There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the seediest films to come out of Hollywood during the early sound era. There is nothing clean or decent about it, yet it is a fascinating view of sinners stuck together and the codes that they must follow in order to be safe in the hell that keeps them free but imprisoned, surrounded by water. There is also the threat of biting centipedes, and the only religious leader on the island has just passed away, his replacement not due for a month. By the time this is over, they haven't even arrived yet, and shocking occurrences give the indication that there is no escape for heroine Dorothy Mackaill.
I first discovered Ms MacKaill in the early to mid 90s when I began to see a series of pre-code dramas, usually made by eyes are Warner Brothers or Paramount, and starting actors like herself, Ruth Chatterton, Nancy Carroll, Helen Twelvetrees, Tallulah Bankhead, Sylvia Sidney, Joan Crawford, Kay Francis and many others. These women all suffered due to their characters be in grave sinners, usually involved with the wrong men, and often selling themselves to make ends meet.
It is very clear in this film at the very beginning that MacKaill is a prostitute, and when one of her clients (Ralf Harolde) turns out to be a married former lover, it is obvious how she got where she is. She believed she accidentally kills him (in a rather brutal scene), and the one man who loves her (Donald Cook) deposits her on an island of forgotten sinners who cannot be extradited. The only other woman on the island is Nina McKinney, a charming, well spoken hostess whose only sin in society in the 1930's is that she is black. There's also Clarence Muse and Noble Johnson , and it is very apparent that the writers wanted to present the black characters as sympathetically as possible while the wife characters are mostly far from noble.
It is interesting to watch MacKaill initially segregate herself from everybody on the island, but eventually, she is made the toast of the hotel, gaining protection from the one lecherous man who will not leave her alone until he is forced to. Twists and turns make this have a seemingly tragic outcome, and it is quite shocking what is insinuated at the very end. MacKaill has been discovered only because these films have gotten festival showings or cable television exposure, and she truly comes off as quite modern and not a woman to be messed with. This is beautifully filmed and directed by William Wellman, but it has such a dour theme that it is not one to get through easily. However, it certainly is not one that anybody who does see it in its entirety will ever forget, as I have not since first seeing it at the Nuart pre-code festival back in West Los Angeles in the early 1990's, and later seeing on TCM as that channel became my daily go to guide for great, forgotten cinema, which this definitely can be considered.
I first discovered Ms MacKaill in the early to mid 90s when I began to see a series of pre-code dramas, usually made by eyes are Warner Brothers or Paramount, and starting actors like herself, Ruth Chatterton, Nancy Carroll, Helen Twelvetrees, Tallulah Bankhead, Sylvia Sidney, Joan Crawford, Kay Francis and many others. These women all suffered due to their characters be in grave sinners, usually involved with the wrong men, and often selling themselves to make ends meet.
It is very clear in this film at the very beginning that MacKaill is a prostitute, and when one of her clients (Ralf Harolde) turns out to be a married former lover, it is obvious how she got where she is. She believed she accidentally kills him (in a rather brutal scene), and the one man who loves her (Donald Cook) deposits her on an island of forgotten sinners who cannot be extradited. The only other woman on the island is Nina McKinney, a charming, well spoken hostess whose only sin in society in the 1930's is that she is black. There's also Clarence Muse and Noble Johnson , and it is very apparent that the writers wanted to present the black characters as sympathetically as possible while the wife characters are mostly far from noble.
It is interesting to watch MacKaill initially segregate herself from everybody on the island, but eventually, she is made the toast of the hotel, gaining protection from the one lecherous man who will not leave her alone until he is forced to. Twists and turns make this have a seemingly tragic outcome, and it is quite shocking what is insinuated at the very end. MacKaill has been discovered only because these films have gotten festival showings or cable television exposure, and she truly comes off as quite modern and not a woman to be messed with. This is beautifully filmed and directed by William Wellman, but it has such a dour theme that it is not one to get through easily. However, it certainly is not one that anybody who does see it in its entirety will ever forget, as I have not since first seeing it at the Nuart pre-code festival back in West Los Angeles in the early 1990's, and later seeing on TCM as that channel became my daily go to guide for great, forgotten cinema, which this definitely can be considered.