Who Killed Teddy Bear?
Reviews
Cinema_Snobb
A very bold movie for 1965 that has today become a cult classic. Like a lot of these social films they are dated, but to me that is part of what makes them often times great. If I watch a film made in 1965, I want it to reflect the time it was made, not today. "Who Killed Teddy Bear" was one of the first U.S. films to be at the head of the new, changing cinema values of the 1960's. The subject matter was difficult for mainstream audiences. Rape, incest, lesbianism, sexual addiction were just some of the topics touched on in the picture directed by Joseph Cates. A young waitress (Juliet Prowse) at a cool New York City disco is being stalked. She has been receiving threatening phone calls and is scared. The police, headed by Jan Murray, have little leads. The film argues that everyone has some kind of sexual perversion. Some people are just better at covering it up. Though not a hit at the time, it seems very influential. Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" is very similar with its bleak view of a rotting New York and the freaks that roam the streets. Scorsese's version of "Cape Fear" has several shots that are familiar. I think even Quentin Tarantino borrowed heavily with his dance number between John Travolta and Uma Thurman in "Pulp Fiction." It is very reminiscent of the sexual tension between Juliet Prowse and Sal Mineo when she tries to teach him to dance. It does start out a bit rocky, but gathers steam as it goes. There are some great performances, especially from Sal Mineo and Elaine Stritch. The film is mostly lost today, but hopefully its cult status will help it come back to life on DVD and Blue-Ray soon.
CinemaSerf
There's something quite untypically erotic about the opening scenes of this film as the scantily clad "Larry" (Sal Mineo) telephones a woman and talks suggestively to her. Though not explicit by current standards, this whole film take quite an honest approach to the issues faced by "Norah" (Juliet Prowse) as she becomes more and more frustrated by this stranger who becomes more daring. She reports it to the police and they assign "Lt. Madden" (Jan Murray) to the case. It's clear quite quickly that he has some skin in the game here - but can she trust even him? When her stalker starts to bother her at work, her boss "Marian" (Elaine Stritch) tries to comfort her but will any of that stop what would appear to be the inevitable - an assault? This is quite a cleverly crafted game of sexually charged cat and mouse with the casting delivering quite enthrallingly as the story develops. Even though we always know who the pervert is, we are still not sure how the story will pan out and if he is the only man out to torment "Norah". The ending is a bit disappointing. It doesn't really do justice to the build up, but Prowse delivers her fearful character well and Mineo imbues his predatory persona with a sort of boyish vulnerability that can be quite disturbing to watch at times. It's quite a potent ninety minutes of cinema that I think was well ahead of it's time.
Movie Recommendation
Blue2024-01-17Set in the Southwest of England, within a small, quaint fishing town. two fishermen, John Winter and his son Charlie, struggle to make a living on their small commercial fishing boat. Their relationship is tested and they must both overcome challenges in different ways.More...
Heartbeat Detector2007-09-12A psychologist discovers troubling links between Nazism and modern-day big business.More...
Challengers2024-04-18Tennis player turned coach Tashi has taken her husband, Art, and transformed him into a world-famous Major champion. To jolt him out of his recent losing streak, she signs him up for a "Challenger" event — close to the lowest level of pro tournament — where he finds himself standing across the net from his former best friend and Tashi's former boyfriend.More...
Exhuma2024-02-22After tracing the origin of a disturbing supernatural affliction to a wealthy family's ancestral gravesite, a team of paranormal experts relocates the remains—and soon discovers what happens to those who dare to mess with the wrong grave.More...
As2023-01-01Three years after the death of her beloved child, Elouise, Mara still feels her presence when she sits on the butterfly bedding in front of the jar with her ashes in it. Mara arranges a twelfth birthday party for Elouise, further alienating her from her husband, Richter, and remaining daughter, Hannah. Although Mara eventually vacates Elouise's room at the insistence of her husband, she does find a way to stay close to Elouise. Before long, however, Hannah discovers her mother's secret.More...
Dune: Part Two2024-02-27Follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.More...
Jim's Story2024-08-14Aymeric runs into Florence, a former coworker, one evening in Saint-Claude in the Haut-Jura. She is six months pregnant and single. When she gives birth to Jim, Aymeric is there. They spend happy years together until Christophe, Jim's biological father, shows up... It could be the start of a melodrama, it's also the start of an odyssey into fatherhood.More...
Vermiglio2024-09-19Set in the small, mountainous village of Vermiglio during the waning days of WWII, a series of dramatic, consequential events unfold after the arrival of a taciturn Sicilian soldier, who hides out in town after deserting the army. While there, the soldier develops a romance with a provincial family’s eldest daughter.More...
