Customer Reviews

The Immoral Mr. Teas / Eve and the Handyman ( Mr. Teas and His Playthings ) ( Steam Heat ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - United Kingdom ]

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3 star:		(2)
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I had seen this movie in the mid 1960's and was glad to be able to purchase and watch this film recently. The DVD quality is very good and the movie is funny,as well as sexy. I recommend buying it.

The Immoral Mr. Teas from 1959, is an amusing comedy about a cheeky, imaginative common man of the late 1950's named Mr. Teas. The film is narrated and follows Mr. Teas in common daily situations such as going to the dentist or going to the beach, fishing, etc. In most of these situations he displays a lively imagination in regards to the women he sees. In other words he is your typical fellow, noticing many cute women in public and their noticeable assets, then we see his imaginative, imprudent spin on what he sees or like to see, such as exaggerated cleavages, busts, imagining women close to naked, or seeing women in fanciable, quirky situations. It's apparent that Mr. Teas is just a lonely man and wants to find a sexy lady of his own. This film has no speaking in it besides the narrator, who does a pretty fine job. 4 stars for The Immoral Mr. Teas

Eve & The Handyman, from 1961, isn't even close to as good as Mr. Teas. It just isn't that likable or funny. It was boring to be honest. The film follows a similar premise as Mr. Teas, though it is more nonsensical and less likable. The handyman character isn't at all entertaining. He maintains the boring nature of this film with blank stares and little charm, though the attractive Eve Meyer who is also seen throughout the film, gives the film its only visual asset. On the other hand, her narrating is annoying and nonsensical. The film tries to be comical, but it fails to be clever or funny. 2 stars for Eve & The Handyman

These not-so-nudie nudies are early Russ Meyer and are interesting in context of his greater body work rather than as films in their own right.

"The Immoral Mr Teas" and "Eve and the Handyman" are cheeky and amusing though a little tedious despite their short running time and they are tame sex-wise.

However, viewing these films today we can see how the Meyer we love evolved as one of the most interesting filmmakers of the 1960s. These films are virtually silent. They rely on narration and sight gags. While a little corny, the narration is generally witty. The use of narration was to become a mainstay of Meyer's work and was at it's hilarious best in "Beneath the Valley of the Ultra Vixens". Not to mention his brilliant commentary on trailers for his own films.

"Mondo Topless" used lots of shots of tape recorders to emphasise its reliance on narration - an interesting approach Russ later returned to in the underrated "Pandora Peaks" which really was a return to the style of "Mr Teas" and "Eve" but with more graphic nudity.

Russ's humour in his early films is primitive, but again, in the fullness of time we see how he developed his humour into something original and insightful though without taking himself too seriously.

The early films are worth watching to see the development of Russ Meyer the artist.