The Immoral Mr. Teas

The Immoral Mr. Teas
Theatrical poster to The Immoral Mr. Teas
Directed by	Russ Meyer
Produced by	Peter A. DeCenzie
Starring	Bill Teas Ann Peters
Music by	Edward J. Lakso
Cinematography	Russ Meyer
Editing by	Russ Meyer John F. Link Sr. (uncredited)
Release date(s)	1959
Running time	63 minutes
Country	USA

The Immoral Mr. Teas (1959) is the first commercially successful film of director Russ Meyer.

Etymology

The name "Teas" is a homophone of the word tease, and one of the meanings of "tease" includes to sexually excite another person by subtle means, usually explicitly avoiding advancement to more potentially consequential erotic situations. The title character is played by Meyer's army buddy, Bill Teas, whose homophonic name Meyer exploits.

Background

Before this film was released, the only moving pictures exhibiting extensive nudity were either underground (covertly produced and distributed) pornographic films, typically distributed "under the counter" in 16 mm black and white movies, or naturist pictures, openly displayed in specialized movie theaters, usually under the cover of exhibiting the fun and freedom of nudism in naturist reserves (nudist camps).

A breakthrough

The Immoral Mr. Teas was the first American "above ground" movie since the pre-Code early sound era to show female nudity without the pretext of naturism. It is considered to be the first commercially viable American "skin flick" and popularized the nudie cutie genre.

The movie consists of a series of short scenes. In a sense, no one is actually naked; the only nudity seen is through the viewpoint and vivid imagination of Mr. Teas. Mr. Teas' mental constructions extend beyond the nudity (always exclusively of female characters)—there is an underlying surrealism in Mr. Teas' imagination that results in a number of genuinely bizarre situations.

A typical scene

Mr. Teas attends an appointment with his dentist, who must perform an extraction of a molar. Naturally, the dentist has an assistant—a stunningly beautiful and not-quite modestly dressed assistant. The application of analgesics appropriate to the procedure quickly releases Mr. Teas' fertile imagination, and we see the scene through this viewpoint. Rather than the typical equipment–cluttered dental office we are on a set—only a dentist, a dental chair, Mr. Teas, and the assistant are present—against a stark and simple background. Only now the assistant is completely nude. As the procedure is completed the dentist removes the molar from Mr. Teas' mouth—but rather than only a small object in the extraction pliers the molar has the appearance of a single large staghorn (deer antler) with a number of points. The body of the "molar" is white, while each tip (representing the roots of the molar) is colored a bloody red. Mr. Teas has paid a price for his lustful imagination.

External links

• The Immoral Mr. Teas at the Internet Movie Database
• The Immoral Mr. Teas at AllRovi