Riff-Raff (1947)

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Two passengers board a plane during a storm. When the journey is complete, only one passenger is left. It's a great opening sequence filled with tension, angst and progressed without any dialogue. It's pretty stylish and promises great things. However, the film doesn't live up to this gripping start and at only 80 minutes in length, this short film ends up seeming a lot longer.Apart from the excellent beginning, the dialogue is snappy and humorous and Anne Jeffreys (Maxine) sings a great song. The director puts on a good show for this offering. Unfortunately, everything falls apart with the lead actor - Pat O'Brien (Dan) - who is tasked with tracking down a map. He's unlike-able, too old, fat, balding and reminds me of a paedophile. The end sequence with him chasing after a taxi is ludicrous as we watch this fat blob running after and unrealistically keeping up with the car's journey. Ha ha. He looks ridiculous. The film somehow kills the interest and drags on. It's watchable, though.

With an ex-lensman at the helm and a D.P. of George E Diskant's calibre on board, it's no surprise that the cinematography is one of the strongest features of this highly entertaining detective story that revolves around a search for a map. Shadows and high-angle camera shots are used to good effect to contribute to the atmosphere and there are a number of striking close-ups that enhance the tension at certain points as well as one that's used purely for comic purposes. The way in which a couple of the characters (a passenger at an airport and a man at a nightclub) are introduced on-screen makes a real impact and there's a relatively long dialogue-free sequence at the very beginning of the movie that's intriguing, suspenseful and visually stunning.The action begins at a small airport in Peru where a couple of passengers get onto a cargo plane headed for Panama City. They travel through a thunderstorm without conversing until one of the men, Charles Hasso (Marc Krah), reports to a pilot that the other man has apparently committed suicide by jumping out of the plane. After landing at his destination, Hasso is briefly interviewed by local Secret Police Lieutenant Rues (George Givot) and afterwards, goes directly to private detective Dan Hammer (Pat O'Brien) who he hires as a bodyguard. Hammer takes the anxious-looking Hasso to a nearby hotel and then goes on to his next appointment with oil company executive Walter Gredson (Jerome Cowan).Gredson explains that his investment in some wildcat oil wells in Peru is in danger because a map showing their locations was stolen and he suspects Charles Hasso of being responsible. After some haggling over his fee, Hammer is duly hired to find both Hasso and the map. At a local nightclub, the detective meets the establishment's attractive singer Maxine Manning (Anne Jeffreys) and a seemingly affable tourist called Eric Molinar (Walter Slezak) and later goes on to Charles Hasso's hotel where he finds his client dead in a bathtub after apparently being strangled.Hammer gradually discovers that his meetings with Maxine Manning and Eric Molinar were certainly not coincidental and that they both have links with Walter Gredson but as his quest for the missing map continues, the relationships between all of these characters go through some interesting changes as does his relationship with Maxine.In "Riff-Raff", the impact of a few murders, a lot of deception and plenty of violence, is counterbalanced to some extent by moments of romance, humour and witty banter that lighten the mood without ever detracting from the impetus of the main plot.Pat O'Brien is amusing as the rather rotund and extremely resourceful Hammer who has numerous sidelines as well as his job and his interactions with his very inactive dog and his good friend and taxi-driver, Pop (Percy Kilbride), provide platforms for much of the movie's humour. The supporting cast is also consistently good in bringing the remainder of the story's colourful characters to life so successfully. For a movie that's not generally regarded as being a top class film noir, "Riff-Raff" certainly has plenty going for it.

On occasion I head on over to TCM to see what's on and I walk right into great film that I haven't seen before. This time, I came across Riffraff a little film noir gem that I had never even heard of. The plot of Riffraff is pretty simple. Two men get on a plane headed for Panama. One of the men has a map to some oil locations in Peru. When the plane lands one of the men is missing along with the map. All kinds of seedy characters want the map. So they all seek out the help of Dan Hammer, (could there be a more perfect name for a noir anti-hero?) the local private eye/man about town. Apparently this movie is pretty well known for its opening sequence that involves 6 minutes with dialogue but what sets this film apart is that it has some great acting and some dialogue that you just won't see in movies today. Pat O'Brien is great in lead role. He doesn't really look like the classic tough guy but his performance is definitely a highlight.Walter Slezak does a decent job trying to imitate Sydney Greenstreet and Percy Kilbride is great as the comic relief/older buddy. I was unfamiliar with Anne Jefferys who plays the femme fatale in this one but she really impressed me. My only complaint is that the missing map is hidden in a location that is painfully obvious and it requires a little bit of a suspension of disbelief in order to accept that the characters don't see the map when it is right in front of their faces. Riffraff is definitely not one of the bigger budget noir's of its time but it's a great little B movie and well worth the a watch. Unfortunately, after I watched this I did a little digging around and I couldn't find a DVD release for the movie. I found it on VHS on Amazon but I don't know a single person that still has a VCR. Hopefully someone will release this on DVD soon.

Pat O'Brien, Anne Jeffries and Walter Slezak star in "Riffraff," a 1947 film from RKO. In the beginning of the film, there is a wonderful scene showing a plane as a storm rages. Though there are two passengers in the plane, when it lands in Peru, there is only one, a man named Hasso.Hasso seeks out a detective, Dan Hammer (Pat O'Brien), says he needs protection, and hires him. Another job come in right away when a representative of an oil company enters and hires Hammer to find a map -- it turns out that Hammer's client Hasso has it. Hasso is killed, and Hammer runs up against Walter Slezak, a dangerous man who wants the map and will do anything to get it. Just about everyone is looking for that map.The cinematography by George Diskant is very good, and the film is directed with precision and good pace by Ted Tetzlaff. The acting is good, though for me Pat O'Brien has never been a leading man. He's miscast here. Anne Jeffreys is a knockout -- I met her last year when she was 92, and guess what, she's still gorgeous.Great fight scene at the end of the film. Worth seeing.