Too Hot to Handle (1960)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Herbert Kretzmer (writer)
Harry Lee (story)

Release Date:

16 April 1960 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

The sizzler you read about in Playboy magazine! It strips the secrets from the intimate key clubs.

Plot:

In London's Soho, Johnny Solo runs the Pink Flamingo Club. He's tough to intimidate. So when he starts getting threats and demands for protection...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman

Cast

Jayne Mansfield	...	Midnight Franklin
Leo Genn	...	Johnny Solo
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Robert Jouvel
Christopher Lee	...	Novak
Danik Patisson	...	Lilliane Decker
Patrick Holt	...	Inspector West
Kai Fischer	...	Cynthia
Barbara Windsor	...	Ponytail
Penny Morrell	...	Terry
Katherine Keeton	...	Melody
Susan Denny	...	Marjorie
Judy Bruce	...	Maureen
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Jacki
Shari Kahn	...	Jungle
Sheldon Lawrence	...	Diamonds Dielli

Also Known As:

Playgirl After Dark (USA)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:12 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Wigmore Productions

Quotes:

Johnny Solo: I had a friend once, Diamond. It didn't take.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Twisted Sex Vol. 15 (1996) (V)

Soundtrack:

Too Hot To Handle

Not Too Hot

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.