Midnight Mary (1933)

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Anita Loos (original story)
Gene Markey (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

30 June 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A young woman is on trial for murder. In flashback, we learn of her struggles to overcome poverty as a teenager...

Plot Keywords:

Trial | Flashback | Gangster | Murder | Prison

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Adams	...	Court Photographer (uncredited)
Reginald Barlow	...	Judge (uncredited)
Louise Beavers	...	Anna - Mary's Maid (uncredited)
Lynton Brent	...	Court Photographer (uncredited)
Don Brodie	...	Court Photographer (uncredited)
Mike Donlin	...	Casino Doorman (uncredited)
Robert Dudley	...	Mannering's Night Watchman (uncredited)
Bill Elliott	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Robert Greig	...	Potter - Tom's Butler (uncredited)
Wilfred Lucas	...	Nightclub Bouncer (uncredited)
Charles McAvoy	...	Detective (uncredited)
Philo McCullough	...	Masher (uncredited)
Nelson McDowell	...	Salvation Army Leader (uncredited)
Miki Morita	...	Chinese Restaurant Owner (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Casino Floor Manager (uncredited)
Phillips Smalley	...	Defense Attorney (uncredited)
Richard Tucker	...	Casino Manager (uncredited)
Kathrin Clare Ward	...	Mrs. Ward - Landlady (uncredited)

Directed by
William A. Wellman		(as William Wellman)

Writing credits
Anita Loos		(original story)
Gene Markey		(screen play) and
Kathryn Scola		(screen play)

Produced by
Lucien Hubbard	....	associate producer

Original Music by
William Axt		(as Dr. William Axt)

Cinematography by
James Van Trees		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
William S. Gray		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Stan Rogers		(as Stanley Rogers)

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dolph Zimmer	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Hobe Erwin	....	interior decorator

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
James Brock	....	sound mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Tom Dowling	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Louis Jennings	....	second camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1933) (USA) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (included in "Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume Three")

Also Known As:

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The original story treatment written by Anita Loos was titled "Nora: Girl Delinquent" and was based on a series of magazine articles allegedly written by a former gang moll and informant.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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:

Mary Martin:Sometimes I think if I don't get away from you, I'll go out of my mind.
Leo Darcy:You'll never get away from me. You belong to me, remember?
Mary Martin:I've never belonged to you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Jingle Bells

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!