{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Teaserama | image = Teaserama poster 01.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Irving Klaw | producer = Irving Klaw | writer = | narrator = | starring = | music = | cinematography = Michael Slifka | editing = Lester Orlebeck | distributor = Beautiful Productions | released = {{film date|1955}} | runtime = 70 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }} thumb|Bettie Page in ''Teaserama'' thumb|Joe E. Ross with Dave Starr in ''Teaserama''
'''''Teaserama''''' is a 1955 American low-budget sexploitation film directed by Irving Klaw. It follows the performance of a burlesque show. The film stars Bettie Page, Tempest Storm, Chris La Chris, Twinnie Wallen, Trudy Wayne, Vicki Lynn, and Cherry Knight.
==Plot== ''Teaserama'' is presented as a documentary film, with all actors and actresses playing themselves. It opens with Bettie Page assisting Tempest Storm with her brassiere. Afterwards, when the show begins, Page introduces the acts by showing placards with the names of the acts.
Stripteases are provided by Tempest Storm, Chris La Chris, Twinnie Wallen, Trudy Wayne, Vicki Lynn, and Cherry Knight. Burlesque comedy is provided by Joe E. Ross and Dave Starr.{{sfn|Nesteroff|2011}}{{sfn|Web|2016}}
==Production== The film was directed by Irving Klaw, who was known for producing bondage photographs for distribution through the mail.{{sfn|Schaefer|1999|p=317}} Redheaded burlesque dancer Tempest Storm was cast for the leading role.{{sfn|Gibron|2006}}
Playboy Playmate of 1955 Bettie Page, whom Klaw had previously directed,{{sfn|Schaefer|1999|p=317}} was cast as a second-tier dancer. Page, who had previously appeared in ''Striporama'' (1953) and ''Varietease'' (1954), performed three dance routines, including one alongside star Tempest Storm. ''Teaserama'' was the last mainstream film in which Page had a major role.{{sfn|Gibron|2006}}
Vicki Lynn, who had also previously appeared in ''Varietease'', appeared in drag in the film. According to film historian Eric Schaefer, Lynn's performance in ''Teaserama'' was presented with "the same degree of sensuality and tease as the strips by women" and as "erotic to heterosexual men". He considers the number a form of "gender sabotage" against the prevailing sexual norms of the time.{{sfn|Schaefer|1999|p=319}}
According to ''Variety'', the film was produced almost entirely without props. The majority occurs on inlaid linoleum with yard equipment visible in the background, although some sofas make an appearance.{{sfn|Schaefer|1999|p=56}} It was shot in Eastman Color.{{sfn|Schaefer|1999|p=317}} The film features little nudity.{{sfn|Pratt|2004|p=1207}}
==Release and reception== ===Release=== ''Teaserama'' was released in 1955. In Lorain, Ohio, the film was subjected to municipal censorship where it was ruled "obscene and condemned for destruction."{{sfn|Freibert|2018}} It has since been reissued several times. In 1993, it was released as a video cassette, introducing the 1950s-era burlesque dancers to a new audience.{{sfn|Baldwin|2004|p=19}}
In 2006, ''Teaserama'' was re-released together with ''Varietease'' as a double feature DVD by Something Weird Video under the title ''Bettie Page in Varietease and Teaserama''.{{sfn|Gibron|2006}} Something Weird commissioned an artist to draw new promotional illustrations of Page for the double feature, and Page sued Something Weird, alleging that the distributor violated a California statute regarding the use of another’s likeness in advertising materials and also the common law right of publicity.{{sfn|Goldstein|1996|p=59}} A federal judge dismissed Page's claim, ruling the distributor was within their First Amendment protections.{{sfn|Freibert|2018}}
===Reception=== Bill Gibron of DVD Talk wrote that one of the special features on the DVD, a two-hour interview with sexploitation film director David F. Friedman about the history of the genre, was "far more fascinating" than the films.{{sfn|Gibron|2006}} Alessandra Schade from ''Village Voice'' opined that it was a "sleaze-chic burlesque movie ... dazzling all the budding Quentin Tarantinos of the video-store age."{{sfn|Schade|2022}}
Sacha Molitorisz of the ''Sydney Morning Herald'', commented that "it's a fun memento of an extinct artform; through 2006 eyes, it's an oxymoron: innocent exploitation; it's also perfect for any '50s-themed soiree."{{sfn|Molitorisz|2006|p=14}} Film critic Kevin Thomas observed that "Page is awkward before a movie camera, a figure of perky innocence who dances clumsily."{{sfn|Thomas|1995|p=2}}
