"Riffraff" is a surprisingly well done film noir. It is expertly directed by Ted Tetzlaff and contains a veritable Who's Who of noir cinema: Pat O'Brien, Walter Slezak, Anne Jeffreys, and Jerome Cowan. The plot is fairly routine - a rogues gallery of shady types (or riff-raff) hunting down a valuable item (in this case a map of oil wells) and committing any crime necessary to obtain it. The film boasts a memorable opening sequence devoid of dialogue that sets the tone for the film: a stormy Peruvian airport, a ramshackle aircraft, sketchy-looking passengers, and a man prematurely abandoning an airborn plane by taking the express route to the terra firma. The surviving passenger shows up in Panama with the skydiver's briefcase and immediately hires local PI Dan Hammer (O'Brien, sporting a name that only exists in fiction) to protect him. Unbeknownst to Hammer, the man clips a map onto a bamboo changing curtain and departs. The remainder of the film concerns the quest for this map and how many times the actors can walk past it or be framed by the camera with it in the backround as it hides in plain site.
Tetzlaff does a wondeful job of shooting this film; from the brilliant opening sequence to the final fadeout. Many of these RKO noirs prove to be an endurance test to get through despite relatively brief running times but "Riffraff" held my attention with the visuals and performances of a stellar cast.
Portly, balding, and painfully over-the-hill Pat O'Brien nevertheless turns in a surpsrisingly virile performance particularly near the end of the picture where he dukes it out with several tough guys and runs down a moving car by dashing through dark alleys & disturbing couples necking in parked cars. Of course he is brilliant at mouthing his lines both laconically and with his trademark staccato elocution. The script isn't particularly great but his delivery makes it seem like snappy dialogue. Despite his appearance the actor's performance is great and holds the film together.
Walter Slezak seems to be reprising his role of the treacherous Incza from RKO's "Cornered" although sans moustache. He never runs out of flowery ways to make his point and conveys menace when flanked by his bodyguards. There is a priceless scene of him sitting in the window of Hammer's office, sketching the street outside, while his thugs work Hammer over with the obligatory nosey PI beating. He must be a fast illustrator because Hammer doesn't look too much the worse for wear when the goons finish roughing him up. In fact, after a good night's sleep, he's back to barging around and doing a little threatening of his own the next morning.
Anne Jeffreys fills the part of the heroine in a one-note role as the love interest; unfortunately she has no femme fatale duties. However, she does get to wrestle around with Slezak in a late scene and is the first to discover the elusive map. Percy Kilbride adds levity as O'Brien's personal taxi driver and they exchange some curious banter about marriage to each other. Fortunately O'Brien moves on to Miss Jeffreys and Kilbride heads to the hills with Marjorie Main. Jerome Cowan adds a little Warner Brothers flavor with his typical role as a wormy executive who meets a deserved fate.
A neat little film, "Riffraff" passes a pleasant 80 minutes, delivers a memorable opening sequence, and demonstrates the hazards of wearing a tie if you're a private investigator.