It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I love this movie. I'm sorry I didn't detect the same level of enthusiasm among the other reviewers. Tracy is at his blustering best. You might call it overacting but, to me, it's classic gung ho Tracy. Maybe his character made some poor impulsive decisions, such as quitting his job and union, but he also made some good decisions, such as seeing that calling a strike was just what the boss((Joseph Calleia, as Nick) wanted, so that he could void their 5 year contracts and bring in cheaper labor. Also, he worked out a plan for Jean's prison break. True, that was a very risky undertaking and, at the end, she (and he)was still being hunted by the police. The scene of the escape is exciting, with women screaming and running every which way after a rat was released in the laundry room. This provided Jean and her 2 accomplices diversion so that they could hop down the big storm drain pipe during a heavy rain, and get carried to outside the prison wall, to a waiting car. Later, Tracy detects a plan to blow up an oil tanker, while serving as the night watchman, and knocks out the 3 of them! As to why Jean favored Tracy over Calleia, as some wonder. Partly, it's a matter of history, Clearly, they have been romancing on and off for some years. Looks like she wants a bully, who can fight with his fists as well as his brains, who alternates between loving her and fighting(mostly verbally)with her. During one of their fights, Jean labels him as riffraff. He's a man who doesn't want the bother of children, but is pleased when he sees the son Jean presents to him. Apparently, he's the most productive tuna fisherman of the lot, which counts for something. In contrast, to me, Calliea comes across as too oily. Apparently, Jean thought so too.Tracy typically talks very fast and with certitude, although occasionally he admits he may not be as smart as he thinks. The recently released "You are my Lucky Star" composed by Arthur Freedman and Nacio Herb Brown, is sung by a male chorus during the July 4 celebration, later reprised by Jean when in prison. It was also sung in "Broadway Melody of 1936" and, of course, in the later "Singing in the Rain".As one reviewer pointed out, the plot seemed more in keeping with a Warner-type film. But, that doesn't keep it from being grand entertainment.A young Mickey Rooney, and Una Merkel have subsidiary roles as Jean's younger brother and sister, respectively. Mickey puts a small firecracker in each ear, then wonders why it hurts when they go off!See it at YouTube. The film was in excellent condition...Several reviewers claimed that "Libeled Lady", also costarring Tracy and Jean, but Myrna Loy and William Powell, as well, is much superior to this film. I haven't seen it, but doubt I would agree.

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.

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.

RIFFRAFF (MGM, 1935), directed by J. Walter Ruben, stars Jean Harlow, as Hattie who lives by the waterfront with her married sister, Lil (Una Merkel), her husband (William Newell) and their kids, Jimmy and Rose (Mickey Rooney and Juanita Quigley). She works as a tuna-cannery worker for Nick Lewis (Joseph Calleia), but her real interest is Dutch Muller (Spencer Tracy), a loudmouthed, conceited fisherman. Although she pretends to hate him, she keeps his picture in her room and follows him about. During a festivity, she proves herself lucky for him at the gambling tables, causing him to dump his beauties and change his interest towards her. Eventually they wed, becoming the typical married couple, constantly yelling and screaming at one another, usually saying things for which they mean the opposite. After Dutch rises from fisherman to union leader, he becomes responsible for a strike that causes many men, he included, to be out of work for a length of time. Being more concerned about his pride than his wife and those who look up to him, Dutch deserts. When Hattie learns of Dutch being sick and living amongst homeless bums, she steals some money from Nick to give to Dutch. Because of this, she's arrested. While serving time in prison, Dutch takes time to think things over, unaware that Hattie is not only serving time for his sake, but has given birth to his child.Although both Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy have appeared in better screen material during their careers, RIFFRAFF ranks one of the most televised of their films, particularly during the golden age of local television late shows of the 1960s and '70s. It has even been a viewer's request at one time or another on Turner Classic Movies. Yet, it's not as well known as Harlow's DINNER AT EIGHT (1933), or Tracy's CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS (1937), to name a few. Not that RIFFRAFF is a good or a bad film, but actually a total departure for both its stars. Yes, Harlow has played tough gals before, and handled her men with kid gloves, but due to the production code that went into affect in 1934, she still played it tough but a little more tamed.On the comedic side, Dutch and Hattie start arguing right off after exchanging their vows, and politely smile and act as nothing's wrong in front of their wedding guests. Then there's the accented Joseph Calleia, whose double-talk along with another accented character actor, George Givot, add to the lighter moments, as well as Calleia delivering such a line following a big rumble, "I'm Okay, but I don't feel so good." A current hit tune, "You Are My Lucky Star," first introduced in Broadway MELODY OF 1936 (MGM, 1935), is plugged here, sung by a quartet during the party scene.The supporting cast includes Vince Barnett as Flytrap; Paul Hurst as Belcher; Roger Imhoff as Hattie and Lil's drunken father, Pop; Lillian Harmer, Helene Costello, among others. In a notable performance is J. Farrell MacDonald as Brains, the more logical character in the story who plays his role as a soft-hearted union man with strong human quality. There is a scene in which the peaceful Brains tries to talk some sense into Dutch, and gets his face slapped for his trouble.The central focus here is Spencer Tracy, a new resident to MGM, making his fourth appearance for the studio. Up to this point, MGM wasn't sure how to use Tracy. His Dutch Muller character is so unsympathetic, so conceited, and as the title indicates, a "Riffraff." Yet, it's a wonder how Tracy succeeded in getting the audience sympathy. Aside from all the yelling and screaming to either add tension to the drama or lighter moments in comedy, RIFFRAFF also includes many extras, many crowd scenes to go around.The acting is satisfactory, although Harlow, criticized as being a very bad actress at the time, was improving with each passing film. Her most notable weak spot in RIFFRAFF is the scene in prison where she must surrender her infant baby to her sister Lil. It might have worked had Harlow been given a little more direction in doing this scene with more conviction. She does, however, work well with Tracy, making his second of three movies opposite her.Although set on the waterfront locale, Harlow is the only female character in the story with a more glamorized look. Character actress Una Merkel, as her sister, Lil, plays her role with more believability and conviction, wearing second hand clothes, hair unsoiled and minus facial makeup. But viewers and MGM couldn't accept or present Harlow on screen looking like a second-rate character, even in poor man's settings.RIFFRAFF, which was available on video cassette in the 1990s, is a worthy look at an early film with future stars on the rise, particularly both Tracy and Mickey Rooney, who would appear together in BOYS TOWN (1938) and its sequel, MEN OF BOYS TOWN (1941), as well as Jean Harlow at the prime of her movie career before death took a toll in 1937 at the age of 26. (***)