41-18-25 ½. Those were the magnificent measurements of Miss Jayne Mansfield. Mansfield, born Vera Jayne Palmer, was the other half in the Battle of the Hollywood Blondes, with Marilyn Monroe, the reigning champ at the time. Many people felt that Mansfield was the better of the two, since rather than playing the dumb, vulnerable Blonde; she often played women that could help themselves. They were tough and smart, and was a precursor to the more spirited leading ladies of today, all while retaining that amazing aura of glamour and beauty. Sadly, both women were cut down in their prime, each with a limited body of work that never lived up to the legends they supported.

Too Hot to Handle was an English Production along the lines of The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw and It Takes a Thief. Too Hot to Handle was a pretty sophisticated movie for it's time (1959), dealing with the Key Club's (Strip Clubs) of London's SoHo District. Mansfield plays Midnight Franklin, an American Dancer working at the Pink Flamingo Club in London, who seems to have become the "den mother" for the rest of the girls. She is in love with the owner of the club, Johnny Solo (Leo Genn), but he's got enough headaches just keeping the club afloat than to get personally involved with her. At the top of his list of problems is Novak (Christopher Lee), his duplicitous right-hand man.

Johnny's got a head for business, but he also has an ego to match. It's his over-inflated hubris that convinces him to make some very bad decisions, all of which affect the outcome of the film. The first is letting a newspaper reporter hang around to write an expose on the top Key Club in SoHo. The next is taking on an investor that has money, but not his best interests in mind. The third and final ill-fated decision is taking on a dancer who is far too young to be dancing at a club like his. Johnny is a stubborn one, and once his mind is made up about something it's hard to change it. So once he starts getting threatening letters extorting money, he doesn't cave in and cower. Instead he thumbs his nose at them and prepares to fight back. Behind the extortion plot is Solo's main competitor, Diamonds Dielli, who wants to take over the Pink Flamingo Club.

There is so much going on at times that the star herself, Jayne Mansfield, takes a back seat occasionally to some of the sub-plots. She does, however, manage to squeeze in two musical numbers, including the title song called, what else, "Too Hot to Handle". Speaking of "squeeze", somehow the costume department managed to squeeze her into some amazing outfits throughout the film. It's definitely a product of its time, especially with some of the hard-boiled lines of dialogue. When one of the dancers, noticing another's bruises, asks if she hurt herself, the dame replies, "Nah, I had somebody do it for me." Or when Johnny, upset at Mansfield's comments, slaps her, another character exclaims, "That's enough of the rough stuff, Solo…".

The DVD:

Picture: The movie is presented in 4:3 Full Screen presentation. The picture is B&W, with very noticeable grain and scratches throughout.

Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, which sounds fine.

Extras: There is a Cover Gallery from Koch Visions' Sirens of Cinema Collection.

Conclusion: Too Hot to Handle is a real treat, from it's great performances, elaborate song and dance routines and fast-paced story. This DVD is part of Koch Visions' Cinema Sirens Collection, and as such one would have expected at least an attempt to obtain the Original Source material. Instead they have taken a monochrome print that was made for TV from the edited American import, known as Playgirl After Dark, instead of the more risqué UK version. It's worth a rental for Mansfield fans and the curious alike, but is truly deserving of a Distributor to do a full restoration of the Eastmancolor, Uncut, Original Too Hot to Handle… Criterion, are you listening?!?!