ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

talisencrw Though this is incredibly dated, it's also a very sincere and bizarre cross between a rags-to-riches drama and social commentary on unfair work practices/rights of workers/unions. And just so fans could see sexpot starlet Jean Harlow (the film's from Warner Archives' 7-film boxed set put out for the recent 100th anniversary of her birth in 1911) in as many costumes and gowns as possible, they have her married and involved in romances not simply with strait-laced activist Spencer Tracy but also their rich, slimy boss, tuna cannery owner Joseph Galleia (most famous in 'Touch of Evil' and 'Gilda'). Women loved her because she was lippy, brazen, glamorous, loyal and had a heart of gold, and men loved her because...she was Jean Harlow. This also sports an early appearance by Mickey Rooney in comic relief as her 15-year-old punk nephew; hard to belief he had already spent 10 years by that time on the silver screen! Not the worst film you would ever see, and her charisma with both starring actors is extraordinary. If you're a fan of either Harlow or 30's drama, don't miss it for the world.

MartinHafer In many ways, this is a bit like a Popeye cartoon with live actors. No, there's no spinach and super-strength, but the characters do seem a lot like these cartoons--and with about as much depth! This is especially true of Dutch (Spencer Tracy)...a guy who seems a lot like Popeye AND Bluto put together! All he seems to like to do is fight, yell and act tough. He's also a complete know-it-all who NEVER is willing to back down when problems arise. A multidimensional performance, it is NOT!Dutch hates the guy in charge of the fishing fleet and spends much of his energy fighting with the guy. He also, inexplicably, has a girl that loves him...though he's about as tender and likable as a seasick hippo! Despite showing no tenderness towards her (or anyone), Hattie (Jean Harlow) is in love with him and eventually they marry. Now he doesn't exactly ask her...they have a fight and in the next scene they are married! None of this makes any sense, by the way!Soon after the wedding, Dutch is made the head of the fishermen's union and his pig-headed attitude does not serve him or his men well. Soon, he's voted out and he's jobless--none of which would have happened if he hadn't been a bit of a jerk. What's next for him and his unlucky wife? See the film...or don't!This is among the worst characters Spencer Tracy ever played because the character had zero depth and is just annoying. The only worse role might be in "Tortilla Flat"....which was also painfully bad and completely unrealistic. Perhaps an actor like Wallace Beery could have played Dutch better. All I know is that he was terrible...and much of it was due to miscasting and much was due to the poor writing for his character. Because of all this, the audience naturally HATES Dutch...so when bad things happen you simply don't care. I know I sure disliked him...intensely!As far as the rest of the film goes, it's not especially good. It's a weepy melodrama and I found none of it enjoyable or engaging. A rare misfire for Tracy and Harlow....but clearly among their worst films.By the way, in many ways the plot in this film is similar to an earlier Harlow film, "Hold on to Your Man". It's not particularly good and in it she also plays a long-suffering wife who marries a complete jerk.

classicsoncall This film has all the pacing and dialog of a screwball comedy, but it's emphasis is on drama and the fiery up and down relationship between it's principals. Personally, I couldn't wrap my head around the chemistry between Dutch Muller (Spencer Tracy) and his fiancé/wife Hattie (Jean Harlow), though obviously stranger pairings have occurred both in movies and real life. But just to quickly make my point, take note of the Fourth of July party on the Fairy Queen - Dutch gets miffed at Hattie and shoves her away with a hand in her face, while she spits on him in response. Boy, talk about a budding romance.The story involves Dutch Miller's ambition to rise to the top of the local fisherman's union to thwart cannery owner Nick Lewis (Joseph Calleia) from taking advantage of his position against the tuna men. There's an interesting sequence showing the operation of a cannery assembly line, though I was amazed to see one of the female workers packing a can of tuna by hand! That didn't seem very probable to me but with just a quick glimpse there's no way to tell how normal that was. Other aspects of the assembly line required no hands-on involvement.As one of those cannery workers, Hattie must have left work each day smelling like fish, thereby adding some resonance to Dutch's remark while dancing closely next to her - "That's swell stink-up you got in your hair". It was meant as a compliment obviously, though I'd be wary of using one like that today. If you try it though, get back to me and let me know how it went over.The thing that really blew me away in the story was Hattie getting sent up to Sorena Valley Prison for ripping off her boss at the cannery. Geez, how much could she have stolen to get sent to the slammer? Then, when the picture segues to her prison life, she's in her jail cell with a baby! Come on, when was that ever the case? Okay, the film makers were going for a little pathos here, but that was just too in-your-face. But I guess it served it's purpose to bring Dutch back down to Earth from his high-hat ambition as a union boss.The picture is peppered with it's share of colorful characters with names like Flytrap (Victor Kilian), Ratsy (Arthur Housman), Brains McCall (J. Farrell MacDonald), and Hattie's Dad Pops (Roger Imhoff). However the one to really keep your eye on and ear tuned into was the sleazy cannery owner Nick, who's dialog always kept you guessing. Case in point, one of his conversations with attorney Markis (George Givot) commenting on everything that's happened in the story - "What is past is gone out and over done". It sounded like something Stan Laurel would say.

blanche-2 "Riffraff" stars Spencer Tracy in an odd role for him and the lovely Jean Harlow as his wife in a story involving the tuna fishermen set, unions, prison, hobos and the like. It's a true potboiler with Harriet (Harlow) sacrificing everything for her man, an egotistical, bombastic fellow named Rudolph Muller. He's determined to make good but his stubbornness and big mouth get in the way.Tracy is ill-suited for this role, though at the time, he was mainly playing character roles, and this certainly is one. But the actor comes off as too smart to be playing such a dumb lug. A year later, his stock at MGM would begin to rise, and he would transition out of this type of role into leading man parts as Bogart did. Tracy is much better in the second part of the film, where he's called upon to show his emotive range, than in the first part where his character is established.Though Harlow plays a cannery worker turned wife, she still gets to be glamorous in a couple of scenes where the big boss, Nick (Joseph Calleia) takes her out. Harlow comes off tough and streetwise enough to be right for the role, and she does it well. Actually, she seems more comfortable than Tracy. MGM at that point was trying to expand the range of this incredibly popular actress. The film was made in 1935, and of course, by 1937 she would be dead, but not before doing another -- and far superior - film with Tracy, "Libeled Lady." All in all, there's nothing special about "Riffraff" except the two stars, but Tracy and Harlow were always special, so it's worth a look.