Review of Midnight Mary (1933) by Tom B — 24 Jul 2010

We finally finished this, after starting it a few nights ago. We loved it. Sometimes the joy of the pre-codes is the warmth and intelligence on display in all aspects of the stories. Yes, it's fun to see people in the thirties half-nude, or gay-lesbian acceptance.

None of that is on display in Midnight Mary, but there are other things equally if not more vital, notably an acceptance of a higher moral code than the one imposed in the mid-thirties by the moral majority, that being the morality based on individual human happiness.

To see a man and woman triumph in the way our heroes do in Midnight Mary should prove a great relief in our jaded modern age. In truth, the film makes us look like prudes baffled by politically correct prisons of conformity by comparison.

Bringing luminosity to the film is Loretta Young, whose acting chops were pretty damn good, and a real looker besides. Opposite her stands Ricardo Cortez, truly despicable, yet sensually human, last seen playing a delicious Sam Spade in an early Maltese Falcon opposite beautiful Bebe Daniels (nekked in a tub, no less).

The real joy of Midnight Mary is Wellman's attention to the romance between luscious Loretta and a dashing Franchot Tone. Their sensual openness - tender, human, and erotically charged, reminded me of Grant and Bergman's notoriously sexy kissing scene in Hitchcock's Notorious.

Refreshing to say the least. I love Midnight Mary. It's the kind of film that makes no bones about being true to the spirit of being human in a world full of challenges, and openly warm. It breathes even after nearly eighty years, and still speaks generously about what it means to be.