For me this is one of the strongest early wellman films ive seen yet, with all the terseness of his best 1930s talkies, and the feeling that not a scene or line has been wasted. Gilda carsonerickson dorothy mackaill safe in hell 1931. Read the full synopsis of safe in hell, 1931, directed by william a. After accidentally killing the man who raped her and forced her into prostitution, a new orleans woman flees to a caribbean island. Gilda karlson dorothy mackaill, a new orleans prostitute, is accused of murdering piet. Wellman, with dorothy mackaill, donald cook, ralf harolde. Safe in hell 1931 posted on february 27, 2010 by judy. A rebellious teenager, dorothy who had long wanted a career in the theater ran away to london and finally persuaded her father to pay for her board and lessons. With a title like safe in hell, you know youre in for a sordid tale and it doesnt let you down in that respect. Later a sailor finds himself attracted to her and takes her to a safe tropical island filled with fugitives.
Wellman and starring dorothy mackaill and donald cook, with featured performances by morgan wallace, ralf harolde, nina mae mckinney, clarence muse, and noble johnson. Safe in hell 1931 although chiefly remembered as a director of macho adventures, gangster films and war movies, william a. Released 1931, millie stars helentwelvetrees, lilyantashman, robertames, joanblondell the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 25 min, and received a score of out of 100 on metacritic, which. It is full of dark shadows and unusual angles, and the heroine is constantly seen through bars, or just her eyes or her feet glimpsed, as with. The screenplay by joseph jackson and maude fulton is based on houston branchs play. Besieged by the scum of the earth, gilda will soon find out that she has found refuge in hell. Its a mixed collection, by which i mean there are some real discoveries here along with some misfires, and safe in hell 1931, a kind of bmovie riff on sadie thompson the original bad girl in the tropics melodrama directed with a brutally by william wellman, and its star dorothy mackaill are the most exciting of said discoveries. The chinese multiplex theater was packed with festivalgoers eager to see a classic produced in 1931, right in the middle of the timeframe after the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and before the motion picture production code went into effect in 1934. Dorothy mackaill was 11 when her parents separated. After believing she has killed an exlover ralf harolde in a hotel fight, a new orleans hooker dorothy mackaill flees to a caribbean island that has no extradition treaty with the united states with assistance from her loyal sailor boyfriend donald.
After accidentally killing the man who raped her and forced her. Get info about the original print of safe in hell, 1931, directed by william a. Safe in hell was in production under the working titles of the lady from new orleans and lost lady. Well that scene was one of the most effective in the movie, and entirely crucial to the narrative. Wellman, safe in hell is full of terrors and delights, including the most striking ensemble seen this side of freaks and a truly twisted stunner of a finale.
Wellman, with dorothy mackaill, donald cook, ralf harolde, at turner classic movies. Released 1931, millie stars helentwelvetrees, lilyantashman, robertames, joanblondell the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 25 min, and received a score of. Memorable quotes and exchanges from movies, tv series and more. The cinematography by sidney hickox is also striking. Safe in hell 1931 you might think this would be routine hollywood, directed by the mainstream director william wellman. Become a fan via fan sites about safe in hell, 1931, directed by william a. Wellman, safe in hell is full of terrors and delights.
Aug 03, 2011 dorothy mackaill lets loose, while nina mae mckinney sings the blues in william wellmans eccentric precode safe in hell 1931. Wellman directed safe in hell, a precode thriller, starring dorothy mackaill and donald cook. Precode hollywood was the brief era in the american film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in pictures in 1929 and the enforcement of the motion picture production code censorship guidelines, popularly known as the hays code, in mid1934. Gilda is a complex cigarette smoking call girl who is laid back about her status as a working girl.
Films, including barbara stanwyck so big, 1932 and janet gaynor a star is born, 1937. Safe in hell 1931 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. But it starts with a lurid title card in flames, shifts to a scene on the docks of new orleans, then to a shot of a womans legs as she answers the phone the legs more important than the phone. No mean feat for a director who seemed intent on pushing boundaries throughout his career. Now the film ought to be acceptable to people with the same pathetically fragile constitutions as ours. The hot dog vendor from the carol burnett show full sketch duration. With dorothy mackaill, donald cook, ralf harolde, john wray. The screenplay by joseph jackson and maude fulton is based on a play by houston branch a copy is held in the library of congress collection. While she awaits her fiance, the vicious local police chief sets his sights on her.
