"Who Killed Teddy Bear?": Incel Rage in Jockey Shorts

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A remake could fuse homophobia with incel rage to produce a more psychologically coherent thriller.

  • Country: United States

  • Genre: Psychological thriller

  • Director: Joseph Cates

  • Cast: Sal Mineo, Juliet Prowse, Jan Murray, Elaine Stritch

SAL MINEO and Juliet Prowse IN WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR? (1965). Photo COURTESY OF DREAM WALKING PICTURES AND VINEGAR SYNDROME.

Clinical Overview

After moving to New York, aspiring actress Norah finds a sublet, a job as a DJ, and a stalker. Could those breathy phone calls be coming from mild-mannered Lawrence, the bus boy devoted to his developmentally delayed sister?

Diagnosis

The convoluted plot makes it hard to understand what’s happening—and why we should care.

Prescription

Lawrence is an incel—make him effeminate too. Norah laughs off his advances. She thinks of him as “one of the girls.” The only woman coming on to him is his sister, which turns him on but drives him crazy. He kills to “prove he’s a man.”