Midnight Mary (1933)

A young woman is on trial for murder. In flashback, we learn of her struggles to overcome poverty as a teenager -- a mistaken arrest and prison term for shoplifting and lack of employment ... See full summary »

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Anita Loos (original story), Gene Markey (screen play),

Stars:

Loretta Young, Ricardo Cortez, Franchot Tone

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Loretta Young	...	Mary
Ricardo Cortez	...	Leo
Franchot Tone	...	Tom
Andy Devine	...	Sam
Una Merkel	...	Bunny
Frank Conroy	...	District Attorney
Warren Hymer	...	Angelo
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Tindle (as Ivan Simpson)
Harold Huber	...	Puggy
Sandy Roth	...	Blimp
Martha Sleeper	...	Barbara
Charley Grapewin	...	Clerk (as Charles Grapewin)
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Churchill
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Cop

Storyline

A young woman is on trial for murder. In flashback, we learn of her struggles to overcome poverty as a teenager -- a mistaken arrest and prison term for shoplifting and lack of employment lead to involvement with gangsters. In a brothel, she meets a young lawyer, scion of a wealthy and prestigious family, who falls for her and helps her turn around her life. But her past catches up with her, and she must face the music rather than cause him scandal.

---

Plot Keywords:

trial | flashback | gangster | murder | prison | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lady of the Night

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Franchot Tone and Una Merkel were the only leads in this film under contract with the production company, M-G-M. Loretta Young was loaned from Warner Bros, Ricardo Cortez from Paramount, and Andy Devine from Universal. Director William A. Wellman was also borrowed from Warner Bros.

---

Goofs

In the opening courtroom scene, Mary is reading a different issue of Cosmopolitan than the one she is seen holding seconds before, in the establishing long shot.

---

Quotes

Leo Darcy: [to Mary] You can leave at any time, I won't go after you... but you'll always come back.

---

Connections

Featured in Complicated Women (2003)

---

Soundtracks

"Jingle Bells"
(1857) (uncredited)
Written by James Pierpont
In the score at Christmas

User Reviews

Pre-code Bliss!

Midnight Mary is pre-code bliss par excellence! Loretta Young stars as a down on her luck young woman who finds herself in situations that she never would've found herself in later in her career! From the opening courtroom scenes where Mary finds herself reminiscing about her past, we are taken on a roller coaster ride through the years to find out how she came to be where she is now! Mary isn't a bad girl, she's just had a lot of bad luck and made unfortunate choices in consequence.

Loretta has tons of chemistry with her co-stars Ricardo Cortez (yummy) and wise-cracking, adorable Una Merkel, who has a really great philosophical drunk scene in the movie! There are many scenes that wouldn't have made it past the censors later on, such as the one at the kitchen table where Loretta and Franchot Tone discuss a subject that's on a lot of people's minds a lot of the time. And towards the end of the movie, there's a scene with Mary trying to seduce Leo, who responds by licking her fingers as she strokes his face.

This is a great little morality play and a comment on the hard times encountered during the Depression Era, when many people were forced into hard choices they might never have made otherwise.

All the cast is great, including Franchot Tone as the suave lawyer who befriends and saves Mary and Andy Devine as his loud-mouthed friend who's along for the ride.

Midnight Mary really is Pre-Code Bliss!