Riff-Raff [Riffraff] *** (1947, Pat O’Brien, Anne Jeffreys, Walter Slezak) – Classic Movie Review 4999

Pat O’Brien stars as a conman who gets a map to a Panama oilfield and has to fend off the bad guys who are after it, in the 1947 adventure movie Riff-Raff [Riffraff].

Pat O’Brien plays Dan Hammer, a conman who gets a valuable oil-location map to a Panama oilfield and has to fend off the bad guys who are after it, in the gripping and stylish 1947 RKO tale of tropical intrigue Riff-Raff [Riffraff].

Written by Martin Rackin in an original screen play, this 1947 movie tells a minor adventure story, but it is still a real gripper thanks to the stylish film noir-type handling and the involving performances. O’Brien is solid, Walter Slezak is excellent as Eric Molinar, and Anne Jeffreys grabs her star chance to shine in a strongly etched tough girl role as a chantoose nightclub singer called Maxine Manning.

Director Ted Tetzlaff’s camerawork, shot by in black and white cinematographer George E Diskant, is way out of the routine, impressively indulging a then fashionable penchant for odd, striking angles and lighting.

Anne Jeffreys plays a singer called Maxine Manning in Riff-Raff [Riffraff] (1947).

Tetzlaff also directed World Premiere (1941) and The Window (1949) and was cinematographer on more than 100 films, including Cary Grant’s The Talk of the Town (1942) and Notorious (1946). He had to take a wage cut to get the Riff-Raff directing job from executive producer Jack J Gross.

Riff-Raff [Riffraff] is directed by Ted Tetzlaff, runs 80 minutes, is made and released by RKO Radio Pictures, is written by Martin Rackin (original screenplay), is shot in black and white by George E Diskant, is produced by Jack J Gross (executive producer) and Nat Holt, is scored by Roy Webb and is designed by Albert S D’Agostino and Walter E Keller.

It was released on DVD by Warner Home Video in 2015 in the US.

It has no relation to the 1936 MGM release Riffraff or the 1991 Riff-Raff.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 4999

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