Ricardo Cortez in Midnight Mary (1933)
Vitals
Ricardo Cortez as Leo Darcy, sociopathic gangster
New York, Spring 1933
Film: Midnight Mary
Release Date: June 30, 1933
Director: William A. Wellman
Costume Designer: Adrian (gowns)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
When Midnight Mary was streaming on the Criterion Channel last year, I was impressed not just by the well-tailored costumes worn by its male characters on both sides of the law but also the amount of dialogue within this 74-minute pre-Code classic dedicated to discussing menswear, whether that’s a a lawyer’s butler modeling his new dressing gown or an underworld mook fishing for positive feedback about his new tuxedo only to receive conflicting criticism about the length of his jacket.
The movie centers around the titular Mary Martin (Loretta Young), whose hard life as an orphaned young girl led to her acquaintanceship with the smooth-talking gangster Leo Darcy (Ricardo Cortez) by her late teens. One of the most popular actors of pre-Code Hollywood, Cortez died 48 years ago today on April 28, 1977.
Born Jacob Kranze (or Krantz) in New York City, the actor worked prolifically as a romantic lead through the silent era, when the studios changed his name to capitalize on the “Latin lover” trend epitomized by Rudolph Valentino and Ramon Novarro. After the advent of sound, Cortez distinguished himself as the first actor to portray Sam Spade in a 1931 adaptation of The Maltese Falcon. His acting career slowed after the late 1930s, during which time he directed “seven” program pictures for 20th Century Fox. He ultimately left show business altogether and worked as a Wall Street stockbroker in the decades before his death at the age of 76.
After briefly leaving Leo for slick lawyer Tom Mannering Jr. (Franchot Tone) and then serving time in prison for her role in one of Leo’s previous robberies, the eponymous Mary returns to Leo—just as he always told her she would. They celebrate their renewed romance for a night on the town with Leo’s henchmen, though the men barely have their coats off when Mary runs into Tom as he leaves the club, prompting a jealous brawl between the two men that leaves Leo knocked to the ground and swearing deadly revenge on his romantic rival.
What’d He Wear?
Leo dresses appropriately for an evening out in the twilight of the Prohibition era, clad in the black-tie dress code that had grown increasingly common in the years since World War I ended. As was common with actors of this era, Cortez almost certainly wore his own dinner suit as it matches an identical black tie kit that he briefly wore during his first scene in Torch Singer opposite Claudette Colbert, released just two months after Midnight Mary.
After learning that his goons killed the wrong man, Leo resolves to murder Tom himself and retreats into his room to change. When Mary attempts to stall for time by asking what he’s doing, Leo coolly responds that “I’m gonna change my clothes, honey, it’s nearly morning… you wouldn’t expect me to call on swell people without a morning coat.”
Leo’s dark dinner jacket is likely tailored from either black or midnight-blue wool, the latter favored for appearing even “blacker than black” under the artificial lighting typical of evening affairs requiring a tuxedo. The design incorporates period-specific details (like the straight gorges) with longstanding black-tie conventions, such as the satin-faced peak lapels, single-button fastening, ventless back, and straight jetted hip pockets. Leo dresses the welted breast pocket with a plain white pocket square. The sleeves are finished with four-button cuffs, with all buttons left uncovered like the front closure.
Cortez’s penchant for pairing his tuxedoes with white formal waistcoats—seen in both Midnight Mary and Torch Singer, to name a few—dates to the early years of black tie, when gentlemen were navigating this less formal alternative to full evening dress. White waistcoats were requisite with white tie and tails, so some men naturally extended them to black tie, a practice that remained fashionable through the 1920s and ’30s until wartime austerity and increased standardization of the dress codes resulted in the still-current preference for darker waistcoats or cummerbunds.
Likely made from cotton piqué like a traditional full-dress waistcoat, Leo’s white waistcoat features a low-fastening V-shaped opening framed by a squared-bottom shawl collar. Three closely spaced fabric-covered buttons fasten the overlapping front between the chest opening and the narrowly notched bottom. Designed more for form than function, the ornamental backless waistcoat is secured by white straps around the neck and waist in lieu of a full back.
Turndown collars emerged during the interwar era to further distinguish black-tie attire from the stricter formality of white tie. While many men carried over the wing collar from full evening dress into the roaring ’20s, turndown collars gained popularity through the ’30s, aligning with both the rise of attached-collar shirts and the growing separation between black tie and white tie. Though some modern black-tie looks still feature wing collars—usually pre-attached to shirts—the classic 20th-century image of black tie remains a turndown collar, modeled by icons like Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, and every iteration of cinematic James Bond.
Leo’s white cotton evening shirt follows this standard, styled with a point collar, double (French) cuffs, and a widely pleated front that sets it apart from business shirting. His black silk self-tied bow tie is a traditional butterfly (thistle) shape but with pointed ends that add a sharp, refined flair.
