinks she can take advantage of her sexually too, which must make Norah wonder how she attracts these unsuitable people, but it doesn't end well for anybody in this depressing and tawdry, yet oddly compelling suspense drama. Music by Charles Callelo.
[Who Killed Teddy Bear is released on Blu-ray by Network with the following special features:
Trailer
Court Martial episode
LSD: Insight or Insanity? (a vintage short narrated by Mineo)
Stills gallery
PDF material.]
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| Reviewer: |
Graeme Clark
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