I am NOT a fan of Doris Day - there is just something about her that annoys me. But in this movie she acted very different from the usual Doris Day movie. And the way she sang those ballads breaks your heart. But the acting job that truly amazes - and has through the years made me a fan - is that of James Cagney. One wonders if he had a parent that was abusive or an Uncle or someone he had intimately observed. Because from somewhere that man understood something about an abusive relationship and put it in his performance. It was positively beyond extraordinary. He deserved an Academy Nomination at the very least. While he was cruel, vile, despicable, certainly repulsive and yet you felt at the same time he was pitiful, sad, pathetic. It was an extremely complex performance. When I saw "Love Me Or Leave Me" as a teenager I didn't appreciate the subtlety of his acting. It wasn't until I saw it many, many years later and had gone through a lot of living that I comprehended the true magnitude of his performance.
86 Reviews
Great performances, great singing highlight the story of Ruth Etting
blanche-24 September 2006
Doris Day portrays singing great Ruth Etting in "Love Me or Leave Me," a 1955 film costarring James Cagney and Cameron Mitchell. The film tells the story, somewhat fictionalized, of Etting's rise to fame in the 1920s and her association and marriage to Marty "The Gimp" Snyder, a Chicago gangster. In the story, Etting is highly ambitious, and Marty helps her career after picking her up in a dance hall and realizing he's not going to get anywhere. He's hoping for the big prize - i.e., Ruth - at the end of the rainbow, but though she's grateful, she's never going to be THAT grateful. Finally, he becomes so angry that he rapes her (this is suggested in the film but the scene was cut by the censors). She marries him, though she's in love with a pianist, Marty Alderman.
This film was made about five years before Ross Hunter glamorized Doris and made her the #1 box office star in a series of comedies, three of which were with Rock Hudson. Before that, she was a pretty woman with a sweet, smooth voice and sturdy acting ability. And nowhere does she demonstrate all three qualities as she does here. And throw in a sensational figure in some stunning gowns to boot. Doris' Ruth is a young woman who looks and acts like sugar but has the determination of steel underneath. She speaks softly but has the glint of ambition in her eye. Day's voice and style are nothing like Etting's, but the producers and director weren't looking for an imitation. Doris looks and sounds fantastic, singing a huge amount of music, including "Ten Cents a Dance," the title song, "Chasing the Blues Away" and many others.
Cagney gives an extremely powerful performance as Marty, a pushy little man with a huge insecurity and a passion for Ruth. It is a fully fleshed out portrayal of an abusive, possessive man that you can hate and pity at the same time. Cagney deservedly won an Oscar nomination for the role of Marty. He and Doris' contrasting acting styles mesh beautifully as well.
Though there were liberties taken with the Etting story, if you read her bio, it sounds just like the film. Did the movie have a '20s and the '30s feel to it? Not really. But it doesn't matter. The film is in color and has a rich look, and what a score. What actors. A must see.
This film was made about five years before Ross Hunter glamorized Doris and made her the #1 box office star in a series of comedies, three of which were with Rock Hudson. Before that, she was a pretty woman with a sweet, smooth voice and sturdy acting ability. And nowhere does she demonstrate all three qualities as she does here. And throw in a sensational figure in some stunning gowns to boot. Doris' Ruth is a young woman who looks and acts like sugar but has the determination of steel underneath. She speaks softly but has the glint of ambition in her eye. Day's voice and style are nothing like Etting's, but the producers and director weren't looking for an imitation. Doris looks and sounds fantastic, singing a huge amount of music, including "Ten Cents a Dance," the title song, "Chasing the Blues Away" and many others.
Cagney gives an extremely powerful performance as Marty, a pushy little man with a huge insecurity and a passion for Ruth. It is a fully fleshed out portrayal of an abusive, possessive man that you can hate and pity at the same time. Cagney deservedly won an Oscar nomination for the role of Marty. He and Doris' contrasting acting styles mesh beautifully as well.
Though there were liberties taken with the Etting story, if you read her bio, it sounds just like the film. Did the movie have a '20s and the '30s feel to it? Not really. But it doesn't matter. The film is in color and has a rich look, and what a score. What actors. A must see.
