When New York nightclub hostess Norah Dain starts receiving obscene phone calls from an unknown “admirer”, police detective Dave Madden gets involved and makes it personal as he investigates who is responsible, warning Norah it never usually stops at just dirty dialling. Norah meanwhile comes to suspect every man in her world, including body beautiful busboy Larry (Sal Mineo), deaf and apparently mute nightclub bouncer Carlo (a pre-Hill Street Blues Daniel J. Travanti) and ultimately the possibly not-so-good detective himself. Everyone in Who Killed Teddy Bear, including Norah’s boss Marian (Elaine Stritch), seems to be only a step away from their “seedy” secret. The mystery caller isn’t really the hook of this release however, as the culprit is pretty obvious from the start. No, it’s a film that is interesting and remarkable stuff for other reasons.
Made at a point in the mid-60s where the youth movie (dance scenes, real wild kids, but nothing too dangerous) was starting to take on influences from darker genre fare, Who Killed Teddy Bear is a fascinating film of two approaches. The first is a fairly traditional crime thriller that could just as easily have been made for television at the time. The second is notably sleazier, curling American neo-noir with the psycho-sexual influences the next decade’s thrillers would make their own and skirting seriously dark themes of misogyny and incest. It’s not entirely successful at either, but considering how rare a mix of the two is, it’s a never less than fascinating film. When it does work, it’s remarkable. The final scenes are powerful and challenging and still have a punch to them. Add in some scenes shot in a Times Square and 42nd Street that is now forever lost, and there’s plenty to recommend.
This new Blu-ray from Network debuts the film in its proper aspect ratio, uncut and restored to probably as good a condition as it will ever be possible, considering what they had to work with. Print damage is visible in a number of scenes, but nothing distracts too much. A lot of Joseph Cates’ direction is pretty basic, but when he finds inspiration and when the print is clear, it showcases Joseph Brun’s beautiful cinematography. We should be grateful to get this in the shape it’s in. For extras, there’s an episode of the television series Court Martial that featured the tragic Mineo, and a stills gallery. More exciting than either is a scratchy copy of a short film narrated by Mineo called LSD: Insight or Insanity?
Recommended for anyone who, just as with the characters here, likes a little walk on the wild side.
WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR / DIRECTOR: JOSEPH CATES / SCREENPLAY: ARNOLD DRAKE, LEON TOKATYAN / STARRING: SAL MINEO, ELAINE STRITCH, JAN MURRAY, JULIET PROWSE / CERT: 15 / RELEASE DATE: 17TH SEPTEMBER 2018
