Safe in Hell

In looking at the list of movies Nina Mae McKinney appeared in on this site, it mentioned that her part in this movie-as well as that of fellow African-American player Clarence Muse-had them speaking normal English as opposed to the stereotypical dialect associated with their race in films during this period. They do indeed sound normal-actually Muse seemed British when he spoke-and refreshingly non-stereotypical. One other player of their race has a silent role as a guard-Noble Johnson who would two years later appear in a more-iconic movie called King Kong. The story itself, about a New Orleans prostitute who gets smuggled to an uncharted island after killing the man responsible for her situation, was quite compelling especially when she encounters both Nina and Clarence there as possibly the only people who seemed concerned for her well-being. There are some white counterparts who are like them but many of them have sordid pasts like that of that prostitute. In summary, I'll just say Safe in Hell was quite a compelling pre-Code drama. P.S. The song Ms. McKinney performs here-"When It's Sleepytime Down South"-was co-written by Muse.