Safe in Hell (1931)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Houston Branch (play)
Joseph Jackson (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

12 December 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Fidelity | Bayou | Nom De Plume | Thief | Ship

Cast

Dorothy Mackaill	...	Gilda Carlson, aka Gilda Erickson
Donald Cook	...	Carl Bergen, aka Carl Erickson
Ralf Harolde	...	Piet Van Saal
John Wray	...	Egan
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Crunch (as Ivan Simpson)
Victor Varconi	...	Gen. Emmanuel Jesus Maria Gomez
Morgan Wallace	...	Mr. Bruno, the Hangman
Nina Mae McKinney	...	Leonie, the Hotel Manager
Charles Middleton	...	Lawyer Jones
Clarence Muse	...	Newcastle, the Porter
Gustav von Seyffertitz	...	Larson (as Gustav Von Seyffertitz)
Noble Johnson	...	Bobo, a Caribbean Policeman
Cecil Cunningham	...	Angie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George F. Marion	...	Jack (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

The Lost Lady (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1933) | Finland:K-16 (1940) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

In September 1928, Warner Bros. Pictures purchased a majority interest in First National Pictures and from that point on, all "First National" productions were actually made under Warner Bros. control, even though the two companies continued to retain separate identities until the mid-1930's, after which time "A Warner Bros.-First National Picture" was often used.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Pagan Moon

amazingly bleak

I saw this for the first time a few years ago in a festival of pre-Code films, and it was a revelation--Dorothy Mackaill was new to me and she is excellent as the "loose woman" who finds a very strange salvation on a Caribbean island that is a stand-in for hell, if not in fact the real thing. The atmosphere is palpable--you can almost feel the heat and smell the sweat. This movie is uncanny in being both intensely grim and very funny. Sort of like a painting by the German Expressionist George Grosz come to life. Wonderful camera set-ups, such as the front-on shot of the row of seated disreputable lechers, legs spread and ogling Dorothy as she climbs the rickety stairs to her hotel room. Also unusual for a film of that time is the respectful treatment of Black characters--there is a very nice camaraderie between Dorothy and the woman who works at the hotel.