Too Hot to Handle (1938) on Netflix
NR19381h 47mAdventureComedyRomance
Newsreel reporter Chris Hunter fakes battle footage in war-torn China. His rival Bill Dennis uses aviator Alma Harding in a stunt, and Chris hires her as his assistant.
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- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.6/101,792 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Chris Hunter works for Union Newsreel in war-torn China, where he is sneakier than his rivals. When the Japanese do not provide an aerial attack to film, he fakes one with a model aircraft and his cameraman José Estanza. Bill Dennis, Chris's main competitor at Atlas Newsreel, answers by having aviator Alma Harding fly in a serum shipment for a fictitious cholera outbreak. Chris turns up to film her landing, but José drives too close and the aircraft catches fire; Chris pulls her out. Chris lies repeatedly to romance her, then persuades her to work for Union. She needs the money to fund a search for her brother Harry, missing in the Amazon jungle.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Too Hot to Handle (1938)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- During pre-production, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Spencer Tracy was to star in Too Hot to Handle with Margaret Sullavan and George Peter Lynn, but those roles went to Clark Gable and Myrna Loy, repeating the romantic pairing they had played in Test Pilot (1938).
- The female aviator at the center of Too Hot to Handle was influenced by Amelia Earhart, who had disappeared 14 months earlier.
- Aviation film historians Hardwick and Schnepf singled out the flying scenes, noting that Clark Gable hung from the struts of a Ryan ST for shots, the same aircraft used in Test Pilot, plus a Lockheed Orion.
- Too Hot to Handle was the sixth and final film that paired Clark Gable with Myrna Loy, after their earlier romantic pairing in Test Pilot (1938).