In the unfairly neglected safe in hell 1931, wellman. Gilda carsonerickson dorothy mackaill safe in hell 1931 precode. Precode movies attract a lot of attention and safe in hell, screened at the 20 tcm film festival, is no exception. Wellman, safe in hell is full of terrors and delights, including the most striking ensemble seen this side of freaks and a. It starts getting sordid within just a few seconds of the movie beginning. Mandalay may represent a sort of regression, as its heroine finds personal redemption through murder rather than patriarchal damnation. Safe in hell 1931 plot when prostitute gilda carlson dorothy mackaill is sent out on a job, shes not too happy to find out her customer is piet van saal ralf harolde, the man responsible for sending into her life of prostitution. Safe in hell 1931, william wellman shady lady in the tropics dorothy mackaill strikes matches on her thumbnail and flames in the pants of as sleazy and sinister a bunch as ever crawled out of the woodwork. Apr 15, 2012 start with safe in hell, from 1932, her best movie, a tough precode entry directed by the great william wellman, in which she plays a hardboiled call girl. Precode drama film directed by john francis dillon,1931 starring helen twelvetrees.
The police are anxious to capture an elusive child murderer peter lorre, and they begin rounding up every criminal in town. Safe in hell is a 1931 american precode thriller film directed by william a. But the movie really belongs to dorothy mackaill as the lady with a past and nina. After believing she has killed an exlover ralf harolde in a hotel fight, a new orleans hooker dorothy mackaill flees to a caribbean island that has no extradition treaty with the united states with assistance from her loyal sailor boyfriend. Contrary to the implied theology of its title, safe in hell depicts a hopeless, godless world in which man and especially woman is just another morsel of meat on the food chain. Wellman on allmovie a young barbara stanwyck was considered for the. Safe in hell is about a woman trying to keep an island full of criminals from sexually assaulting her. Although the code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor, and it did not become rigorously enforced until july 1. On the run from the police, a new orleans prostitute gets stranded in a tropical haven for outlaws. Dorothy mackaill lets loose, while nina mae mckinney sings the blues in william wellmans eccentric precode safe in hell 1931. Cast and crew credits for safe in hell, 1931, directed by william a.
Fritz langs classic early talkie crime melodrama is set in 1931 berlin. This is a list of early prerecorded sound andor talking movies produced, coproduced, andor distributed by warner bros. From its opening salvo of gilda, legs rested on her desk, displaying her stockinged legs, to the sight of a line of men in their chairs, lined up in the hotel bar, eyes trained on gildas bedroom door, safe in hell is a movie that screams its sexuality, and tugs at your clothes. This movie may be available on other devices, but playback may require subscription to a specific channel or channel package. Making a movie that calls out the patriarchy for doing horrible things to women.
Wellman, dorothy mackaill, donald cook, ralf harolde, drama june 22, 2017 sought by the new orleans police for accidentally killing the man who raped her and forced her into prostitution, a woman flees new orleans for a caribbean island. Night nurse and now the melodrama safe in hell, starring dorothy mackaill and donald cook. This precode crime classic, touted at the time as not for children, is frank, startling and arresting, as gripping today as it was eight decades ago. Safe in hell pictures and photo gallery check out just released safe in hell pics, images, clips, trailers, production photos and more from rotten tomatoes pictures archive. As long as you behave yourselves here, you are safe from both jail and gallows, safe in hell morgan wallace as mr. Start with safe in hell, from 1932, her best movie, a tough precode entry directed by the great william wellman, in which she plays a hardboiled call girl. Landing smackbang in the middle of hollywoods precode era, william wellmans fifth movie of 1931 his notable others being james cagneys starmaking, grapefruitsmashing the public enemy, and the squalid thriller night nurse proved to be of his tawdriest. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience, and want to assure you that. A wayward new orleans womans dorothy mackaill sailor boyfriend donald cook takes her to an island of fugitive men. Feb 27, 2010 the first time i watched safe in hell, i couldnt quite believe how good it was so i watched again and, if anything, i admired it even more the second time.
Wild bill wellman also drew sensitive performances from several actresses in 1930s warner bros. The screenplay by joseph jackson and maude fulton is based on a play by houston branch. 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. In this grim adult drama, a whore blames herself for the death of one of her dates.
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