User reviews

Though the quality of the movie speaks for itself. Most may not know the restaurant scenes were filmed in our family restaurant "Martin's Restaurant" on 5th Avenue next to WHTN TV in Huntington. The family eatery was a favorite for students from Marshall University just ten blocks down the street.

My Father John Martin was the owner and was originally asked to play the part of "Marty" in the movie. We had scheduled a family vacation during the time of the filming, so he was not able to take that part.

It's no accident that they selected our restaurant as the landlord was WHTN TV and Clark Davis was the general manager at the time.

INTERESTING NOTE: If you look closely at one of the first scenes where several of the teens are sitting in a booth, in the background you will a picture of my father "Johnny Martin" hanging on the wall. My brother George Martin and I still have that picture. Hard to believe I was 14 and he was 12 when the picture was released. We're of course now 68 & 66 living in Frisco, Texas with our families.

My father passed away many years ago and I don't believe he ever got to see the movie. I know he always took pride in his restaurant and the food he served. Truly a "family" restaurant with home-cooked food and portions that could feed two people, something my mother Georgia always complained about. Lots of great memories! Hope this review adds a bit nostalgia for those of us that remember those good old days!

YIPES STRIPES!

That song rocks. Apparently the only thing that does in this movie. Definitely not your standard high budget horror film, but after seeing it a few times, it's kampy cheesy effect does shine through!

No actors come to mind here. The 20 and 30 yr olds...I MEAN, good old fashioned teenagers are puzzled by heinous stranglings in town. Is it a a teenager who strangles or someone who strangles teenagers? This will haunt your mind as the show goes on. There's a bad boy gang railing against contemporary social mores. Either that or they're big Hoya fans clad in leather jackets. Heavy teen petting occurs in the oddest of back alleyways in the shady part of town. Our teen gang is deep in a whodunnit. And then, there's Mikey. Man, the ONLY character that I can recall from his incessant whining! His panic attacks and tear filled lines about some bike. Major pity factor with this one. For laughs, check out the wannabe drag race.

Ah, "Yipes Stripes". Who can forget this classic top 20 song? It's catchy beat makes your hips shake, hop up on diner counters, and swing till you're groovy! Watch how the girl lip syncing....uh, I mean SINGING the song. She really looks like she can't wait for happy hour! The guy behind the counter steals any scene he's in.

"And he didn't steal no bike neither!"

Yes, this movie stands on its own campy merits. I first saw it some 15 years or more before MST3K got their sticky robot paws on it (and made it even more hilarious). I am originally from Huntington, WV, where the movie was filmed, although I was only 4 years old when "Yipe Stripes" jammed the AM stations. Most of the cast were locals, many playing roles that they held in real life.

I saw this one as part of an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 as I am sure many people did. The film kind of combines a murder mystery with those teenage rebel films as we get the obligatory random and in this case horrible song, we get a drag race and gangs and we get a killer on the loose! Granted, it is a bit telegraphed as to the identity of the killer as I was pretty sure who it was the moment he first appeared on the screen. Thus, rendering the murder mystery portion of the film almost moot. We get cops talking, we get fights in the local soda shop and we get Mikey, a brother who will do what it takes to clear the name of Jimmy and who kind of breaks down a lot for a guy. The run time on this film had to be incredibly short as the episode of MST3K that it was on featured a short that lasted through the entire first section of the movie time. I am pretty sure this one most likely did not have to get cut due to anything too risqué within as it looked like a pretty standard film for the times and in the 60's 'standard' usually means no nudity and graphic kills are few and far between.

The story has a killer on the loose, strangling young women, hence the title Teenage Strangler. Of course, one of the women killed is most definitely not a teenage so the other title fits the bill better. Not sure why that older one was killed, but my guess is that it would make more sense in a straight cut of the movie. Well, the police are going around and badgering parents and interrupting the Yipes Stripes song so they can find and stop this killer! Jimmy gets the blame initially and his strange, overly emotionally brother will do anything he can to clear his brother's name including going to the police station to tell the police that Jimmy didn't steal no bike, which really isn't relevant to the whole strangling case, but that is how Mikey rolls! Jimmy runs afoul of his gang members and they must race; meanwhile, the strangler takes out a couple of other girls and that one girl who is kill boyfriend really takes it in stride.

This made for a rather funny episode of MST3K as Mikey is such a wonderfully absurd character for the gang to make fun of. You take him out of the movie and it is still an okay episode, but with him in it just wow. Literally the guy is chewing the scenery any time he is on the screen.

