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