Riffraff (1936 film)

Last updated
Riffraff
Riffraff1936movie.JPG
Theatrical release poster
Directed by J. Walter Ruben
Written by George S. Kaufman
John Lee Mahin
Carey Wilson [1]
Screenplay by Frances Marion
Anita Loos
H. W. Hannaford
Produced by Irving Thalberg
Starring
CinematographyRay June
Edited byFrank Sullivan
Music byEdward Ward
Production
company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • January 3, 1936 (1936-01-03)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$732,000 [2]
Box office$1,047,000 [2]

Riffraff is a 1936 American film directed by J. Walter Ruben and starring Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy. The screenplay was written by Frances Marion, Anita Loos and H. W. Hannaford.

Contents

Plot

Fisherman Dutch Muller organizes a strike with his fellow thugs from the fishery, including the beautiful but tough Hattie Tuttle, against the owners of a tuna cannery. Jimmie is a teenager and uncle of two younger children. They all live with Pops, Hattie and his Aunt Lil in the same small dwelling on the wharf. The rich cannery owner Nick Lewis is also trying to romance Hattie with money and gifts, but she chooses Dutch.

Cast

Production

On the night of October 30, 1935, 40 female extras on the set, many of them elderly or in frail health, were filmed in a simulated rain sequence that included the use of a sprinkler rig, fire hoses and wind machines. Multiple extras sustained bruises, temporary blindness, and loss of consciousness, with many suffering from pneumonia as a result. The crew was found to be understaffed and lacking the necessary supplies to properly warm and dry the extras between takes. [3]

Reception

Contemporary reviews from critics were generally positive, both for the film and Harlow's new "natural" look, as she darkened her hair to what the press dubbed "brownette" before the film went into production. [4] Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times praised the moments of "robust comedy" but lamented the serious scenes in which a "boisterous jest skids down the slopes of melodramatic routine." [5] Variety published a positive review praising the "excellent cast" and dialogue that was "vigorous and well-written." [6] Film Daily was also positive, calling the film a "lusty picture, full of action and comedy" with "fine performances" by Harlow and Tracy. [7] The Milwaukee Sentinel wrote that there was "much hilarious comedy and robust action which takes away the sting of too much pathos" and that Tracy's work was an "excellent job." [8]

John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote a negative review, regretting that the film "leaves Miss Harlow in the background for longish and rather dreary stretches ... I'd say of the picture that there is too much tuna fish, and not enough Harlow." [9]

The film's depiction of organized labor drew some controversy. Max S. Hayes of The Cleveland Citizen attacked the film as "propaganda to prejudice the public against trade unionism." [10]

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $717,000 in the U.S. and $330,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $63,000. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spencer Tracy</span> American actor (1900–1967)

Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor from nine nominations. During his career, he appeared in 75 films and developed a reputation among his peers as one of the screen's greatest actors. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Tracy as the 9th greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

<i>Libeled Lady</i> 1936 film by Jack Conway

Libeled Lady is a 1936 screwball comedy film starring Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy, written by George Oppenheimer, Howard Emmett Rogers, Wallace Sullivan, and Maurine Dallas Watkins, and directed by Jack Conway. This was the fifth of fourteen films in which Powell and Loy were teamed.

<i>Test Pilot</i> (film) 1938 American film directed by Victor Fleming

Test Pilot is a 1938 film directed by Victor Fleming, starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy, and featuring Lionel Barrymore. The Oscar-nominated film tells the story of a daredevil test pilot (Gable), his wife (Loy), and his best friend (Tracy).

<i>Romeo and Juliet</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by George Cukor

Romeo and Juliet is a 1936 American film adapted from the play by William Shakespeare, directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings. The film stars Leslie Howard as Romeo and Norma Shearer as Juliet, and the supporting cast features John Barrymore, Basil Rathbone, and Andy Devine.

<i>Red-Headed Woman</i> 1932 film

Red-Headed Woman is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Katharine Brush, and a screenplay by Anita Loos. It was directed by Jack Conway and stars Jean Harlow as a woman who uses sex to advance her social position. During the course of the film, Harlow's character breaks up a marriage, has multiple affairs, has premarital sex, and attempts to kill a man.

<i>Tortilla Flat</i> (film) 1942 film by Victor Fleming

Tortilla Flat is a 1942 American romantic comedy film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, John Garfield, Frank Morgan, Akim Tamiroff, and Sheldon Leonard based on the 1935 novel of the same name by John Steinbeck. Frank Morgan received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his poignant portrayal of The Pirate.

<i>Girls! Girls! Girls!</i> 1962 film

Girls! Girls! Girls! is a 1962 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley as a penniless Hawaii-based fisherman who loves his life on the sea and dreams of owning his own boat. "Return to Sender", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop singles chart, is featured in the film. The film peaked at #6 on the Variety box office chart and finished the year at #19 on the year-end list of the top-grossing films of 1962, having earned $2.6 million at the box office. It was also nominated for the Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture - Musical in 1963.

<i>Sylvia Scarlett</i> 1935 film by George Cukor

Sylvia Scarlett is a 1935 American romantic comedy film starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, based on The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett, a 1918 novel by Compton MacKenzie. Directed by George Cukor, it was notorious as one of the most famous unsuccessful movies of the 1930s. Hepburn plays the title role of Sylvia Scarlett, a female con artist masquerading as a boy to escape the police. The success of the subterfuge is in large part due to the transformation of Hepburn by RKO makeup artist Mel Berns.