So, in the end, a movie that is kind of a combination teen rebel film and murder mystery where there is not much mystery because you have to be rather dense not to figure out who the real killer is. Thankfully, we only get the one song, but we get its tune played throughout the film as they really did not put much effort into the music in this film only playing the one song or bars of it throughout the film. However, in the end a pretty bad but harmless film that probably would have completely disappeared from the face of the earth if it had not been riffed by MST3K.

The murders in this schlocky, mistitled movie seem merely peripheral to the real action, which is all the singing, dancing, flirting, and fighting at a local teen hangout. It is hardly surprising, then, that the filmmakers include a songwriter of two tunes featured in the adolescent action. Though the settings are realistic--since actual locations were utilized--no one succeeded in finding a competent director or cast. Bill Bloom, however, as Jimmy, somehow struggles through the mire of an inane script to show some skills as an actor. Most of the players range from wooden to overwrought, so that the movie does emerge with some worth as an unintentional farce.

This one has a sorry 2.3 rating, as of today on imdb. A teen with a rough history is the natural suspect when the bodies start piling up. And it's so good, it's featured on Mystery Science Theater, season six. The cops are questioning Betty, who was out pretty late last night. Her boyfriend Jimmy seems to be the number one suspect. A funny scene where a chick dances to music in a lunch counter. An early references to the beatles and other groups. Acting, directing, production are all terrible. Should only be watched on MST3K! Directed by ben parker. The last film he directed. Had done a mix of short films and full length. Story by clark davis. This seems to be his one hollywood project.

By the looks of this film, some folks in Huntington, West Virginia collected about $100 and decided to make a movie....seriously. The acting is terrible, the direction poor and the only thing about the movie that isn't terrible is the story idea...though the script and dialog were apparently written by weasels...real, honest to goodness weasels!

The story is about a serial killer who strangles women with nylons and draws on their foreheads with lipstick. It's pretty weird stuff and the police think a local gang member must have done it. In particular, suspicion seems to focus on Jimmy.

The gang members mostly look to be in their 20s and 30s...typical of most teen gone wild pictures. The film features some of the worst acting I've seen in some time, though the story has a few elements keep it from being dull.

It almost seems like a satire of teen delinquent movies. However, it takes itself just seriously enough to be even funnier. What's really hilarious is what passes for "delinquent." The tough malt shop gangsters are readily intimidated by, and most respectful to, the police. Some even express concern about their parent's anger if they're out too late. The big drag race is at about 15mph and the only casualty is the retardo "little brother" (he actually appears to be a teenage cretin)and his bicycle being run off the road, causing him to cry hysterically---- though not as hysterically as the viewer will be laughing. The "Little Old Lady From Pasadena" would sure blow the doors off this crowd. The teenage chicks victimized by the psycho look like high mileage 35 year olds of the time, and most of the guys seem to be around 30 or so, some complete with receding hairlines.

Most people will find this film quite a bore, but fans of low budget sleazy trash will enjoy it quite a bit.

This campy whodunit is an example of the fun that was the 1960s. There's a distinct "Manos: The Hands of Fate" flavor to the film as we have a shrill, overacting female lead, a creepy Torgo-esquire janitor, an authoritarian cop, a jaunty soundtrack that never fails to entertain, various shots of teens necking, and plenty of Southern accents to go around. Some of the scenes are superfluous (such as just about any scene with the character Curly), yet there is little denying that overall the film is quite enjoyable. Perhaps most fun of all, though, is the unforgettable character of Mikey. He's the androgynous, whiny teen that you just can't help but love. I give the movie a score of 6/10, and the MST3K version a 9/10.

This campy chunk is a real gut punch of a movie. It was much better a few years earlier when it was Ed Wood's "The Sinister Urge."

TEENAGE STRANGLER opens with a female victim found with a stocking around her neck, and a big X scrawled on her forehead in lipstick. The police are stumped. This all takes place in a small town where everyone speaks VERY LOUDLY! Sometimes, they yell, as if they're afraid that viewers might be falling asleep.

Who is the killer? Could it be some crazed stocking / lipstick salesman?

Meanwhile, a twist-o-thon erupts at the local diner. The mega-hit song, "Yipes Stripes" explodes, battering our eardrums, already ringing from the bellowing townsfolk!

We're introduced to Jimmy, his whiney brother, Mikey, and Jimmy's girlfriend, Betty. The killings continue, unabated.

BURNING QUESTIONS: #1- Could Jimmy be the stocking stalker? #2- Could Mikey possibly be more of a fist magnet? #3- Will the killer never run out of lipstick? #4- Who supplies him with stockings? A local cartel? Hmmm.

