The Immoral Mr Teas / Eve And The Handyman

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The Immoral Mr Teas (1959) Eve And The Handyman (1961)

(aka "Mr. Teas and His Playthings" )

directed by Russ Meyer
USA 1959

A landmark in American pornography. Russ Meyer's 1959 film was the first skin flick that didn't try to disguise itself as a sociological study of nudist camps or a warning against the dangers of VD. But its real subject isn't sex as much as the lack thereof: Mr. Teas is a downtrodden deliveryman whose sexual fantasies- he imagines every woman he sees in the nude- eventually turn on him. No touching, just looking; he's the ultimate victim of consumerized sex, lusting after the unattainable perfection of the centerfold girl. A remarkable little film, funny and wistful.

Excerpt of review from Dave Kehr located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: February 16th, 1963 (USA re-release)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Arrow Films (The Russ Meyer Collection) - Region 0 - PAL

DVD Box Cover

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Distribution

Arrow Films

Region 0 - PAL

Also available in the Russ Meyer Collection which includes 18 films!

Runtime

1:02:10

Video

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.80 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate

Audio

English (Dolby Digital 2.0)

Subtitles

None

Features

Release Information:
Studio: Arrow Films

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• Trailer Reel
• TV Spots

DVD Release Date: June 20th, 2005
Keep Case

Chapters 6

Comments

Aside from a now lost short called "The French Peep Show", the two films on this disc, "The Immoral Mr. Teas" and "Eve and the Handyman" were Russ Meyer's first two films. Both fall into the "nudie cutie" category of films that included other lighthearted fare from the era, like Doris Wishman's nudist films (despite the moniker, "Eve and the Handyman" only has a couple of instances of distant female nudity). Both films were clearly shot on shoe string budgets and featured friends and family of Meyers in the leads (his Army buddy Bill Teas played the titular character in the first film, and his then wife Eve Meyers was the Eve of the second). While not without their charms, both films were rough approximations of the more mature and advanced sex comedies that would mark the tail end of Meyer's career. As such, they are of interest, though not particularly sexy or funny. The women are beautiful, but the jokes fairly stale.

Unfortunately the image on this disc, and indeed all of the films included in Arrow's Russ Meyer Collection, can only be described as a disappointment. The image is incredibly soft and carries low levels of contrast and clarity. The image also contains very distracting ghosting that occurs during almost any movement, no matter how fast it is. Finally, the image is also interlaced. Even when my computer ran interlacing correcting programs, the combing was readily apparent. When they were turned off, horizontal movements looked like they do in the seventh capture on both films.

The sound on this release was just fine, with the Dolby Digital 2.0 sounding clear and about as good as the tracks come. Unfortunately there are no subtitles on the release.

The only extras included are a trailer reel and a series of TV spots that are found on a number of the releases in this collection.
Given the poor image quality and lackluster nature of these freshman efforts, I'd recommend staying clear of this release unless you're a Meyer completist. If you have the boxset, then they're worth a whirl, otherwise pass on this subpar release.

- The Immoral Mr. Teas

DVD Menus

Screen Captures

Heavy Combing and Ghosting

directed by Russ Meyer
USA 1961

["Eve and the Handyman"] begins in the form of a film noir (albeit, a sunny one), its opening sequence comprising a series of canted-angle shots of Eve Meyer (Russ’ buxom wife), dressed in a fedora and trenchcoat. These shots are accompanied by a hard-boiled voiceover narration, delivered by Eve, detailing in oblique, yet suggestive terms what she’s doing: “I’m a big girl in a big town with a big job.” Just what this job is we don’t know, but it entails following “the Handyman,” a nebbish character in overalls, as he undergoes a succession of increasingly risqué situations, usually starring Eve Meyer – somewhat confusingly – as other large-breasted characters, as Eve herself (in fedora, etc.) observes and narrates from the sidelines. These situations – which range from childish to puerile to puzzling – amount to almost nothing but what Eve describes as a process of learning to “out-smart” the Handyman to beat him in some kind of game or competition to which we have not yet been made privy. “I was the one gal who might be able to handle him,” she croons smokily, “in a desperate race against time."

Excerpt of review from Leo Goldsmith located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: May 5th, 1961

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Arrow Films (The Russ Meyer Collection) - Region 0 - PAL

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Arrow Films Region 0 - PAL
Runtime	1:04:46
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.80 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Arrow Films Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Trailer Reel • TV Spots DVD Release Date: Foldout Keepcase in a Cardboard Case Chapters 6