were shot by Richard Rosson, the film's second unit director and the brother of cameraman Harold Rosson, and Clyde De Vinna in Dutch Guiana. During pre-production, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Spencer Tracy was to star in the film along with Margaret Sullavan and George Peter Lynn; however, these roles were assigned to others, with Gable and Loy repeating their romantic pairing that had been seen in Test Pilot (1938). Too Hot to Handle was the sixth and final Gable-Loy feature. Reception The review in Variety, noted: "Adventures of a newsreel cameraman are the basis for this Clark Gable-Myrna Loy co-starrer. It's a blazing action thriller aimed as a follow-up to same pair's click in 'Test Pilot' (1938). It has driving excitement, crackling dialog, glittering performances and inescapable romantic pull." Reviewer Frank S. Nugent, however, represented many critics when he wrote in The New York Times: “... ’Too Hot to Handle’ is any one of a dozen fairly entertaining melodramas you might have seen in the last five years. Gable plays Chris Hunter with his customary blend of bluster and blubber. Loy’s lady-flier turns in a completely insincere performance.” Aviation film historians Hardwick and Schnepf, more interested in the aerial scenes, described Too Hot to Handle in this way: "Gable and Loy were never better in this fast paced flick about a daring newsreel cameraman. Gable is his usual macho, superb self and there's lots of flying, including Gable hanging from the struts of a Ryan ST for shots (the same bird used in 'Test Pilot') plus a beautiful Lockheed Orion." Box office According to MGM records, the film earned $1,627,000 in the US and Canada and $769,000 elsewhere, resulting in a small loss of $31,000. References Notes Citations Bibliography Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Buff's Guide to Aviation Movies". Air Progress Aviation, Vol. 7, No. 1, Spring 1983. Paris, Michael. From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema.'' Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. . External links 1938 films 1930s adventure comedy films 1938 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films American adventure comedy films American romantic comedy films Films scored by Franz Waxman Films about photojournalists Films directed by Jack Conway Films set in South America Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films with screenplays by Buster Keaton 1930s English-language films 1930s American films