The Past of Mary Holmes is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film, directed by Harlan Thompson and Slavko Vorkapich, and released by RKO.

[1] Mary Holmes, once a famous opera star known as Maria di Nardi, now lives in a run-down shanty and suffers from alcoholism.

Meanwhile, Jacob Riggs, a doorman at the Ethridge theatre, shoots and kills his boss on the evening when he is awaiting his final rendezvous with Joan, due to his constant affairs with innocent women.

Mary, who lives next to the place where the crime is committed, sees opportunity in getting recognition and fame as Maria di Nardi, after hearing the gunshots.

Mary burns down her shanty as a symbolic gesture of leaving her past behind, in order to join Geoffrey and her daughter-in-law in a joyful future.