<i>Follow the Fleet</i> 1936 film by Mark Sandrich

Follow the Fleet is a 1936 American RKO musical comedy film with a nautical theme starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their fifth collaboration as dance partners. It also features Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Lucille Ball and Betty Grable also appear, in supporting roles. The film was directed by Mark Sandrich with script by Allan Scott and Dwight Taylor based on the 1922 play Shore Leave by Hubert Osborne.

<i>Dinner at Eight</i> (1933 film) 1933 film

Dinner at Eight is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Frances Marion and Herman J. Mankiewicz, based on George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's 1932 play of the same title. The film features an ensemble cast of Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Lee Tracy, Edmund Lowe, and Billie Burke.

<i>Bombshell</i> (1933 film) 1933 film

Bombshell is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic screwball comedy film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Frank Morgan, C. Aubrey Smith, Mary Forbes and Franchot Tone. It is based on the unproduced play of the same name by Caroline Francke and Mack Crane, and was adapted for the screen by John Lee Mahin and Jules Furthman.

<i>Captains Courageous</i> (1937 film) 1937 film by Victor Fleming

Captains Courageous is a 1937 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer adventure film. Based on the 1897 novel of the same name by Rudyard Kipling, the film had its world premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. It was produced by Louis D. Lighton and directed by Victor Fleming. Filmed in black and white, Captains Courageous was advertised by MGM as a coming-of-age classic with exciting action sequences.

<i>China Seas</i> (film) 1935 film by Tay Garnett

China Seas is a 1935 American adventure film starring Clark Gable as a brave sea captain, Jean Harlow as his brassy paramour, and Wallace Beery as a suspect character. The oceangoing epic also features Lewis Stone, Rosalind Russell, Akim Tamiroff, and Hattie McDaniel, while humorist Robert Benchley memorably portrays a character reeling drunk from one end of the film to the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elliott Nugent</span> American actor, playwright, writer, and film director

Elliott Nugent was an American actor, playwright, writer, and film director.

<i>Souls at Sea</i> 1937 film by Henry Hathaway

Souls at Sea is a 1937 American adventure film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Gary Cooper and George Raft. Based on a story by Ted Lesser, the film is about a first mate on a slave ship who frees the slaves on the ship after a mutiny overthrows the ship's captain. The title of this film was spoofed in the Laurel and Hardy comedy film Saps at Sea (1940). The supporting cast features Frances Dee, Harry Carey, Joseph Schildkraut, Robert Cummings, George Zucco, Tully Marshall, Monte Blue, and an uncredited Alan Ladd and Edward Van Sloan.

<i>Brother Rat</i> 1938 film by William Keighley

Brother Rat is a 1938 American comedy drama film about cadets at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, directed by William Keighley, and starring Ronald Reagan, Priscilla Lane, Eddie Albert, Jane Wyman, and Wayne Morris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Calthrop</span> English actor (1888–1940)

Donald Esme Clayton Calthrop was an English stage and film actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rafaela Ottiano</span> Italian-American actress

Rafaela Ottiano was an Italian-American stage and film actress.

<i>The Road Back</i> (film) 1937 film by James Whale

The Road Back is a 1937 American historical drama war film directed by James Whale, starring John King, Richard Cromwell, and Slim Summerville with a supporting cast featuring Andy Devine, Louise Fazenda, Noah Beery Jr., Lionel Atwill, Spring Byington, Al Shean, and an uncredited Dwight Frye. The screenplay is by Charles Kenyon and R. C. Sherriff from the 1931 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. Combining a strong anti-war message with prescient warnings about the rising dangers of the dictatorship of Nazi Germany, it was intended to be a powerful and controversial picture, and Universal entrusted it to their finest director, James Whale.

<i>The Girl in the Show</i> 1929 film by Edgar Selwyn

The Girl in the Show is a 1929 American comedy film directed by Edgar Selwyn and written by Edgar Selwyn and Joseph Farnham. The film stars Bessie Love, Raymond Hackett, Edward Nugent, Mary Doran, and Jed Prouty. The film was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

References

  1. ↑ "Home".
  2. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  3. ↑ "Are Extras People?". The Screen Guild's Magazine Vol. 2 No. 9. September 1935. Accessed 14 April 1935.
  4. ↑ McLean, Adrienne L. (2011). Glamour in a Golden Age: Movie Stars of the 1930s. Rutgers University Press. pp. 190–191. ISBN   9780813549040.
  5. ↑ Nugent, Frank S. (January 13, 1936). "Movie Review – Riffraff". The New York Times . Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Riffraff". Variety . New York: 18. January 15, 1936.
  7. ↑ "Reviews of the New Films". Film Daily . New York: Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc.: 7 December 24, 1935.
  8. ↑ Herzog, Buck (February 21, 1936). "The New Films". Milwaukee Sentinel . Milwaukee: 19.
  9. ↑ Mosher, John (January 18, 1936). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker . pp. 60–61.
  10. ↑ ""Riffraff" Attacked by Cleveland Unions". Motion Picture Daily: 2. January 18, 1936.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.