When you think of Jean Harlow starring in a movie called Riffraff, there's only one explanation for it: her leading man must be Spencer Tracy. They both play workers in a tuna cannery, and their characters aren't particularly high class. They and their neighbors live in crowded slums, and Mickey Rooney looks after his young nieces and nephews, when he's a mere child himself!
As it's the 1930s, Joseph Calleia is the villain and Una Merkel is the best friend. If you really like Jean Harlow or movies about how the lower half lives in the slums, you can watch this one. It's far from the best classic I've seen, and I've made quite a study of it. I prefer Jean when she's more glamorous, or at least trying to be. Somehow, Jean Harlow and "riff raff" don't blend well.
As it's the 1930s, Joseph Calleia is the villain and Una Merkel is the best friend. If you really like Jean Harlow or movies about how the lower half lives in the slums, you can watch this one. It's far from the best classic I've seen, and I've made quite a study of it. I prefer Jean when she's more glamorous, or at least trying to be. Somehow, Jean Harlow and "riff raff" don't blend well.