Starts out with some very funny writing and acting then veers off into a crappy, ridiculous melodrama. What a waste. From laughs to tragic, drunken hobo on the lam, womens' prison, jailbreak(!)...a mess.
What might've been....
They should have had brains enough to keep it a comedy. It could have been a classic.
Hi KingVidor,
I agree with you - Riffraff is actually two films - a romantic comedy and a tough melodrama about the Depression that was more suitable for a studio like Warner Brothers. The comedy works well with great 30s dialogue then the movie darkens and becomes something totally different. I agree, it could have been a classic.
Very true. They should have split the script and made two separate movies. The comic part had the most promise by far. The melodramatic part was ridiculously over the top. Oh well. A bit late now, eh? ;-)
shareSame with Hold Your Man; the first half is hilarious, the second half, dramatic dirge.
shareYeah, I agree. I'd go as far as saying that it was on its way to becoming one of Jean Harlow's best movies. But then once she goes to prison it all falls apart.
share