Pre-Code Confidential #4: Safe in Hell (1931)

A series of posts where I take a look at some pre-code films that truly turn up the crime, sex, scandal, and sensationalism.

It’s no secret that I’m a die-hard fan of director William Wellman. While his later Westerns and war films—like The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) and Battleground (1949)—along with his collaborations with John Wayne in The High and the Mighty and Island in the Sky, often lead to him being labeled as a rough-and-tumble, “man’s-man” director, a closer look at his pre-Code era work reveals a more nuanced side of his filmmaking. In films such as Frisco Jenny (1932) with Ruth Chatterton, Midnight Mary (1933) with Loretta Young, and Night Nurse (1931) with Barbara Stanwyck, Wellman showcases a remarkable sensitivity in his portrayal of women, delving into female-centered stories with depth and compassion.

Opening title for Safe in Hell

Wellman’s 1931 film Safe in Hell starring Dorothy Mackaill is one of his best early films and a standout in the pre-Code era. It’s daring, audacious, grimy, and yes, pretty sleazy—in the best possible way. When the title card blazes across the screen, the viewer gets a hint of what they’re in for: a bold and unflinching tale that pushes the boundaries of the era’s moral codes.

Dorothy Mackaill, an English-born actress, began her career in the United States as a Ziegfeld Follies girl before making the leap to the silver screen at just seventeen in 1920. Her dynamic energy radiates off the screen, and in many ways, she evokes the same fiery intensity as the actress Jeanne Eagels, commanding every scene with an undeniable presence. Though Mackaill was already an established actress, making a mark in talking pictures with films like The Man Who Came Back (1931) and Bright Lights (1930), it’s in Safe in Hell that she cements her legacy.

Dorothy Mackaill as Gilda Karlson

The official Warner Brothers press book for Safe in Hell, a promotional booklet provided by film studios to theaters, journalists, and exhibitors to help market their films, describes Dorothy Mackaill as a "no-nonsense kind of gal":

“There is one striking characteristic about Dorothy Mackaill—that is obvious upon meeting her for the first time. You feel that she knows what she wants. When you’ve known her a bit longer, you are assured that she also knows how to get what she wants.”

In Safe in Hell, Mackaill’s presence leaps through the screen, transcending time and space. She’s fiery and brutal, and she pulls you into the story of Gilda Karlson, a woman who would rather die than break a promise.