Spencer Tracy plays a rough and tough fisherman, who leads in a strike with his fellow fishery workers against the "fat-cat" owners of a tuna cannery. The love interest Hattie, is also a tuna cannery worker. Her character has a tough exterior with her "bombshell" good looks. Jimmie is a teenager who is the uncle of the two youngest children. They all live with "Pops", Hattie, and his Aunt Lil together in the same small, apartment-like "shack" on the wharf. Aunt Lil runs the home. The thuggish cannery owner, Nick Lewis, is also trying to romance Hattie with his money and gifts. He has wealth, Dutch does not. Hattie falls for Dutch in the end, but this antagonism creates many struggles throughout the film. Pete is a family friend, along with many colorful characters. The movie explores some cutting edge sub-themes that were socially current at the time of its release in 1936. Some scenes involve a woman having a baby while in prison, and a hobo camp deep in the woods.
One incident on the set of Riffraff cause considerable uproar, as well as a subsequent labor dispute. On the night of October 30, 1935, began work at 10pm, with an expected wrap time of 5:30am the following morning. Forty female extras, many of them "elderly" or young but "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 injuries that included bruises, temporary blindness, and being "knocked unconscious." One unidentified actress "who took the full force of the stream of water from the hose on her back, was paralyzed from her hips down for several hours." Half of the extras contracted pneumonia or stayed on bedrest due to injuries sustained during filming. The crew was understaffed and undersupplied to properly warm and dry the extras between takes.
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. Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times praised the moments of "robust comedy", but lamented the instances when it turned serious and a "boisterous jest skids down the slopes of melodramatic routine". Variety ran a positive review, praising the "excellent cast" and dialogue that was "vigorous and well-written". Film Daily was also positive, calling it a "lusty picture, full of action and comedy", with "fine performances" from Harlow and Tracy. The Prescott Evening Courier wrote that "Jean Harlow has never displayed her versatility to a better advantage". 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 did an "excellent job". 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." 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".
Box office
According to MGM records, the film earned $717,000 in the US, and $330,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $63,000.
