L'immorale Mr. Teas

This film is the first non-pornographic movie to feature gratuitous nudity with intended normal theater distribution. Before 'The Immoral Mr. Teas' (1959), the only way to film nudity was to create a 'nature documentary' or to be labeled 'pornographic' (which prevented distribution and was illegal in most places). For 'Mr. Teas', Russ Meyer softened both the nature and the pornographic aspects, combined them, and made a film that was approved for regular theater distribution. If you have ever enjoyed a sex scene in a film, or seeing your favorite actress or actor naked, then you owe a debt of gratitude to Russ Meyer and the creation of this film.

There is no sound track or dialog, so the narrator reads from an encyclopedia and makes bad puns over bad music. This isn't a perfect film, but it's fun for an hour and the ladies are beautiful. For the first 30 minutes, there really isn't any nudity, and I was starting to get irritated. The narrator began discussing the 'frustrations' that can occur from such things, and I began to understand the point of the movie. Don't let the silliness fool you - this is a smart film.

So, don't come in expecting 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998), and you will have a good time. Great for date night with 'the right girl'... wink, wink...

RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 0.5/1 (There really isn't much acting); Casting - 1/1; Directing - 1/1; Story - 1/1; Writing/Screenplay - 0/1 (There is no dialog.);

Total Base Score = 3.5

Modifiers (+ or -): Music Score/Soundtrack: -0.5 (it's funny narration, but it's irritating without a sound track);

Gratuitous Female Nudity: +1 (This is the O.G. of female nudity...);

Cultural Significance: +1 (Pioneer of nudity in film);

Total RealReview Rating: 5

This is Russ Meyer's first venture into stimulating pleasantly adult films… For 1959, it was a big sensation… By today's standards, however, it is quite dull... It is a difficult film to rate because it is so delightful and adorable, but the story is almost nonexistent and certainly dated…

The story is about a dirty-minded voyeur... Through the course of a day, he sees a number of good-looking, big breasted ladies, and tries to attract them for long periods of time... On the weekend, he goes to the beach where he comes across a photographer and a topless model…

Russ Meyer was very careful not to place his characters in sexual situations, but concentrated on rousing the audience… Mr. Teas finds himself with a nude female analyst, for example, but does not try to seduce her…

Such tease was a matter of the film's survival... For the very moment nudity turned into a sexual encounter, it would have certainly been censored

Russ Meyer's debut feature film caused a sensation on original release. It was incredibly risqué for its time and pushed the boundaries of what was permissible. What Meyer basically did with this film was to introduce breasts to the big screen. And for this at the very least many of us should be eternally grateful. Up until this point nudity was very scarce at the cinema, and when it did show up it usually consisted of people playing volleyball in nudist colonies. This movie brought in a much more overt eroticism to the mix. Needless to say, it made an absolute mint at the box office. Clearly these were more innocent times and The Immoral Mr. Teas isn't at all shocking now. Its nudity is really in fact somewhat charming. But historical context is everything in understanding the importance of this movie. And the fact is that this film was groundbreaking.

Unfortunately, it isn't an awful lot of fun to watch now. Its plot is simple – a man discovers that he can see women naked as the side effect of some medication he is given at the dentists. It's basically an excuse to see boobs. But the movie in actual fact is a drag as a result primarily of the lack of synchronized sound and awful endlessly repeated music. There is a narrator who just talks drivel quite frankly. He sounded strangely like Criswell the TV astrologist and star of a couple of Ed Wood flicks. Even Meyer's photography – normally a guaranteed strong point – is below average.

For me Meyer only became a good film-maker from Lorna onwards. Although it's a term I virtually never use, the early nudie-cuties are just a bit dated to really carry much impact. This one has historical importance for sure but it didn't do much for me otherwise unfortunately.

This is Russ Meyer's debut 1959 feature, a nudie movie typical of similar films of the time.

For the brief 61 minutes running time, Mr. Teas wanders about his daily business as a dental supplies salesman, ogling improbably-dressed (for the time) receptionists, dental assistants and waitresses without a care that he might get caught (he never does). Amusingly, he usually does this with his pushbike at his side and his clipboard in his hand. Occasionally, he daydreams of more erotic situations where the girls are completely nude (but never seen full frontal of course, this is the fifties). These fantasies begin and end with an overlaid multicoloured swirl and a boingy sound effect.

Seemingly though, he never wants to do more than look and pull silly faces. There is no sex here, Teas never gets to touch any of these girls, undoubtedly due to the limitations of what could be shown in a releasable film of the time. The women pose and undress but do nothing more racy than that.

The pace is very sedate, nothing happens for five minutes at a time, we just see Teas riding his bike or getting the bus. Meyer fans used to the highly pneumatic girls in his later films might find the rather more conventionally-shaped women here disappointing, but they are generally reasonably good looking.

The direction sometimes exhibits Meyer's trademarks, rapid cuts, cleavage close-ups and tilted angles, but is far more conventional than his later work. There is no dialogue here, just a voiceover that pops up from time to time to explain a few extraneous details.

Overall, this is a sweet, meandering movie, a bit like a Jacques Tati film but with less jokes and frequent nudity. The humour comes in patches, sometimes it is intentional, sometimes not. Seeing Teas spying on an undressing lady virtually right in front of her eyes provides some daft laughs.

Watch out for Meyer himself as a patron in a burlesque club, and June Wilkinson in a role which requires nothing more of her to be seen than her naked breasts at a window.

6/10.

Yep, my review has nothing to do with the gorgeous blonde swimming in the dirty surf ( due to the tide and sand, not pollution) or the fact that most of the film is about a guy on his bike delivering false teeth to dentists, or the gorgeous women of assorted facial features and builds...all a bonus. But mind you, this is PG 13 material in this film and harmless and quaint. No sexual situations, or any interaction physically. The reason this movie stands out, is the photography, Eastman Color...wow...these locations are awesome. Now if you have the chance to watch this movie on Ultra HD calibrated it gives you a personal and real feeling of LA and Brentwood before the glut. Many films of the day featured downtown LA, or the wonderful exotic parks. Rarely do we get a chance to see the rest of Cali, the places where people lived, caught the bus, and did their everyday living. The nice thing is as Mr. Teas rides around on his bike, we get a very exact time capsule of Cali, 1959. And for that, I say sit back and enjoy this afternoon break where the beautiful women are the icing, but not the cake..the location is.