Riffraff (1947)

Riffraff (1947) is a  flavoursome Panamanian-set P.I. adventure oil executive nightclub mystery film noir with Pat O'Brien committed to the hard-bittten style, atheistically prosecuting the style for all the grimy practise it is worth.

The question of who came first, Dan Hammer or Mike Hammer, is one that warrants investigation. Both characters made their debut in 1947, but the more pressing question is: which of the two left a more significant mark on American pop culture?

Dan Hammer, the protagonist of the film Riffraff, is a character who, despite having several commendable qualities, has largely faded into obscurity. The film, set in Panama, features Pat O’Brien as Dan Hammer, a suave and resourceful man who knows the ins and outs of the town. 

A Dangerous Profession (1949)

A Dangerous Profession (1949) is a stylised pulp cop versus bail-bondsman versus client stand-off romance crime and detective mystery mannered film noir directed by Ted Tetzlaff, and starring Ella Raines, George Raft, Jim Backus and Pat O'Brien.

The tough loners of film noir are always waiting for a new case in the city of crime, whether they be detective or heel, or in this case a bail bondsman, something of the perfect cinematic loner. 

Some of them are waiting for the return of the woman that burned them, and George Raft plays both, with his usual stillness and impassive stone hard cinematic stare.

In the game of sucker moves, this loner works his broken relationships with broken noir charm, the grimaces of both his current partner and his former police partner testify to this.