Director William Wellman moved from silent pictures to talkies with considerable skill, and he handles the sordid goings-on here with aplomb, aided no doubt by saucy Dorothy Mackaill as his leading lady. The plot, taken from Houston Branch's play, is an odd one: pretty call-girl, under the belief she has killed one of her johns, hides out in the tropics with a group of resident criminals. Eyebrow-raiser from MGM predictably has dated and clunky trappings when viewed today, but Mackaill is stunning; sultry, funny, dreamy-eyed, she lays on the fruit-loop melodrama with verve. Enjoyable feature for Hollywood buffs, the script might have been ripe material for Crawford or Davis eight or nine years later. **1/2 from ****
Review of Safe in Hell
