Safe in Hell (1931)

[6]

Director William Wellman (Wings, Battleground) opens Safe in Hell with the title in flames, and I interpret that to mean, “Buckle up for melodrama.” Dorothy Mackaill stars as a woman who hits hard times in New Orleans while her husband is at war. She turns to prostitution to make ends meet, but early in the film a john gets rough with her and she’s forced to shoot him. When her husband (Donald Cook) returns, he blames himself for her troubles and she promises never to be unchaste again. The two flea to a mysterious island in the middle of nowhere. But once he has to leave for war again, all the men in the hotel start making the moves on Mackaill. Once the man she shot turns up alive and kicking, Safe in Hell pulls out a few narrative twists and a somewhat surprising ending.

It’s not as socially conscious or provocative as several other Wellman films, but as an old fashioned kornball, I kinda enjoyed this flick. Mackaill’s feature film career ended a few years after Safe in Hell was released, but she leaves a fairly memorable impression, especially when she’s fighting or standing up for herself. She and the rest of the cast are upstaged by supporting player Nina Mae McKinney. McKinney plays the island hotel’s manager and is bursting with personality in her handful of scenes, including a couple where she gets to sing. (McKinney starred a few years earlier in the first all-black musical, Hallelujah!)