Too Hot to Handle (1961)

Low budget but decent crime drama. Jayne, approaching the end of her brief heyday, is pretty good as the sort of den mother to a group of strippers, she even performs a few mediocre numbers. This really shows how the vision of the desirable female form has changed over the years. Nowadays the lithe hard body look is the goal but Jayne is anything but that, very curvy and quite plump she is harshly lit as is the film but even with that at times she looks stunning. The plot takes a while to get going and really isn't focused sharply enough to make the film as involving as it should be but Leo Genn is good in the lead and he and Jayne hold your interest whenever they are on screen.

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.

For those who think that Jayne Mansfield's career was nothing more than an overblown publicity stunt I boldly state they should at least see this before making any final judgments. I too started watching this with a fair amount of skepticism, and yet I was blown right out of the water by both Jayne and the movie. Both are a lot better than I was anticipating. This is the best Mansfield performance I've ever seen. She is perfectly cast in the role of Midnight Franklin. She makes the character all too human, and all too believable. The movie itself is fast-paced, packing a lot into its 93 minutes. It's also well-acted by everyone involved, and very well-directed. It's intriguing and holds your interest. It has the air of a good Warner Brothers gangster film, as well as a definite film-noir feel to it. I don't know what happened to the color prints of this, but, in my opinion it's the sort of movie that actually plays better in black-and-white. And Jayne's musical numbers are always worth seeing. I definitely recommend this one.

Jayne is at her loveliest and most voluptuous and demonstrates great acting in this fast paced, suspenseful drama. Her costumes are great and she acts incredible. We are even given 2 great musical numbers. Don't believe those rumours that she couldn't act, she demonstrates great ability far surpassing Marilyn Monroe's in this thriller. My only complaint is that it is in black and white. I recently got a big screen TV and this was the first film I viewed on it and Jayne looks sensational! You can really appreciate all of her ASSETS in this pic! Highly recommended to NEW Jayne fans. Will also be of interest to those curiosity seekers of Jayne. Much more fun than THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT in my opinion.