Runtime: 74 minutes
Directed by: William A. Wellman
Starring: Loretta Young, Ricardo Cortez, Franchot Tone, Andy Devine, Una Merkel
From: MGM
Monday morning and afternoon Turner Classic Movies showed some early 30's crime films, whether they were gangster related or not. From Letterboxd ratings and what some followers wrote in reviews, I went with this film, which I hadn't even heard of before this week. It has some familiar names for me (Ricardo Cortez, Franchot Tone, Andy Devine, Una Merkel) but the titular Midnight Mary (Loretta Young) was the true star here, and not just because she was the lead.
Mary is on trial for shooting a man; it wasn't to watch him die. Most of this is in flashbacks as we get to see how she was arrested for murder. We find out that while she made some foolish decisions, Mary was also a victim of circumstance, right from when she was a kid. When you are suffering from poverty and can't find a job, who would turn down the chance to live it up with successful gangsters, even if the leader takes a shine to you and you aren't interested? Things happen, then she has the good fortune to meet a successful lawyer. It should be self-evident that there is conflict with her wanting to leave the hoodlums and spend time instead with legitimate people and have an honest job.
This is a melodrama and the ending is on the hokey side; I can still say this was fine entertainment and the big reason is Young as the lead. Besides her physical appearance making it believable (at least for me) that multiple men would fall for her, it was her magnetic performance and her believably in trying to be a good person despite her circumstances that make her a highly sympathetic character. As this is Pre-Code, the film is pretty blunt overall; heck, in one scene the lawyer (who just met Mary) openly talks about sex with her.
Add in exciting editing and sliding wipes from veteran director William A. Wellman along with nifty and unique visual delights and I am delighted that random Pre-Code pictures can still be pleasant surprises.
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