Teaserama (1955)
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| Umbrella Entertainment (Australia). Region 2 & 4 NTSC. 4:3. English DD 1.0. 66 minutes |
| The Movie |
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| Credits |
Director: Irving Klaw
Starring: Bettie Page,
Tempest Storm, Cherrie Knight, Trudy Wayne, Chris
LaChri , Twinnie Wallen
Country: USA |
The history of burlesque performance is an interesting
one. Originating in the mid 19th century, burlesque
was a form of comedy that focused on mocking normal
social graces. It received a reputation as being
crass from the upper class, as they were the ones
the comedy usually mocked. Burlesque was known mainly
for its dance routines and bawdy humour; as time
wore on it streamlined until it became a combination
of dancing girls in very, very small outfits, and
stand up comedy. Burlesque was the entertainment
that sat somewhere between vaudeville and striptease,
which was the eventual reason for its demise…why
go a see a sexy girl dancing in little clothing
when you can see a sexy girl dancing in her birthday
suit? Teaserama was the second
feature by Irving Klaw, who was best known for his
cheesecake and B and D photography, which he sold
through his mail order business, and which very
rarely featured nudity. Bettie (or Betty) Page was
probably one of, if not THE most popular subject
photographed by Klaw, and she features extensively
in this feature: it is obvious that Tempest Storm
is the featured star, but almost all the acts are
introduced by Bettie Page, in the role of a boxing
ring styled 'card girl'.
There is no storyline to Teaserama. Teaserama is a collection of burlesque
performances and stand up comedy that feature no
nudity, and no swearing. Sure some of the jokes
lean on the edge of double entendre, but you would
be hard to find anyone who would find any of this
offensive. This is a cinematic gem that features
performances by people who, like Marilyn Monroe
and Elvis Presley, have become iconic. A warning
though: if you are buying this disc for titillation,
these girls are fuller figured, natural women, not
the stick insect styled supermodel types that are
filled with so much silicon they qualify as computer
hardware that Playboy and Penthouse feature within
their pages these days. Remember, Monroe was a size
12, and she is regularly described as the sexiest
woman in history. It stars some of the big names
of burlesque, including Tempest Storm, Cherrie Knight,
Trudy Wayne and others, not to mention the comedy
stylings of Joe E. Ross and Dave Starr, and a little
of female impersonator Vicki Lynn.
One thing that Teaserama proved
was that Klaw had certainly made note of any of
the faults of his first feature Varietease,
and had improved his style to make a more sleek
production. He had obviously discovered that he
could utilize the features of cinema, especially
by removing the MC that was a regular in his Varietease,
and replacing him with the silent, and much easier
on the eye Ms Page, not to mention ditching some
of the completely ridiculous acts, like the scatting
be-bopper. The wonderful thing about this piece
is to see Betty Page in action. We have all seen
the image of her, be it from her fan magazine The
Betty Pages, or from the many pieces of memorabilia
that Dark Horse Comics produce featuring her image,
or through the pages of Dave Steven's (Brinke's
ex) wonderful comic The Rocketeer,
so seeing her in motion, for fans, is a treat. It
is clear that Bettie Page is being promoted as the
star of this feature by Umbrella Entertainment's
cover blurb of 'The Notorious Bettie Page
stars in…' considering 'The Notorious
Bettie Page' is the name of the biopic about
her. |
| Video |
| The image on this disc is dreadful!! It has more
artefacts than an archeological dig, but the fact
that this print is taken from the Something Weird
release means that it is business as usual: no cleaning
up of the image! Also due to the costumes they wear,
being so covered in sequins and frills, there is
a fair bit of aliasing as well. |
| Audio |
| Considering its age, the 2.0 Dolby Digital soundtrack
has survived quite nicely. It suffers at times,
and you will too when you hear the music!! |
| Extra Features |
The commentary on this disc is done by Mike
from Something Weird Video, who is basically interviewing
exploitation legend, David F. Freidman. His knowledge
of the entire burlesque scene is astounding and
if you have even the slightest interest in Ms
Page or Ms Storm, or in burlesque in general you
will find this commentary a wealth of information.
Also included on this disc are trailers for Teaserama (2 minutes 20 seconds) and Varietease (1 minute 50 seconds).
As a bonus there is a Bettie Page scene from Striporama (3 minutes 17 seconds) and another one from Teaser
Girls in High Heels (7 minutes 41 seconds).
There are also other Umbrella trailers: The
Girl Can't Help It, Rock
Rock Rock! and Va Va Voom! |
| The Verdict |
| This is an odd feature really only of interest
for it kitsch value. A bit of fun with a little
bit of sauce, Teaserama is the
quintessential movie for fans of burlesque. It is
a real shame it has not been treated with a little
respect and the image cleaned up.
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