Really Surprised!

just watch it!

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

"Playgirl After Dark" (also known as "Too Hot to Handle") is a movie that sure hints at healthy helpings of skin. However, if that's what you really want, you could sure find better flicks than this one. Despite the titles and despite the movie being set in a strip club, the strippers really just dance around in very little...but show no more than ladies do today at the beach. So, while you get to see the sizzling Jayne Mansfield in this one, she's rather chaste and sings a few forgettable songs.In this den of iniquity(?) there are some minor stories. One involves a French reporter hanging about in order to get a story. But Karlheinz Böhm ("Peeping Tom" and the Sissi movies) is a German- Austrian....so why say he was French? He sounded about as French as Mantan Moreland! There's also a story involving some shakedown artist trying to extort money out of the guy who runs the place, Johnny (Leo Genn)...and Johnny's attempts to catch the guy. But mostly, it's just ladies gyrating and singing!So is it any good? Well, no especially. It does give you a chance to see Mansfield as her career is beginning to tank. Her good films were behind her and ahead would be crap like Italian strong man movies and sex comedies ("The Loves of Hercules" and "Promises Promises") as well as one of the worst films of the 1960s, "The Fat Spy". But considering that the film doesn't give her a lot to do but sing (NOT one of her strong points), it's actually a bit of a disappointment. Overall, a somewhat dull film which should have been spicier and more interesting than it was.

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.

After the Hollywood successes of 'The Girl Can't Help It' and 'Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter', 20th Century Fox were at a loss as to what to do with the outlandish personality of Jayne Mansfield. So, as a way of making some quick cash out of their star without having to put her in a picture, they often loaned her out for cheapo European productions such as this B-movie pot-boiler filmed in England.However, the finished results are surprisingly good. Jayne Mansfield puts in an incredibly accomplished turn as jaded stripper Midnight Franklin. Jayne acts so well in this movie - she really gives a great impression of someone who can turn on the sexy, sleazy charm of a showgirl on stage whilst being disillusioned and fearful behind the scenes. Her pep-talk to a young Barbara Windsor is quite rightly often highlighted as the high-point of Jayne's dramatic career.The story is at times a little muddled but is well acted by a solid supporting cast including Christopher Lee, Leo Genn and Karl Bohm and is presented in a seedy, gritty manner befitting the film's seedy setting of London strip joints. The only complaint I could make about the movie and its setting is that in basing the film around strip joints the limitations of what could be shown due to censorship laws (this was 1960 after all) are painfully obvious as all we are left with are several musical numbers of supposed strippers writing around more or less fully clothed. Although, it is not absolutely necessary to make this movie a sordid nude-fest I think it is obvious how strict censorship was in those days given what little nudity we actually get to see. And why feature so many 'strip' numbers anyway...?All in all this is a pretty good movie and worth a look to see Jayne Mansfield flexing her acting muscles. The version I managed to track down on video is unfortunately in black and white and with a rather poor sound mix but catch it if you can!

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.