he can call me anytime
who killed teddy bear? (1965)
a nearly naked headless torso stalks the frame. white briefs clinging on for dear life. a thin, athletic figure moves under cheap lighting. the camera doesn't just film him, it flirts. every pan and focus pull. it's foreplay. the lens tracing flesh the way a lover would. i watch. complicit. wanting to look away but need another frame. his pleasure comes through a phone line. obscene and trembling. mine, through film. voyeur watching voyeur.
sal mineo is the culprit. a gay icon disguised as a straight man. later, he appears in swimwear that leaves little to wonder about. a curve. a bulge that announces itself. juliet prowse's character watches him with a hunger she can't name. i do too. we're mirrors. both transfixed, both guilty. he can call me anytime. meet me under the disco lights after hours. we'd dance like the film never ended.