P. S.- Be sure to stick around, as Betty gets down with the rest of the 27 year old "kids" at the diner, for a twist-tastic hootenanny...

I wish to say that "Teen-Age Strangler" was slightly better than most of the movies shown on "Mystery Science Theater 3000", just because of that song "Yipe Stripes"; you gotta admit, it was a cool song. But other than that, every scene with the sniveling younger brother drags the movie down; I mean, what was that guy's problem?! So, as a mildly different take on the leather jacket genre, it deserves to get seen on "MST3K" to get the optimal experience. Aside from Mamie Eisenhower, other famous people cited by Mike (or was it Joel?) and the 'bots are Vivian Vance and Danny Thomas. And I will say that some of those girls are quite hot!

Hysterical. I don't know what they thought they were doing, but its fun to watch. Never saw such "interesting" acting in my life!

I feel bad for not giving this a lower score seeing as how it has such a low rating. The movie is about well, a strangler of teenagers and how he, well, strangles them. The biggest fault with this movie is that there's almost no screen time at all devoted to building up the suspense of the killer appearing. We get this dumb subplot about two brothers who feel guilty about stealing or borrowing a bike or they used to be thieves or something like that. I guess the movie was just trying to capture the youth at this time. The credits said 1965, but according to this website, it was 1964.

Who cares? They probably didn't even bother to get the date right! Even for a short movie, it seems to have a lot of padding. Most of these stories don't go anywhere. I guess I will give it a little credit for trying to be realistic. Of course, I didn't grow up at this time. It is kind of amusing to see some of these obnoxious characters and realize how our standards have changed. *1/2

I saw this first on MST3K and then on video and I actually liked the movie on its own! Sure, most of the acting is laughable, especially little Mikey, but the music is great, there is some suspense, and a shower scene! This one might be hard to find, but it is pretty good and fun to watch on a bad day!

Yes, it's amateurish, but this movie is also a lot of fun. It's a teen-age gang movie and a strangler movie all in one package. And "Yipes Stripes," the film's big musical production number, will stick in your head for days. It probably cost about $500 to make this movie but don't worry, they got every dollar on the screen. The violence is more implied than shown, and while there's not a lot of action, the story moves fairly quickly. Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 may remember their take on this picture, but it's entertaining even without Mike and the robots. Somehow there's a sweetness to this movie, and for fans of trashy movies, this is a must-see.

Like many others, I saw this on MST3K (albeit a long time ago). It was hilarious, and I'm sure it's pretty funny on it's own, too. The plot has something to do with a teenage strangler, a new kid with a bad rep, his bike-stealing mongoloid younger brother, and a malt shop sock hop. What I remember most is the movie being so colourful that it was just pretty to look at despite what happened on screen, and of course the memorable acting of young Mikey, who was related to the director in some way to earn his role. Features the "hit" single "Yipe Stripes" and a cheat ending.

Yep, Teenage Strangler richly deserves the undivided attention of MST3K. I've found that with almost every MST3K episode, there are 2 or 3 specific 'scenes' that remain in the brain - getting better and funnier. Teenage Strangler has one of them ... as what'shername is lipsynching, sorry, belting out "Yipe stripes...mumble mumble mumble...Yipe stripes... something else...Yipe stripes...." Mike and the bots blast out "SIEG HEIL". Difficult not to laugh out loud when randomly thinking about it at "very, very important meetings". So trust me - check out MST3Ks take on Teenage Stranger, Giant Gila Monster ("I sing whenever I sing...."), Giant Spider Invasion ("Hello dear - have a good day at the WH*RE?"), This Island Earth ("Normal view... normal view, nor-mal viewwwwwwwwww"). Awesome. Strangler (as done by MST3K) gets 8/10, simply because I DIDN'T STEAL NO BIKE, EITHER!

If the fans of MST3K, such as me, can ever get together and create an MST3K Hall Of Fame, this movie might be inducted in as a charter member in the film category. John Humphries definitely will be inducted as a charter member in the actors category, along with such luminaries as Joe Don Baker, Ross Hagen, John Agar and...the guy...you know, the one who played Torgo.

Humphries made only one MST3K appearance, but it was a great one, playing a character so annoying that you're just begging the other characters to give him a swirley or rub his face in crunchy underwear.

Fortunately, Humphries seems to have a sense of humor and reality, as he didn't foolishly follow other MST3K actors into years of horrible films, thinking he'd eventually get his big break.