FORMAT: DVD
Too Hot to Handle is essentially an hour-long filmed burlesque act. Things kick off with a lounge singer performing the title song while he’s surrounded by dancing blondes. Then, a Latina does a Spanish style striptease followed by a comedian who does the old “7 x 13 = 28” routine that Abbott and Costello used to do. That’s followed by a bubbly blonde named Melodee Lane stripping and another so-so comedy sequence. Next, a woman performs a song called “Hot Nuts” before doing a striptease. Afterwards, we get another unfunny comic act followed by another striptease by the energetic Melodee, this time on a producer’s casting couch. Things continue with more (sigh) comedy acts before the showstopping PatIy Waggin performs a long “Parisian” number.
All this works better as a filmed historical record of a bygone era of entertainment than… actual entertainment. I don’t even think the film lived up to its title back in the ‘50s as it offers more tease than please. Even as far as burlesque movies go, this one doesn’t quite cut the mustard. The stripping scenes are about par for the course (although Melodee Lane is rather fun to watch), but many of the comedy routines (other than the math segment) aren’t funny and go on too long. Still, the mercifully brief hour-long running time is appreciated.
While neither A Virgin in Hollywood nor Too Hot to Handle are classics by any means, Something Weird’s “Best of Burlesque” two-disc set is still well worth owning. Any fan of old school smut will enjoy this head-spinning collection featuring hours of old striptease reels (some of which are in 3-D), burlesque acts, and trailers. This is one case where a collection is more than a sum of its parts as the films themselves are easily outshone by the extras. It all shows once again why Something Weird is the best in the business.
AKA: Fig Leaf Frolics.
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