Too Hot to Handle (1960 film)
Encyclopedia
Too Hot to Handle is a low-budget neo-noir
British gangster thriller, directed by Terence Young. Christopher Lee
has a small role in the film.
Too Hot to Handle was Jayne Mansfield
's first film away from 20th Century Fox
after achieving stardom in the mid 1950s. When the studio didn’t know what to do with their “trouble” stars, they would lend them to foreign productions. Studios made thousands of dollars, while Mansfield only made her regular salary of $2500 a week. This British drama is usually marked as the beginning of her descent into low-budget productions but actually despite being set almost entirely in a nightclub, it's clearly not a cheapie with a large cast and somewhat lavish production numbers with solid direction from Terence Young, who later did many James Bond
films.
Notorious in its day because Mansfield's risqué see-through clothing and racy musical numbers that caused some controversy, holding up the American release for two years, while the sexiest frames were fully displayed on Playboy
magazine.
While filmed and released in Eastman Color, the video and DVD prints were released in black and white. It was fairly common for B&W prints to be struck of color films to be shown on television during the 1960s and 1970's for local stations, and this fact could possibly be the main reason for the B&W DVD editions of the film.
), the owner of the Pink Flamingo club in London's Soho area, and his battles with rival club owner Diamonds Dielli (Sheldon Lawrence) and the police. When the tough entrepreneur starts getting threats and demands for protection, he fights back.
Johnny's girlfriend Midnight Franklin (Mansfield), one of the club's headliners, wants to get him out of the business. In the background are a sadistic client, an underage chorus girl, a wisecracking siren who's not averse to rough trade, a visiting journalist, and a dancer who guards her past.
The reporter gets involved in the strip scene while writing a story on the clubs, and in the end he has quite a lot to write about. The competition between the two clubs heats up. Johnny becomes an unknowing instrument in the death of the chorus girl. Midnight informs on him to save his life from the violent blackmailers after him. Both rival clubs head for a crash.
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
British gangster thriller, directed by Terence Young. Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
has a small role in the film.
Too Hot to Handle was Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre...
's first film away from 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
after achieving stardom in the mid 1950s. When the studio didn’t know what to do with their “trouble” stars, they would lend them to foreign productions. Studios made thousands of dollars, while Mansfield only made her regular salary of $2500 a week. This British drama is usually marked as the beginning of her descent into low-budget productions but actually despite being set almost entirely in a nightclub, it's clearly not a cheapie with a large cast and somewhat lavish production numbers with solid direction from Terence Young, who later did many James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films.
Notorious in its day because Mansfield's risqué see-through clothing and racy musical numbers that caused some controversy, holding up the American release for two years, while the sexiest frames were fully displayed on Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine.
While filmed and released in Eastman Color, the video and DVD prints were released in black and white. It was fairly common for B&W prints to be struck of color films to be shown on television during the 1960s and 1970's for local stations, and this fact could possibly be the main reason for the B&W DVD editions of the film.
Plot
The plot revolves around Johnny Solo (Leo GennLeo Genn
- Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson....
), the owner of the Pink Flamingo club in London's Soho area, and his battles with rival club owner Diamonds Dielli (Sheldon Lawrence) and the police. When the tough entrepreneur starts getting threats and demands for protection, he fights back.
Johnny's girlfriend Midnight Franklin (Mansfield), one of the club's headliners, wants to get him out of the business. In the background are a sadistic client, an underage chorus girl, a wisecracking siren who's not averse to rough trade, a visiting journalist, and a dancer who guards her past.
The reporter gets involved in the strip scene while writing a story on the clubs, and in the end he has quite a lot to write about. The competition between the two clubs heats up. Johnny becomes an unknowing instrument in the death of the chorus girl. Midnight informs on him to save his life from the violent blackmailers after him. Both rival clubs head for a crash.
Main cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre... |
Midnight Franklin |
| Leo Genn Leo Genn - Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson.... |
Johnny Solo |
| Karlheinz Böhm Karlheinz Böhm Karlheinz Böhm is an Austrian actor. The son of conductor Karl Böhm, he is best known internationally for his role as Mark, the psychopathic protagonist of Peeping Tom, directed by Michael Powell... |
Robert Jouvel |
| Christopher Lee Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films... |
Novak |
| Danik Patisson | Lilliane Decker |
| Patrick Holt Patrick Holt Patrick Holt was a British film and television actor.-Biography:Patrick Holt's real name was Patrick G. Parsons. Some of his childhood was spent in India with his Uncle. Patrick was sent to Christ's Hospital, a famous charity school in England, UK... |
Inspector West |
| Kai Fischer Kai Fischer Kai Fischer is a German film actress. She has appeared in 54 films between 1955 and 1999.-Selected filmography:* Derrick - Season 5, Episode 10: "Der Spitzel" * The Serpent's Egg * Escape from East Berlin... |
Cynthia |
| Barbara Windsor Barbara Windsor Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.... |
Ponytail |