ThiefHott Too much of everything

Lawbolisted Powerful

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

MARIO GAUCI According to the IMDb, apart from the delightful Jack Conway-Clark Gable-Myrna Loy screwball comedy from 1938, there are 5 more movies that go by the name of TOO HOT TO HANDLE. The film under review (retitled PLAYGIRL AFTER DARK in the U.S.) is the would-be steamy noir-ish Jayne Mansfield vehicle made in Britain and co-starring actors who normally are above this sort of thing – Leo Genn, Carl Boehm and Christopher Lee – but which decidedly help in raising it above the rut of contemporaneous quota-quickie gangland thrillers; indeed, Patrick Holt – whom I recently watched in a film from that very ilk, SERENA (1962) – even plays the Police Inspector here! The American "Blonde Bombshell" plays Midnight Franklin, the star attraction of a Soho strip club called "The Pink Flamingo"; suave Genn is her boss whom he affectionately calls "12 O'Clock" and she has feelings for; Boehm (in his second British film) plays an inquisitive journalist reporting on the sordid London nightlife – typically he falls for one of the girls but, surprisingly, it is not the leading lady but gloomy Danik Patisson; and Lee is Novak, Genn's double-faced right-hand man/MC. Another well-known figure (pun intended) that is featured further down in the cast list but whose violent demise plays a pivotal role in the film's climax with respect to the major characters' fate is future "Carry On" star Barbara Windsor.Indeed, the film's unhappy ending – in which most characters show their true (and uglier) colours – is its real trump card…more so than the much-touted "hot" numbers of Miss Mansfield; speaking of which, unfortunately, not only is the print I watched shorn of colour (which is how it is widely available today – probably a disservice to the great Otto Heller's original lensing – and which, arguably, also enhances its ties with the aforementioned sub-genre)…but her two songs are bereft of sound, too!! Luckily enough, the sequences are intact – if still just as monochromatic and chaste – when looked up individually on "You Tube" (which is where I came across the film in the first place) and, apparently, TOO HOT TO HANDLE is available in colour on a German DVD. Incidentally, while the film may have been intended as a dramatic showcase for its shapely star, she had fared much better in Paul Wendkos' debut, the superior noir THE BURGLAR (1957), which I have caught up with just the other day; besides, while it may seem odd that a film originally shot in colour would "exist" solely in a black-and-white print, this is the 10th such instance I have come across in my film collection alone

ferbs54 A perfect example of a film whose sum is far less than its parts, "Too Hot to Handle" (1960) proved to be a real letdown for me. On paper, the film would seem to have a lot going for it: Jayne Mansfield playing a stripper in a seedy London club; a moustachioed Christopher Lee as the club's manager, who is plotting against the owner/boss (Leo Genn) with the rival strip club owner across the street; Carl Boehm (so memorable in that same year's "Peeping Tom") as a French reporter doing a story on the club; AND direction by Terence Young, who in the next five years would go on to helm three out of the first four Bond films. Unfortunately, it doesn't work, although the multiple plot threads (rival strip joints, Jayne's infatuation with her boss, an underage dancer) keep things spinning along. Jayne does get to perform two sexy and amusing musical numbers, and acts decently enough, but even her assets aren't enough to float this picture. (In truth, she looks pretty matronly during most of the film.) Part of the problem, for me, is the level of tawdry sleaziness on display, with repeated shots of Brit businessmen ogling at the dancers, who have only stripped down to their skivvies. (No nudity at this club, it seems.) Worse for me was the quality of the DVD itself that I just watched. It would seem that the source for this DVD was a crummy 16mm print, and with lousy sound. Heavy British accents PLUS lousy sound make for an exasperating and difficult cinematic experience. (Potential viewers should also be aware that, despite the Maltin book's claim that this is a color film, it is in truth black & white.) Perhaps if the DVD had looked and sounded a bit better, I might have enjoyed the film more, sleazy and cheesy as it is. But I still wouldn't have thought it was, um, too hot.

bensonmum2 What a shocker! Who knew that Jayne Mansfield could actually pull off a role that required some real acting? No, she's no threat to knock Ingrid Bergman off of anyone's top actress list, but she's surprisingly good in Too Hot to Handle. It's quite a change of pace from her roles that I'm more familiar with. Mansfield is definitely much more than the blond sex-kitten I had thought.The other "names" in the cast are Leo Genn and Christopher Lee. Genn is his usual solid self. In fact, I can't remember seeing Genn in anything where he wasn't solid. It's a shame this man isn't better known by the general public. Being something of a Christopher Lee completist, Lee is the reason I wanted to see Too Hot to Handle in the first place. But other than introducing a few dancers, he really doesn't do much.As for the movie, it's a total melodrama with one cliché after the next. It may be listed as "Crime" on IMDb, but the crime elements have very little to do with the actual plot. And, it's dull. Who would have thought that a movie with Jayne Mansfield working in a strip club could be so boring. I didn't care if Genn lost his club. I didn't care if Mansfield got her man. I didn't care if there was an underage girl working in the club. I didn't care about any of it. All I wanted was for the thing to end.There's a sub-plot in the movie involving a dancer who is in the country illegally and the writer who falls for and wants to help her. Their story is the most interesting thing in the movie and keeps me from rating the movie any lower. Unfortunately, this sub-plot goes nowhere.

gnb After the Hollywood successes of 'The Girl Can't Help It' and 'Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter', 20th Century Fox were at a loss as to what to do with the outlandish personality of Jayne Mansfield. So, as a way of making some quick cash out of their star without having to put her in a picture, they often loaned her out for cheapo European productions such as this B-movie pot-boiler filmed in England.However, the finished results are surprisingly good. Jayne Mansfield puts in an incredibly accomplished turn as jaded stripper Midnight Franklin. Jayne acts so well in this movie - she really gives a great impression of someone who can turn on the sexy, sleazy charm of a showgirl on stage whilst being disillusioned and fearful behind the scenes. Her pep-talk to a young Barbara Windsor is quite rightly often highlighted as the high-point of Jayne's dramatic career.The story is at times a little muddled but is well acted by a solid supporting cast including Christopher Lee, Leo Genn and Karl Bohm and is presented in a seedy, gritty manner befitting the film's seedy setting of London strip joints. The only complaint I could make about the movie and its setting is that in basing the film around strip joints the limitations of what could be shown due to censorship laws (this was 1960 after all) are painfully obvious as all we are left with are several musical numbers of supposed strippers writing around more or less fully clothed. Although, it is not absolutely necessary to make this movie a sordid nude-fest I think it is obvious how strict censorship was in those days given what little nudity we actually get to see. And why feature so many 'strip' numbers anyway...?All in all this is a pretty good movie and worth a look to see Jayne Mansfield flexing her acting muscles. The version I managed to track down on video is unfortunately in black and white and with a rather poor sound mix but catch it if you can!