Safe in Hell
Encyclopedia
Safe in Hell is a 1931 pre-Code Warner Bros.
melodrama
film directed by William Wellman and starring Dorothy Mackaill
and Donald Cook
with featured performances by Morgan Wallace
, Ralf Harolde
, Noble Johnson
and Nina Mae McKinney
.
) is a New Orleans prostitute. She is accused of murdering Piet Van Saal (Ralf Harolde
), the man responsible for ending her life as a secretary and leading her into prostitution. Her old boyfriend, sailor Carl Erickson (Donald Cook
), smuggles her to safety on Tortuga
, an island in the Caribbean
from which she cannot be extradited
. On the island, Gilda and Carl get "married" without a clergyman to officiate, and she swears to be faithful to him. After Carl leaves on his ship, Gilda finds herself to be the only white woman in a hotel full of international criminals, all of whom try to seduce her. Especially persistent is Bruno (Morgan Wallace
), the island's executioner, who steals the money that Carl sends her, with the hope that she'll think that Carl has abandoned her.
Van Saal arrives on the island, having ditched his wife, on the lam with the life insurance money he collected after his "death". Bruno gives Gilda a gun to protect herself. When Van Saal attacks her, she kills him. She is put on trial and is about to be acquitted by a sympathetic jury, when Bruno tells her that he will have her arrested for possessing an illegal firearm unless she has sex with him. To foil Bruno's trap, Gilda gives a false confession at her trial, preferring to die rather than to break her vow to Carl. She is convicted and sent to the gallows.
Cast notes
The film was originally scheduled to be directed by Michael Curtiz
, and initial casting consideration was given to David Manners
, Boris Karloff
, John Harrington, Montague Love and Richard Bennett
. Lillian Bond and Barbara Stanwyck
were under consideration for the women.
At the time of its release, Safe in Hell was labelled as being "Not for Children". Time
magazine reviewed it, saying: "Safe in Hell is crude, trite, sporadically exciting."
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
film directed by William Wellman and starring Dorothy Mackaill
Dorothy Mackaill
Dorothy Mackaill was an English-born American actress, most notably of the silent film era and into the early 1930s.-Early life:...
and Donald Cook
Donald Cook (actor)
Donald Cook was an American stage and film actor.Born in Portland, Oregon, he originally studied farming but later started business with a lumber company. He joined the Kansas Community Players and through this received an offer of stage work...
with featured performances by Morgan Wallace
Morgan Wallace
Morgan Wallace , was an American actor. He appeared in 28 films between 1914 and 1946, including It's a Gift and My Little Chickadee starring W.C. Fields and Mae West....
, Ralf Harolde
Ralf Harolde
Ralf Harolde was an American character actor. Between 1920 and 1963, he appeared in 99 films, including Jimmy the Gent, Night Nurse, Baby Take a Bow, A Tale of Two Cities, Our Relations, and Murder, My Sweet.Harolde was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and died in Santa Monica,...
, Noble Johnson
Noble Johnson
Noble Johnson was an African American actor and film producer.-Biography:Standing 6'2" at 215 pounds, his impressive physique and handsome features made him in demand as a character actor and bit player...
and Nina Mae McKinney
Nina Mae McKinney
Nina Mae McKinney was an American actress who worked internationally in theatre, film and television after getting her start on Broadway and in Hollywood...
.
Plot
Gilda Karlson (Dorothy MackaillDorothy Mackaill
Dorothy Mackaill was an English-born American actress, most notably of the silent film era and into the early 1930s.-Early life:...
) is a New Orleans prostitute. She is accused of murdering Piet Van Saal (Ralf Harolde
Ralf Harolde
Ralf Harolde was an American character actor. Between 1920 and 1963, he appeared in 99 films, including Jimmy the Gent, Night Nurse, Baby Take a Bow, A Tale of Two Cities, Our Relations, and Murder, My Sweet.Harolde was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and died in Santa Monica,...