Great Marriage Breakup - Best Doris Day Vocals I've heard!
movie-viking29 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
As I write this, TCM has a Ruth Etting 1930's short film playing (Think of short music 1930's films as the grand daddy of music videos). (Singer Ruth Etting and her small time gangster husband/promoter Marty Snyder were real life people. This film is said to be a partly fictional view of their marriage and breakup.)
Doris Day plays Ruth Etting well. She's a bit beat up by life (and Snyder) and in the end, she's left him for a kinder man, but she squares accounts with him (for past promo work that made her a star) and sings in his club to large crowds. Tho Cagney is accused of attempted murder, you still feel sorry for him, and glad that Day will sing to promote his new night club. It seems modern that she has risen past his abusive ways to stand on her own, to forgive him and even help him in a manner that will not seem like charity.
As Snyder himself says of his ex-wife's performance in his club "She's fulfilling a contractual obligation...Business is business."
But here's where Hollywood (and maybe better 1950's recording technology) does better than real life.
Day ***outsings*** Etting!
Day sing the title song "Love Me or Leave Me" and "Ten Cents a Dance" and it still sounds modern today. Etting's 1930's recordings in early movie sound technology are tinny and too full of vibrato for modern tastes.
If you doubt that Doris Day could play deeper dramatic roles, this film (along with films like "The Man Who Knew Too Much") should convince you otherwise...(We already know to expect a great performance from Cagney.)
Doris Day plays Ruth Etting well. She's a bit beat up by life (and Snyder) and in the end, she's left him for a kinder man, but she squares accounts with him (for past promo work that made her a star) and sings in his club to large crowds. Tho Cagney is accused of attempted murder, you still feel sorry for him, and glad that Day will sing to promote his new night club. It seems modern that she has risen past his abusive ways to stand on her own, to forgive him and even help him in a manner that will not seem like charity.
As Snyder himself says of his ex-wife's performance in his club "She's fulfilling a contractual obligation...Business is business."
But here's where Hollywood (and maybe better 1950's recording technology) does better than real life.
Day ***outsings*** Etting!
Day sing the title song "Love Me or Leave Me" and "Ten Cents a Dance" and it still sounds modern today. Etting's 1930's recordings in early movie sound technology are tinny and too full of vibrato for modern tastes.
If you doubt that Doris Day could play deeper dramatic roles, this film (along with films like "The Man Who Knew Too Much") should convince you otherwise...(We already know to expect a great performance from Cagney.)
Bittersweet story was a triumph for Day and Cagney...
Doylenf6 May 2001
I never had to be convinced that Doris Day was a fine actress--from her first film ('Romance on the High Seas') which she stole from veterans like Jack Carson and Janis Paige--to 'Storm Warning' (her first dramatic role as Ginger Rogers' sister)--she never made a false move. But her real acting triumph came with this hard-hitting Ruth Etting biography in which she does an amazing job as the torch singer involved with a gangster boyfriend (James Cagney). Cagney has never been more impressive as the Chicago hood who manages her career--and Day manages to match him every step of the way with a gutsy, heart-felt performance.
Also shown to good advantage is Cameron Mitchell as an admirer with real affection for Day. Their scenes together have a poignant quality because you know how deep the feelings go on both sides. Day's rendition of a haunting ballad, 'I'll Never Stop Loving You', is one of the film's highlights--along with 'Ten Cents A Dance', 'Mean to Me', 'Love Me Or Leave Me', etc. She is simply brilliant.
The high quality of the Oscar-winning script (Best Story) is a tribute to the overall quality of the film itself. A highly dramatic musical, it makes you wonder what Day's career might have been like if she remained at Metro for more such films rather than the sugar-and-spice things she did at Warner Bros. Some of them were charming (the old-fashioned musicals with Gordon MacRae), but since she was a fine dramatic actress she could have done so much more. Day's voice is a sheer pleasure here--perfect pitch, warm tones and easy on the ears. Nobody could sing a ballad like Doris does here. 'I'll Never Stop Loving You' is my favorite.
Summing up: highly recommended as one of the best musical biographies you're ever likely to see.
Also shown to good advantage is Cameron Mitchell as an admirer with real affection for Day. Their scenes together have a poignant quality because you know how deep the feelings go on both sides. Day's rendition of a haunting ballad, 'I'll Never Stop Loving You', is one of the film's highlights--along with 'Ten Cents A Dance', 'Mean to Me', 'Love Me Or Leave Me', etc. She is simply brilliant.
