Dorothy Mackaill

(On Cable TV, December 2022) I’m adding Safe in Hell to my ever-expanding list of movies that sound a lot better described than seen. Memorable title onward, it’s, after all, a Pre-Code film that feels like one—a story in which a prostitute having stabbed her pimp travels to a Caribbean island safe from extradition… at the cost of staying in a hotel with other people trying to stay away from the reach of the law. For once, the Pre-Code status of the film means that a lot of mature material is included in dialogue and plot elements, and those looking for movies that could not have been made during the Production Code era will discover something fascinating here. Lead actress Dorothy Mackaill shows her long legs, the film goes for a downbeat tone that would not have been out-of-place during the film noir era, the film is filled with sweaty lust, and two black characters are presented in positive light without stereotypes. All of this should make Safe in Hell fascinating, so it’s a bit of a surprise to find out that it plays rather dully. Rough technical production values don’t help, but there’s nothing much worse here than in other similar films of the era. Since I usually go nuts for good Pre-Code movies, I’m provisionally going to mark this as “to revisit,” as I suspect that mood and distracted attention may have had a role to play in this disappointed assessment.