), the man responsible for ending her life as a secretary and leading her into prostitution. Her old boyfriend, sailor Carl Erickson (Donald Cook
Donald Cook (actor)
Donald Cook was an American stage and film actor.Born in Portland, Oregon, he originally studied farming but later started business with a lumber company. He joined the Kansas Community Players and through this received an offer of stage work...
), smuggles her to safety on Tortuga
Tortuga
Tortuga is a Caribbean island that forms part of Haiti, off the northwest coast of Hispaniola. It constitutes the commune of Île de la Tortue in the Port-de-Paix arrondissement of the Nord-Ouest Department of Haiti. The island covers an area of 180 km² and its population was 25,936 at the...
, an island in the Caribbean
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
from which she cannot be extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
. On the island, Gilda and Carl get "married" without a clergyman to officiate, and she swears to be faithful to him. After Carl leaves on his ship, Gilda finds herself to be the only white woman in a hotel full of international criminals, all of whom try to seduce her. Especially persistent is Bruno (Morgan Wallace
Morgan Wallace
Morgan Wallace , was an American actor. He appeared in 28 films between 1914 and 1946, including It's a Gift and My Little Chickadee starring W.C. Fields and Mae West....
), the island's executioner, who steals the money that Carl sends her, with the hope that she'll think that Carl has abandoned her.
Van Saal arrives on the island, having ditched his wife, on the lam with the life insurance money he collected after his "death". Bruno gives Gilda a gun to protect herself. When Van Saal attacks her, she kills him. She is put on trial and is about to be acquitted by a sympathetic jury, when Bruno tells her that he will have her arrested for possessing an illegal firearm unless she has sex with him. To foil Bruno's trap, Gilda gives a false confession at her trial, preferring to die rather than to break her vow to Carl. She is convicted and sent to the gallows.
Cast
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Cast notes
- Unusually for the time, the characters portrayed by the main African-American actors in the films, Nina Mae McKinney and Noble Johnson are among the most reputable in the film. Even though their parts were written in dialect in the film's script, they spoke normally in the film itself. William Wellman's biographer, Frank T. Thompson, speculated that either McKinnery and Johnson, who were popular favorites at the time, had enough clout with the studio to avoid using "Negro dialect", or else that Wellman "just wanted to avoid a convenient cliche."
- McKinney sings "When It's Sleepy Time Down SouthWhen It's Sleepy Time Down South"When It's Sleepy Time Down South", also known as "Sleepy Time Down South", is a 1931 jazz song written by Clarence Muse, Leon René and Otis René. It was sung in the movie Safe in Hell by Nina Mae McKinney, and became the theme song of Louis Armstrong, who recorded it almost a hundred times during...
", written by Leon RenéLeon RenéLeon René was an American music composer of R&B and rock and roll songs in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. He sometimes used the songwriting pseudonym Jimmy Thomas. He also established several record labels...
, Otis René and Clarence MuseClarence MuseClarence Muse was an actor, screenwriter, director, composer, and lawyer. He was inducted in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973. Muse was the first African American to "star" in a film. He acted for more than sixty years, and appeared in more than 150 movies.-Life and career:Born in...
for the film.
Production and response
Safe in Hell began filming in September 1931 under the working titles of Lady from New Orleans and Lost Lady, and finished on October 18.The film was originally scheduled to be directed by Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
, and initial casting consideration was given to David Manners
David Manners
David Manners was a Canadian - American film actor.Born Rauff de Ryther Daun Acklom in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Manners came to Hollywood at the beginning of the talking films revolution after studying acting with Eva Le Gallienne, and acting on stage with Helen Hayes...
, Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
, John Harrington, Montague Love and Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett (actor)
Richard Bennett was an American actor who became a stage and silent screen matinee idol over the early decades of the twentieth century.-Early Life:...
. Lillian Bond and Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
were under consideration for the women.
At the time of its release, Safe in Hell was labelled as being "Not for Children". Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine reviewed it, saying: "Safe in Hell is crude, trite, sporadically exciting."