Midnight Mary (1933) is a pre-code melodrama starring Loretta Young, Ricardo Cortez, Una Merkel, and Franchot Tone, directed by William A. Wellman. It boasts a screenplay by Anita Loos.
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.
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.
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.
Midnight Mary shows the following tropes:
- Alcohol Hic: Bunny, deep in her cups, says "I've had more people tell me I'd make a great emotional—hic!—actress."
- Alliterative Name: Mary Martin.
- Artistic License – Law: 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".
- Ask a Stupid Question...: Angelo enters the gang's hangout, which is full of people.Angelo: Anybody home?
Puggy: Nope, we all went to the opera. - Break His Heart to Save Him: 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.
- Break the Cutie: Life hasn't been kind to Mary.
- Cry Laughing: 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.
- Defiled Forever: 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.
- Domestic Abuse: 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.
- Leo also doesn’t mind kicking Mary around.
- Follow That Car: Mary says this when diving into a taxi to try and stop Leo from taking revenge on Tom. She fails to stop tragic consequences.
- Girls Behind Bars: Averted. Mary’s prison time isn’t pleasant or Fanservice-y.
- Gray Rain of Depression: While Mary is looking for a job, it rains in sheets.
- Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook: 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.
- Happily Ever After: Mary’s trial is renewed with the help of Tom, and they’re getting married afterwards.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Mary is a good person underneath, but her circumstances have led her to a tough life.
- How We Got Here: How did we get to Mary ignoring her murder trial by way of reading Cosmopolitan?
- Instant Death Bullet: Mary shoots one bullet and kills Joe immediately.
- Leg Focus: Mary's supervisor Mr. Tindle can't stop ogling Mary's stocking-clad calves. Eventually he makes a pass at her which she rejects.
- Married to the Job: Tom’s wife complains that he’s too busy with work and isn't as fun as he used to be.
- A Minor Kidroduction: Both Mary and Bunny are introduced as eight-year-old girls, rummaging through a garbage pile.
- Miscarriage of Justice: When Mary gets sent to reform school for a crime she didn’t commit.
- Missing Mom: During the Kidroduction, Mary gets the news that her mother has died.
- Murder by Mistake: Leo and his buddies accidentally kill Sam instead of their intended target, Tom.
- Pimped-Out Dress: Being Leo’s moll means that Mary gets the finest clothes.
- Pretty in Mink: Once Mary gets back with Leo, she wears a chinchilla fur coat.
- Sexy Backless Outfit: Lampshaded when Tom first sees Mary at the casino, wearing a backless dress.Tom: There without a doubt is the most tasty back that these eyes have ever gazed on.
- Sleeping with the Boss: Mr. Tindle tries to get with Mary, but she rejects him soundly.
- The Stoic: Mary, all the way.
- Whip Pan: 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.
- Would Hit a Girl: Both Leo and Angelo hit their girlfriends.
