It was originally rated X by the
British Board of Film Classification. The film was billed as "an exposé of 'sexy, sordid
Soho, England's greatest shame.'" The original color British release has not had a home video release to date. The French release was uncensored, using the
takes with less clothing, as many scenes were shot twice, with the dancers wearing more or less clothing and a different edit of Mansfield's title song. The German color release is a mix of both British and French takes, along with additional censor cuts, including the deletion of most of Mansfield's song "You Were Made For Me" (a parody of
Marilyn Monroe). For its American release, Mansfield's risqué see-through clothing and the film's racy musical numbers caused some controversy that delayed it until January 1961, and the sexiest frames were displayed in
Playboy magazine. The US posters called it "The Sizzler You Read About in
Playboy Magazine!".
Too Hot to Handle was retitled
Playgirl After Dark, in black and white, and was edited to meet censor requirements. Famously, this included animating clothing on Mansfield during the title song (along with frame enlargements and cuts to the audience which showed less of Mansfield generally). This was released by a smaller company, Topaz, with 8 minutes of plot cut out toward the end. == Critical reception ==