Safety in Numbers (1930) Review - Is early Carole Lombard worth it?

So, is Safety in Numbers actually worth your time today? If you're a fan of early 1930s fluff or you just want to see Carole Lombard before she became a total icon, then yeah, definitely. If you can’t stand movies where people talk like they’re reading off a grocery list, you might want to skip this one. 🛑

It’s an early "talkie" musical, which means it has that weird, stiff energy where everyone is terrified of the microphone. But honestly, that’s part of the charm for me. It’s not trying to be a masterpiece like some of the stuff you'd see in a film history class. It’s just... there. And it’s kind of fun.

The plot is honestly pretty weird if you think about it for more than five seconds. This rich uncle is worried his nephew, William (played by Buddy Rogers), is too much of a "good boy." To fix this, he literally hires three chorus girls to show him the "underside" of the city. I’m pretty sure that’s just 1930s code for taking him to bars and making him grow a backbone.

Buddy Rogers is... well, he’s very shiny. He has this smile that looks like it was painted on by a professional house painter. He plays a songwriter, so of course, he’s always hanging around a piano. He’s almost too nice, which I guess is the point, but sometimes you just want to shake him. 🎹

The real reason to watch this is the three girls. You’ve got Josephine Dunn, Kathryn Crawford, and of course, Carole Lombard. Carole plays Cleo, and even though she isn't the main lead yet, she’s already doing that thing where she looks slightly annoyed by everyone else in the room. It’s great.

She has this one moment where she’s sitting on a couch, and she just gives this look to one of the other girls that says "I am way too good for this movie." It’s way more interesting than the stuff she did in Lucretia Lombard, where everything was so heavy and dramatic. Here, she gets to be a bit of a brat.

The music is... okay? It’s that very early sound era style where the singing is really high-pitched and sounds like it’s coming from the bottom of a well. The songs aren't exactly catchy, but they’re short. Thank god for that.

I noticed this one scene where they’re all in a penthouse, and the background actors are just standing there. Like, they aren't even pretending to have a conversation. They’re just waiting for the scene to end so they can go get lunch. It’s those little things that remind you how new sound movies were back then.

It’s definitely lighter than Ladies Must Dress, which I felt dragged a bit too much in the middle. This one moves pretty fast, mostly because the plot doesn't really have anywhere to go. It’s just a series of scenes where people look at Buddy Rogers and wonder why he’s so polite.

The "big city" sets look like they were made out of cardboard and hope. There’s a scene in a club where the lighting is so flat it looks like an office building. But again, it’s 1930. They were still figuring out where to put the lights without melting the actors.

There’s a bit of a subplot about the girls actually falling for him, which is predictable. But the way they talk over each other is actually pretty natural. It doesn't feel as scripted as some of the other movies from this era, like maybe The Primrose Ring which feels much more like a formal play.

One thing that really stood out to me was the hats. The hats are huge. There is one hat Virginia Bruce wears that I am 100% sure could pick up satellite signals from the future. It’s distracting in the best way possible. 👒

I also loved the uncle character. He’s barely in it, but he’s just so grumpy for no reason. He sets this whole weird plan in motion and then just disappears for a while. It’s the kind of chaotic energy I appreciate in these old flicks.

If you’re looking for something with the weird, experimental pacing of Filibus, you won’t find it here. This is very much a Hollywood product. But it’s a weird Hollywood product from a time when they didn't quite know what the rules were yet.

Is it a classic? Probably not. Is it a good way to spend an hour if you like seeing old-school glamour and slightly awkward dancing? Yeah, totally. Just don't expect the songs to stay in your head for more than five minutes after the credits roll.

• The way the camera barely moves during the musical numbers. It’s like it’s glued to the floor.
• Buddy Rogers’ hair never moves. Not even once. 💇‍♂️
• The weirdly long pauses between lines where you can hear the hiss of the early sound recording.
• Carole Lombard’s outfits are clearly the best ones in the movie.
• That one extra in the club who is definitely looking directly at the camera.

Anyway, it’s a decent little watch. Not a life-changer, but it’s got vibes. And sometimes, that’s all you really need on a Tuesday night.