National Family2023-12-28Don Poli, the patriarch of a family embedded in politics, faces the change of party in his state - after a hundred years in power - losing all his privileges. Humiliated and angry, he threatens to disinherit his family and leave to rebuild his life. This forces his children (Kippy, Ramses and Belén) to take extreme measures to ensure their future, causing everything that could go wrong to turn out worse.More...
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire2024-03-27Following their explosive showdown, Godzilla and Kong must reunite against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own.More...
Alien: Romulus2024-08-13While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.More...
Not Without My Shrink2024-12-11A successful psychoanalyst's life is turned upside down by a very anxious and extremely clingy patient who starts dating his daughter.More...
Past Lives2023-06-02After decades apart, childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung are reunited in New York for one fateful weekend as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.More...
Ruthless2023-12-14A high school coach, whose teenage daughter was murdered, takes matters into his own hands by going after the men who kidnap his students for their sex trafficking operation.More...
Out of Darkness2024-02-09In the Old Stone Age, a disparate gang of early humans band together in search of a new land. But when they suspect a malevolent, mystical, being is hunting them down, the clan are forced to confront a danger they never envisaged.More...
Tatami2024-03-08Iranian female judokas Leila and her coach Maryam, travel to the Judo World Championship, intent on bringing home Iran’s first gold medal. Midway through the Judo World Championships, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state. With her own and her family’s freedom at stake, Leila is faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach Maryam implores her to do, or fight on, for the gold.More...
The Hawk2023-10-25Criminals control Mexico and wrestling is now illegal. A retired fighter and a policewoman join forces to stop the perfidious criminal who has kidnapped her son.More...
Time Still Turns the Pages2023-11-16High school teacher Cheng looks back to his repressed childhood memories, as he finds an anonymous suicide note in the classroom. He strives hard to prevent another tragedy from happening, meanwhile facing a series of family problems, his wife is divorcing him, and his father is dying.More...
Wolfs2024-09-20Hired to cover up a high-profile crime, a fixer soon finds his night spiralling out of control when he's forced to work with an unexpected counterpart.More...
Malum2023-03-31A rookie police officer willingly takes the last shift at a newly decommissioned police station in an attempt to uncover the mysterious connection between her father's death and a vicious cult.More...
Similar Movies
The King of Comedy
1982-12-18Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin attempts to achieve success in show business by stalking his idol, a late night talk-show host who craves his own privacy.Live Flesh
1997-10-10When Victor attempts to seduce Elena, all he gets for his trouble is a one-way, six-year ticket to prison, where he concentrates on strengthening his mind, his body... and his desire for vengeance on the man who put him there. After his release and still madly in love with her, Victor will stop at nothing to win her over even if means revenge, for Elena has married David, the cop who sent him to prison!Strange Days
1995-10-13Former policeman Lenny Nero has moved into a more lucrative trade: the illegal sale of virtual reality-like recordings that allow users to experience the emotions and past experiences of others. While they typically contain tawdry incidents, Nero is shocked when he receives one showing a murder.The Apartment
1960-06-21Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.The Celebration
1998-06-19The family of a wealthy businessman gather to celebrate his 60th birthday. During the course of the party, his eldest son presents a speech that reveals a devastating secret that turns the night into a battle of truth and denial.Once Upon a Time in A...
1984-05-23A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.Grbavica: The Land of...
2006-03-01A woman and her daughter struggle to make their way through the aftermath of the Balkan war.Monsieur Ibrahim
2003-09-17Paris, 1960s. Momo, a resolute and independent Jewish teenager who lives with his father, a sullen and depressed man, in a working-class neighborhood, develops a close friendship with Monsieur Ibrahim, an elderly Muslim who owns a small grocery store.Night on Earth
1991-12-12A quintet of cabbies in five cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.Eyes Wide Shut
1999-07-16After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.The Devil Wears Prada...
2006-06-29Andy moves to New York to work in the fashion industry. Her boss is extremely demanding, cruel and won't let her succeed if she doesn't fit into the high class elegant look of their magazine.Inside Man
2006-03-17When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.Capote
2005-09-30A biopic of writer Truman Capote and his assignment for The New Yorker to write the non-fiction book "In Cold Blood".Asian School Girls
2014-04-15Kidnapped by a Los Angeles crime syndicate, a group of schoolgirls must fight and seduce their way to vengeance after one of them committed suicide, teaching the criminals a lesson in kicking butt and taking names.Psycho
1960-06-22When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.Transamerica
2005-02-14A transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.The Horse Whisperer
1998-02-01The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.Rashomon
1950-08-26Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.Basquiat
1996-08-09The brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.Dogville
2003-05-21A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.