Leo’s trousers would be made from the same dark wool fabric as his dinner jacket, styled with a long rise that extends even higher in the back for the split “fish-mouth” with a button on each end to accommodate suspenders (braces). The double reverse-pleated trousers also have two pairs of suspender buttons along the top of each side on the front of the trousers, where Leo attaches the dark leather hooks of his tricolor-striped suspenders. The requisite silk galon along the side seams are split into double stripes, flanking the vertical pocket openings and continuing down to the plain-hemmed bottoms.
Leo wears the typical black leather oxford shoes and black dress socks that maintain the formality and color scheme of black tie.
Leo pulls on a dark wool double-breasted knee-length overcoat, styled with a 6×2-button double-breasted front and the peak lapels that typically accompany double-breasted tailoring. Like his dinner jacket beneath it, the coat has four-button cuffs. He also wears an all-black fedora with a black grosgrain band.
Leo’s dress watch has a rectangular case and light-colored dial, fastened to Cortez’s left wrist on a dark brown leather strap.
Leo’s wristwatch is best seen earlier in Midnight Mary, when he’s clad in loungewear like this silk robe and cravat.
The Gun
Leo’s crew typically carries Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer semi-automatic pistols, specifically late-production models with spur hammers rather than the earlier rounded hammers. Leo himself carries at least two on this evening, with one in a shoulder holster and another in his trouser pocket.
While kissing him to distract him from his deadly intentions, Mary slips Leo’s tan leather shoulder holster off of his left arm, tossing it onto his bed. Moments later, he’s leaving the room in a renewed rage—either forgetting or not caring that he left a loaded pistol in the holster now discarded next to where he threw his moll…
There are worse ways to go than pre-Code Loretta Young plugging you with your own .38.
As its name suggests, the Model 1903 Pocket Hammer was one of two pistols introduced by Colt that year, alongside the better-known Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless—so named for its shrouded hammer, in contrast to the exposed hammer of the Pocket Hammer. Both pistols—along with the larger M1900, M1902, and M1905—were designed by John M. Browning, whose influence would culminate in the M1911.
Mechanically, the Model 1903 Pocket Hammer evolved from the M1902 Sporting Model, sharing Browning’s short-recoil, single-action operation that would later define the M1911. The Pocket Hammer visually diverged from its predecessor with serrations milled along the back of the slide, rather than the front as on the M1902. The Pocket Hammer design further evolved with the transition from round to spur hammers around 1910.
Measuring 7.75 inches long and weighing just under two pounds, the Pocket Hammer fed from a seven-round box magazine chambered in .38 ACP. First introduced with the M1900, Browning’s .38 ACP cartridge measures 9x23mm, slightly larger but less powerful than the contemporary 9x19mm Parabellum that remains standard today. While now largely obsolete, the .38 ACP saw popularity in the early 20th century, chambered not only in Colt pistols but also in select British handguns like the Webley & Scott self-loading pistol and the Webley-Fosbery automatic revolver. Though superseded by the higher-pressure .38 Super in the late 1920s, .38 ACP experienced a minor resurgence when it was found to function reliably in surplus Spanish pistols originally chambered for the similar 9x23mm Largo.
Colt produced just over 31,000 Model 1903 Pocket Hammer pistols before discontinuing the model in 1927—closing the chapter just as the .38 ACP era faded into history.
How to Get the Look
Ricardo Cortez in Midnight Mary (1933)
Leo Darcy’s dark tuxedo and white waistcoat—almost certainly from actor Ricardo Cortez’s own closet—reflects how contemporary fashions of the 1930s could be incorporated into classic black tie without interfering with the dress code’s standards that have remained inflexibly in place for at least a century.
- Black or midnight-blue wool single-button dinner jacket with silk-faced peak lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and ventless back
- White cotton evening shirt with point collar, wide-pleated front, and double/French cuffs
- Black silk diamond butterfly-shaped bow tie
- White cotton piqué backless evening waistcoat with square-ended shawl collar, 3-button single-breasted front, and notched bottom
- Black or midnight-blue wool double reverse-pleated long-rise trousers with fish-mouth back, suspender buttons, on-seam side pockets, double silk side galon, and plain-hemmed bottoms
- Black leather oxford shoes
- Black ribbed dress socks
- Black wool double-breasted 6×2-button overcoat with peak lapels and 4-button cuffs
- Black felt fedora with black grosgrain band
- Rectangular-cased dress watch with white rectangular dial on smooth dark-brown leather strap
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie, included on the third volume of TCM Archives’ “Forbidden Hollywood” pre-Code home video releases.
The Quote
That sap mean anything to you?
The post Midnight Mary: Ricardo Cortez’s 1930s Tuxedo appeared first on BAMF Style.