Too Hot to Handle (1938)

Two rival newsreel photographers join forces to find the an aviatrix's missing brother, who has disappeared in the Amazonian Rain Forest.

Director:

Jack Conway

Writers:

Laurence Stallings (screen play), John Lee Mahin (screen play),

Stars:

Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Walter Pidgeon

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Clark Gable	...	Chris Hunter
Myrna Loy	...	Alma Harding
Walter Pidgeon	...	Bill Dennis
Walter Connolly	...	Gabby MacArthur
Leo Carrillo	...	Joselito
Johnny Hines	...	Parsons
Virginia Weidler	...	Hulda
Betty Ross Clarke	...	Mrs. Harding
Henry Kolker	...	'Pearly' Todd
Marjorie Main	...	Miss Wayne
Gregory Gaye	...	'Popoff'
Al Shean	...	Gumpert
Willie Fung	...	Willie
Lillie Mui	...	'Tootsie'
Patsy O'Connor	...	'Fake' Hulda

Storyline

Chris Hunter is a sly newsreel reporter. While in Shanghai doing reports on the Chinese-Japanese war, he meets pilot Alma Harding. At first she doesn't trust him, but by a trick he manages to get her hired as his assistant. During an adventurous expedition through the jungles of South America he manages to change her view of him.

---

Plot Keywords:

jungle | aviatrix | rain forest | sinking ship | san francisco bay bridge | 

---

Taglines:

LOVE IN ACTION on Land, Sea and Air!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Adventure | Romance | Drama

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

16 September 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Abenteuer in China

Filming Locations:

Tottiekampu country, Netherlands Guyana

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Clark Gable spent two days working with a newsreel crew to get a feeling for his part.

---

Goofs

When Chris is screening the raw footage of the plane crash, it is already completely edited with multiple camera angles and shot with various lenses, even though only one camera was supposedly used to film it, and the footage is supposed to be raw.

---

Quotes

Alma Harding: [Referring to macArthur's change of mood] Well, I never saw weather clear up quicker. This business must be alittle like an insane asylum.
Miss Kitty Wayne: It's nice though. You don't realize you're in the violent ward until you're stuck to the bed.

---

Crazy Credits

We wish to thank Her Majesty's Governor of Netherlands Guiana for permitting our expedition to enter the jungles of the Tottiekampu country. Our thanks also to Chief Moi of the Matawais tribe for allowing us to record for the first time the sights and sounds of the Djuka Fire Dance Ritual.

---

Connections

Featured in Robert Capa: The Man Who Believed His Own Legend (2004)

---

Soundtracks

"Sobre las Olas (Over the Waves)"
(1887) (uncredited)
Written by Juventino Rosas
Background music on the test film shown to natives

User Reviews

Rival newsreel photographers in all sorts of hi-jinks...

TOO HOT TO HANDLE is a screwball mixture of comedy, action and romance but most of it is too incredible even though it is well played by the star trio--Gable, Loy and Pidgeon.

Throughout the story, the tricks and downright deception (including lots of unethical behavior) are the dominant factors that keep the plot spinning. Walter Catlett has a high time as a temperamental newsreel boss who wants wartime footage from Gable, the kind that will scoop a rival newsreel company. This rivalry pits Gable and Pidgeon against each other for the entire running time and includes rivalry over a woman aviatrix (Myrna Loy), who needs their help in finding her brother missing in the Amazon.

The strands of the story are woven uneasily in a mixture of comedy and drama that doesn't always work. Clark Gable has the pivotal role as one of the world's most conniving newsreel photographers. He has one hilarious scene at the start where he's faking an aerial bombing in China, calling all the shots and getting everything mixed up due to the language barrier. It's Gable at his comedic best.

But the script is overly busy in too many directions and the hi-jinks become tiresome before the story is over. Certainly not the best of Gable's MGM movies, even though he's paired with Myrna Loy. Walter Pidgeon has a livelier part than usual and makes the most of it.

Summing up: A major disappointment, considering the cast.