Line #11 Film/MidnightMary


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/midnight_mary.jpg]]
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3	''Midnight Mary'' (1933) is a [[UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra pre-code]] melodrama starring Creator/LorettaYoung, Ricardo Cortez, Una Merkel, and Franchot Tone, directed by Creator/WilliamAWellman. It boasts a screenplay by Anita Loos.
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5	The story begins with Mary Martin (Young) on trial for murder. While waiting for the jury’s decision, she tells her life’s story to a friendly clerk.
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7	She’s had it tough; along with her friend Bunny (Merkel), they've lived most of their lives in abject poverty and have resorted to prostitution. A break comes when they meet gangster Leo (Cortez), but he’s no ray of sunshine in Mary’s dreary life.
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9	Things brighten for Mary when she meets rich lawyer, Tom Manning Jr. (Tone). He helps her escape her dire situation by sending her to secretarial school and getting her work at his office. But Mary's past keeps creeping in, ruining any of her chances to get away for good.
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12	!!''Midnight Mary'' shows the following tropes:
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14	* AlcoholHic: Bunny, deep in her cups, says "I've had more people tell me I'd make a great emotional--hic!--actress."
15	* AlliterativeName: Mary Martin.
16	* ArtisticLicenseLaw: It's one of those Hollywood courtrooms where an interested party (Tom) can barge into the courtroom after the jury has delivered a guilty verdict, and get Mary a do-over on her murder trial. Lampshaded by the judge who calls Tom's motion "entirely proper".
17	* AskAStupidQuestion: Angelo enters the gang's hangout, which is full of people.
18	--> '''Angelo''': Anybody home?\
19	'''Puggy''': Nope, we all went to the opera.
20	* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: Mary wants to save Tom from being implicated with her crimes, so she lies to him, saying that she was taking him for a ride and how he's a sucker for falling in love with her.
21	* BreakTheCutie: Life hasn't been kind to Mary.
22	* CryLaughing: A woman faints after being turned away from the mere opportunity of ''applying'' for a job. Mary cry/laughs at her own despair; her options aren't much, either.
23	* DefiledForever: Averted. Here’s where the pre-code morals kick in. Even though, Mary has a past of prostitution and living a life of sin, Tom is still willing to be with her and marry her.
24	%%* TheDitz: Tom’s friend, Sam.
25	* DomesticAbuse: Bunny’s boyfriend, Angelo, hits her for making fun of his ill-fitting suit. The truly disturbing thing about this scene is that right after it happens she smiles and insists that no, she does like his suit.
26	** Leo also doesn’t mind kicking Mary around.
27	* FollowThatCar: Mary says this when diving into a taxi to try and stop Leo from taking revenge on Tom. She fails to stop tragic consequences.
28	* GirlsBehindBars: Averted. Mary’s prison time isn’t pleasant or {{Fanservice}}-y.
29	* GrayRainOfDepression: While Mary is looking for a job, it rains in sheets.
30	* HadToComeToPrisonToBeACrook: Mary goes to juvenile hall for three years for shoplifting, when she didn't even do it. When she gets out, she resorts to teenaged prostitution before becoming a part of a gang.
31	* HappilyEverAfter: Mary’s trial is renewed with the help of Tom, and they’re getting married afterwards.
32	* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Mary is a good person underneath, but her circumstances have led her to a tough life.
33	* HowWeGotHere: How did we get to Mary ignoring her murder trial by way of reading ''Cosmopolitan''?
34	* InstantDeathBullet: Mary shoots one bullet and kills Joe immediately.
35	* LegFocus: Mary's supervisor Mr. Tindle [[EatingTheEyeCandy can't stop ogling]] Mary's [[StockingFiller stocking-clad]] calves. Eventually he makes a pass at her which she rejects.
36	* MarriedToTheJob: Tom’s wife complains that he’s too busy with work and isn't as fun as he used to be.
37	* AMinorKidroduction: Both Mary and Bunny are introduced as eight-year-old girls, rummaging through a garbage pile.
38	* MiscarriageOfJustice: When Mary gets sent to reform school for a crime she didn’t commit.
39	* MissingMom: During the Kidroduction, Mary gets the news that her mother has died.
40	* MurderByMistake: Leo and his buddies accidentally kill Sam instead of their intended target, Tom.
41	* PimpedOutDress: Being Leo’s moll means that Mary gets the finest clothes.
42	* PrettyInMink: Once Mary gets back with Leo, she wears a chinchilla fur coat.
43	* SexyBacklessOutfit: Lampshaded when Tom first sees Mary at the casino, wearing a backless dress.
44	--> '''Tom''': There without a doubt is the most tasty back that these eyes have ever gazed on.
45	* SleepingWithTheBoss: Mr. Tindle tries to get with Mary, but she rejects him soundly.
46	* TheStoic: Mary, all the way.
47	* WhipPan: Mary’s life is told through a series of whip pans, going from one event to another. It gives the film better pacing than most early talking films and tells the story in an interesting way.
48	* WouldHitAGirl: Both Leo and Angelo hit their girlfriends.

Context Film / MidnightMary