Raia Miúda

I had high expectations with both Tracy and Harlow in it, but there's just way too much yelling at each other. Jean Harlow comes off better, but Tracy is not a very likable guy through most of the movie.

Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy find love on the waterfront in this MGM production that has a Warner's look and feel. With its hardboiled and run down backdrop it also addresses contemporary issues of labor unrest, Red union infiltration as well as managing to sneak some risqué moments by the censor.

Dutch Muller (Tracy) is the best fisherman on the dock and he knows it. A bit of a charmer he has no problem with the ladies as well. Cannery worker Hattie (Harlow) has her sights on him but the pugnacious and confident Dutch isn't about to get tied down and the exchanges between the two are usually filled with invective. They weather and eventually wear each other down before getting hitched. When labor problems arise Dutch's arrogance and pride get's the best of him and he finds himself living in aq track side hobo camp. Faithful Hattie attempts to right him but instead ends up being sentenced to a long stretch at a women's prison. Dutch in turn vows to spring her.

Tracy and Harlow display a nice down to earth terse chemistry driven by pride and desire. Muller's thickheadedness seems impervious to penetrate but the resourceful Hattie's drive is not to be denied and while there is perhaps an overabundance of shouting between the two the tenderness comes across as natural and genuine. A trio of scene stealers Una Merkle, Joseph Calleia and Mickey Rooney doing a waterfront Puck also add to the story's humor and rhythm.

Riffraff does get a little improbable during its climax but Tracy and Harlow's dogged persistence and interplay give it an irascible verve.

Temperamental fisherman Dutch Muller (Spencer Tracy) marries cannery worker Hattie (Jean Harlow), but their marriage may not be able to survive Dutch's union work.

Riffraff is incredibly fun. Harlow is perfect, and the supporting cast is great. Una Merkel is a hoot as Harlow's sister, Joseph Calleia has another role as a smooth gangster. Mickey Rooney has some good comedy scenes as Harlow's brother(!). Spencer Tracy is an actor I've never really cared for, and I wish his role had been played by somebody else. Someone like Jimmy Cagney would have been perfect, but Tracy does a passable job.

The script, co-written by Anita Loos, is all over the place: sometimes it's a comedy, or sometimes it's a social drama. The direction is functional but unspectacular. Overall, this is definitely a B film, but it's elevated by Harlow's performance.

I enjoyed this 1935 movie. I like Jean Harlow and she gives a splendid realistic portrayal of a girl in love with a man who seems to ignore her. She looks wonderful in this movie. The story is rather far fetched about a tuna fisherman who wants better conditions and better pay for himself and his fellow workers but is rather immature and bull headed about everything and everyone. He is always getting in arguments or fights at the drop of a hat. Una Merkel as the sister is fine and the young Mickey Rooney is also in this movie. It is a pleasant story, if rather dated and old fashioned, but I did enjoy it and recommend it, and especially for us Jean Harlow fans, of whom, there are many.

How much you like "Riffraff" depends on whether you're a fan of Jean Harlow or Spencer Tracy. Fans of Jean Harlow will find a lot to like. For fans of Tracy, not so much. Harlow is cute and sexy in her playful innocent way, while Spencer Tracy is strident and overbearing as the union organizer of a fishing fleet. His onscreen persona was not yet solidified and here he strikes a discordant note with his dogmatic portrayal of Dutch Muller, a man who is never wrong. He marries dock denizen Harlow in a wedding that misfires - due mainly to Tracy's intransigence.

It is not really a good story and at times is a chore to watch. A bright spot is Joseph Calleia, the boss and owner of the fishing fleet. He speaks with an Italian accent and is very funny as he mangles the English language. Good cast support from Mickey Rooney, Una Merkel and J.Farrell MacDonald among others. Outside of the good cast it is a potboiler with minimal interest. It plays like a B picture.

5/10 - Website no longer displays my star rating.