Pat I
Excellent action packed 1930s depiction of Cannery Row tuna packing business and union fights. Spencer Tracy plays a stubborn feisty man who can't control his temper.Jean Harlow is in typical sultry form,but plays a poor working woman packing tuna and living in poverty. She also has an awful temper. Tracy falls for her.
Theres way too much verbal fighting between them on screen. Una Merkel plays a caring, comedic sister taking care of a bunch of kids and old drunken Dad in a fishing shanty on the wharf. Jean Harlow plays her sister who lives with them.
Tracy and Harlow get married, but shortly after he leaves to find better work, not knowing she's pregnant. He fails his quest and becomes a hobo. His stubbornness still plaguing him. Meanwhile Harlow falls for the rich bad guy tuna packing boss. Still in love with her husband she steals money to help Tracy come back to her.
She's arrested by local cops, jailed while pregnant, and has a son in prison. Everyone's acting is done with zest, full of drama, and love.
A very young Mickey Rooney plays a bratty kid son to Merkel.
There's alot of Union violence, drinking, dancing, and bawdy life of a tuna canning poor town. It's a memorable entertaining film you won't forget.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
09/14/23
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Audience Member
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, glamourous, 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.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
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, glamourous, 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.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/24/23
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Audience Member
75/100. The cast alone make this one worth watching. Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy make a good team, and Harlow is so wonderful in this. Fine story, typical MGM high quality from that era. Well photographed. The story does have some holes in the plot, but it's still a very enjoyable classic. A very young Mickey Rooney is great in a small role
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
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Audience Member
[img]http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/4587/harlowtracy1am.jpg[/img]
Jean Harlow is always remembered as one of the most glamorous stars of all time. But I find she's always at her most beautiful when her glamor is downplayed, like in this film, [i]Riffraff[/i], in which she plays a poor cannery worker. Yes, even in that awful dark-blonde wig, Harlow was never more beautiful than she was in her housedresses.
Harlow plays a cannery worker who has long been in love with fisherman Spencer Tracy, who ignores her feelings. The two are antagonistic toward each other, while Harlow gold-digs with the boss. But soon, their pushiness toward each other becomes love, and they get married. But Tracy wants to be a big shot, and his pride and stubborness get him kicked out of the union. He doesn't want to be with Harlow if he can't be important, so he leaves her, without knowing she's pregnant.
Spencer Tracy tended to play regular Joes (this role is very similar to his very favorite of mine, [i]Man's Castle[/i]), but Harlow usually played glamor girls, so it was a really nice surprise to see she fit in quite nicely in the world of unions and labor disputes. She and Tracy have remarkable chemistry (see also [i]Libeled Lady[/i]). Their arguments are realistic, as are their love scenes. Tracy is really good as the angry, stubborn fisherman, and Harlow is equally great as his tough, but sweethearted wife.
The romance and the core story of labor disputes are well balanced. One never overtakes the other, and they're blended together seamlessly. I always find slice of life films about the Depression interesting, and this one particularly, because it didn't make a huge deal that it was the depression, so it felt a little more like I'm just watching someone's life during the time.
And the last scene between Tracy and Harlow is one of the sweetest things I've ever seen in my life.
[b]Final Grade:[/b] A
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
Audience Member
That suits me right down to the ground.
Dutch is a tuna fisherman that is great at his job as well as at fighting. His union struggles with a greedy dock owner and Dutch strong arms his way to the leader of the union and leads them against the dock owner. Dutch falls in love and marries a local girl that has also caught the eye of the dock owner. Once they're married Dutch's stubbornness often keeps them apart and he eventually loses his position as head of the union. Can Dutch make up with his wife and get their life back together?
"Nick's got a little surprise for you."
"I don't want it. What is it?"
J. Walter Ruben, director of Secret Service, The Roadhouse Murder, Ace of Aces, Old Hutch, Trouble for Two, and The Bad Man of Brimstone, delivers Riffraff. The storyline for this picture is outstanding and reminded me of On the Waterfront. The characters were so well presented and delivered and the script was awesome. The cast includes Spencer Tracy, Jean Harlow, Una Merkel, Joseph Calleia, and Mickey Rooney.
"Sit down. You're getting on my nervous system."
I DVR'd this picture during a recent Spencer Tracy marathon on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). I absolutely adored this film. I was shocked at how great the characters are. I have recently become a huge Jean Harlow fan and was mesmerized by her performance and Tracy delivered his character flawlessly. I strongly recommend seeing this picture.
"I'm so tough you probably couldn't get a knife into me."
Grade: A
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
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