Too Hot to Handle
Too Hot to Handle
R | 18 February 1977 (USA)
Too Hot to Handle Trailers

Gorgeous blonde assassin Samantha Fox accepts a contract to liquidate a quintet of gangsters in the Philippines. Problems ensue when she falls in love with the Manila detective investigating the killings.

Reviews
Tedfoldol

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

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MoPoshy

Absolutely brilliant

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KnotStronger

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

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Invaderbank

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

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Comeuppance Reviews

Samantha Fox (Caffaro) is an international hitwoman who "just wants to have some fun" (heh heh) and thanks to a multi-million dollar family inheritance, can afford to be a globe-trotting gal who can dispatch the baddies using a deadly combination of wits, Martial Arts skill, gun usage, and sexy sexy sexiness. Her latest assignment takes her to the Philippines where she's taking down some baddies one by one, all the while using an array of different identities and stylish outfits. Things get really complicated when Chief of Detectives Domingo De La Torres (Ipale) gets wise to what Samantha is up to - but they can't help becoming romantically entangled. And what will Domingo's partner Sanchez (Diaz) have to say about it? Samantha Fox is a woman of beauty and cunning who always gets what she wants...but will she this time? Find out today! Too Hot To Handle is an entertaining ride and a reminder that there was a time that movies could be firmly in the exploitation camp, but not mean-spirited. The movie is a super-70's outing that combines kung-fu fighting with Afros and bell bottoms to a horns-and wah-wah-inflected funked-up score - imagine an episode of The Love Boat but with much more nudity, killings, and cockfighting. (The cockfight scene was an absolute standout). Director Don Schain - who worked with Caffaro before on the Ginger series of similarly-themed nudity-based adventure and intrigue movies, here gets the best out of the lovely Philippine locations, and thanks to a variety of factors, the movie is never boring. It's a shame this was his last directorial effort. He seemed to be improving.The clothing alone is mesmerizing: Aharon Ipale as Domingo has an impressive variety of ties, many as wide as his shirt. His collars are so huge and triangular, they go off the shoulders of his jacket like pointed epaulets. He never has anything less than cool hair, cool shoes, and even cool pants. And that's just one character. Many of the baddies aren't afraid to mix stripes, colors and plaids, let's just say that. But to get down to it, the movie is all about Cheri Caffaro as Samantha Fox (who even has sunglasses that say "FOX" on them). The eye candy-level is off the chart, whether she's at a funeral, or stick-fighting goofily with an unknown assailant. There's even a bondage scene that pre-dates "50 Shades of Grey" by about 40 years. But it's all in fun, and the classy title song, "Lady Samantha" just reinforces this.Thanks to the fashions, the Moog-y musical score, the good pace, the fun 70's vibe and of course the delightful Caffaro, Too Hot To Handle is a winner.

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John Smith

Cheri Caffaro plays a sexy slinky female assassin, hired to bump off the local mobsters so as to ease the path of the mainland syndicate to take over their illegal businesses. Her first victim is dispatched via suffocation by a plastic bag, ( a method also used by Cornelia Sharpe in The Next Man ), all while wearing a full length leather dress split to the thigh.I've seen other reviews which maintain that Caffaro's character is a hit-woman with a heart of gold. I totally disagree insofar as by the movies end, while her most of her victims have been criminals, she also ruthlessly bumps off the two cops who have been on her trail throughout the movie, without a hint of conscience. One by causing him to drive off a road and meeting an explosive demise, the other, the hero of the movie, is blown to smithereens on a boat.Caffaro's hit woman character leaves no loose ends and triumphs at the end of the movie, perhaps for sequels which never materialized.

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Scott LeBrun

If nothing else, "Too Hot to Handle" proves to be a solid vehicle for Cheri Caffaro, 70's starlet who combined undeniable sex appeal with personality and confidence. She plays Samantha Fox, a young woman who enjoys a lavish lifestyle and at the same time enjoys a gig as a contract killer. While she is at work knocking off a succession of Manila gangsters, a handsome young detective, Domingo De La Torres (Aharon Ipale) picks up her trail, and it complicates things for the two of them when they find themselves falling for each other. Don Schain is the director; he was actually married to Caffaro at the time and also directed her in the popular "Ginger" series; in fact, he continues to work, having recently been line producer on Adam Green's "Frozen". He goes all out sometimes trying to give "Too Hot to Handle" some style, and it is rather amusing, as he employs split screen (towards the end, we get to see four things happen at once) and iris shots, and comes up with a reasonably clever scene transition at one point. That's not to say there aren't inept moments, pretty priceless ones, in fact, as the fight scenes come off as woefully awkward. The James Bond-style music score is quite a hoot, as well. We do get treated to the sight of Ms. Caffaro's naked body, which is much appreciated, and there's a decent amount of sex. What is nice, however, is that "Too Hot to Handle" displays some disarming humour right off the bat, as Samantha takes out the first of her targets (John Van Dreelen) in a "torture room". In addition to Caffaro, the cast is entertaining; Ipale has been a busy actor for years, appearing in stuff like "Fiddler on the Roof", "Ishtar", "The Mummy" (1999), and "Charlie Wilson's War". The appearance of extremely prolific Filipino character actor Vic Diaz always guarantees a good time, and in addition to Van Dreelen, another veteran, French leading lady Corinne Calvet, makes a cameo appearance. (In fact, her final scene is amusing the way it deliberately mimics a scene from a commercial that her character shot - poetic justice indeed!) Fox and Ipale make for an appealing enough romantic pair. The movie is (comfortably) predictable, and easy enough to watch, moving along fairly well and providing a good diversion. Seven out of 10.

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gridoon

This is your ordinary mid-70s low-grade action-adventure with a female heroine, but it has two distinguishing features: the lead, Cheri Caffaro , is very sexy in an aggressive sort of way, and the director eroticizes the violence (Caffaro is virtually turned on by pain and death). That is quite a daring thing for a movie to do, and the people here deserve some credit for even attempting it. And the climax of the film is surprisingly suspenseful. Now, if only they had picked a more talented leading man and a better editor..... (**)

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