==See also== {{Portal|1950s|Film|LGBTQ}} * Striptease *Irving Klaw filmography *List of American films of 1955 *List of LGBTQ-related films of the 1950s * Burlesque
==References== ===Footnotes=== {{reflist}}
===Bibliography=== {{refbegin|30em}} *{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LkmhFPTc_W8C |title=Burlesque and the New Bump-n-Grind |last=Baldwin |first=Michelle |publisher=Speck Press |year=2004 |location=Denver |isbn=978-0-9725776-2-5 }} *{{cite journal |last1=Freibert |first1=Finley |title=From AIDS-era Queer Icon to Sanitized Nostalgic Property: The Cultural Histories of Bettie Page Merchandise Circulation |journal=Film Criticism |date=November 14, 2018 |volume=42 |issue=2 |doi=10.3998/fc.13761232.0042.203 |doi-access=free|hdl=2027/spo.13761232.0042.203 |hdl-access=free }} *{{cite web |url = http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/20473/bettie-page-in-varietease-and-teaserama/ |title = Bettie Page in Varietease and Teaserama |last = Gibron |first = Bill |work = DVD Talk |access-date = February 28, 2012 |date = March 7, 2006 |archive-date = March 4, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061241/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/20473/bettie-page-in-varietease-and-teaserama/ |url-status = dead }} *{{cite magazine |last1=Goldstein |first1=Seth |title=Nostalgic Icon Faces Something Weird |magazine=Billboard Magazine |date=September 21, 1996 |volume=108 |issue=38 |page=59}} *{{cite web |last1=Nesteroff |first1=Kliph |author1-link=Kliph Nesteroff |date=January 30, 2011 |title=King of Slobs: The Life of Joe E. Ross |url=https://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2011/01/king-of-slobs.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202155419/https://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2011/01/king-of-slobs.html |archive-date=February 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |website=WFMU |access-date=August 4, 2024}} *{{cite news |last1=Molitorisz |first1=Sacha |title=DVD Review |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=July 8, 2006 |page=14}} *{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxmg-LuBTWIC |title=Doug Pratt's DVD : Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More! |last=Pratt |first=Douglas |publisher=Harbor Electronic Pub. |year=2004 |location=New York |isbn=978-1-932916-00-3 }} *{{cite news |last1=Schade |first1=Alessandra |title=Burlesque in Crisis: Hanging On By a G-String |work=Village Voice |date=September 30, 2022}} *{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CSBZqe0zPaMC&q=same+degree+of+sensuality+and+tease+as+strips+by+the+women&pg=PA319 |title=Bold! Daring! Shocking! True! : A History of Exploitation Films, 1919-1959 |last=Schaefer |first=Eric |publisher=Duke University Press |year=1999 |location=Durham |isbn=978-0-8223-2353-2 }} *{{cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=Kevin |author1-link=Kevin Thomas (film critic) |title=LACMA Adds Star Is Born, Sweethearts to Series |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 2, 1995 |page=2}} *{{cite web |last=Web |first=Jim G. |title=Dave Starr - Nearer The Bone The Sweeter The Meat - 1962 |date= September 26, 2016 |url=http://www.vs-uc.com/2016/09/dave-starr-nearer-bone-sweeter-meat-1962.html |website=Vintage Stand-up Comedy |access-date=August 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322223826/http://www.vs-uc.com/2016/09/dave-starr-nearer-bone-sweeter-meat-1962.html |archive-date=March 22, 2019}} {{refend}}
==External links== {{commons category|Teaserama}} * {{AFI film | id= 53758 | title= Teaserama}} * {{TCMDb title | id= 556880| title= Teaserama| description= (1955)}} *{{IMDb title|id=0048700|title=Teaserama}} *{{Internet Archive film|id=Teaserama|name=Teaserama}} * {{Internet Archive|id=TeaseramaPressBookIrvingKlawTeoliA.C.1|name=Irving Klaw. ''Teaserama'' Press Book}}
{{Bettie Page}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teaserama}} Category:1955 films Category:American sexploitation films Category:Films about striptease Category:1955 English-language films Category:1955 American films Category:Films about burlesque Category:American drag (entertainment)-related films Category:Cross-dressing in American films Category:1950s LGBTQ-related films Category:Articles containing video clips Category:1950s exploitation films Category:American dance films Category:1950s dance films