The high quality of the Oscar-winning script (Best Story) is a tribute to the overall quality of the film itself. A highly dramatic musical, it makes you wonder what Day's career might have been like if she remained at Metro for more such films rather than the sugar-and-spice things she did at Warner Bros. Some of them were charming (the old-fashioned musicals with Gordon MacRae), but since she was a fine dramatic actress she could have done so much more. Day's voice is a sheer pleasure here--perfect pitch, warm tones and easy on the ears. Nobody could sing a ballad like Doris does here. 'I'll Never Stop Loving You' is my favorite.
Summing up: highly recommended as one of the best musical biographies you're ever likely to see.
"Whoever I am kiddo, I'm what makes you tick..."
classicsoncall17 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
The original theatrical trailer calls James Cagney's portrayal of Marty 'The Gimp' Snyder an 'aggressive characterization'. However it's one thing to see Cagney as a gritty mobster in films like "Public Enemy" and "White Heat" where his aggression is expressed as an enemy of society. Here he seems an even more threatening presence in a one on one situation with his protégé Ruth Etting (Doris Day), a torch singer who got her start in 1920's era Chicago. It's such an effective performance that for once, I almost began to dislike him as an actor, which probably goes a long way to explain just how amazing he actually was.
The film also keeps you a bit off balance, as the drama and personal turmoil between Ruth and Marty is offset by a whole host of musical numbers during Etting's rise to stardom. Acting as her mentor and personal manager, Snyder gets it almost right when he states "Why just have half of Chicago when she can have all of New York", as he lands Etting a gig with the Ziegfield Follies. Leaving Chicago however is the beginning of the end for the couple, as Snyder's power and influence mean nothing outside his home territory. Rebuffed by business managers and show people, Marty's comeuppance spells disaster, ultimately leading to the movie's title song finale to a packed house. In one last recognition of the impact Marty had on her career, Ruth repays the favor by headlining his new club, allowing him at least one more turn in the spotlight.
It's unusual to see Doris Day in the role of Ruth Etting, one associates her with lighter and more whimsical screen characters, but she's effective here nonetheless. Her song numbers reflect the progress of Etting's career and her relationship with Marty with titles like 'Ten Cents a Dance', 'Mean To Me', 'I'll Never Stop Loving You', and in the wind up, 'Love Me Or Leave Me'. It's not your typical 'feel good' story by the time it's all over, nor does it try to be. One thing is certain though, and that's the sentiment expressed to Marty Snyder just before the curtain falls - "You gotta give her credit, the girl can sing..."
The film also keeps you a bit off balance, as the drama and personal turmoil between Ruth and Marty is offset by a whole host of musical numbers during Etting's rise to stardom. Acting as her mentor and personal manager, Snyder gets it almost right when he states "Why just have half of Chicago when she can have all of New York", as he lands Etting a gig with the Ziegfield Follies. Leaving Chicago however is the beginning of the end for the couple, as Snyder's power and influence mean nothing outside his home territory. Rebuffed by business managers and show people, Marty's comeuppance spells disaster, ultimately leading to the movie's title song finale to a packed house. In one last recognition of the impact Marty had on her career, Ruth repays the favor by headlining his new club, allowing him at least one more turn in the spotlight.
It's unusual to see Doris Day in the role of Ruth Etting, one associates her with lighter and more whimsical screen characters, but she's effective here nonetheless. Her song numbers reflect the progress of Etting's career and her relationship with Marty with titles like 'Ten Cents a Dance', 'Mean To Me', 'I'll Never Stop Loving You', and in the wind up, 'Love Me Or Leave Me'. It's not your typical 'feel good' story by the time it's all over, nor does it try to be. One thing is certain though, and that's the sentiment expressed to Marty Snyder just before the curtain falls - "You gotta give her credit, the girl can sing..."
As Ruth Etting, Day delivers knockout performance, equally matched by Cagney
bmacv17 January 2004
Before she became America's top box-office star by playing its oldest virgin, Doris Day was an instinctive, if untutored, actress and an accomplished, popular singer. In Charles Vidor's Love Me Or Leave Me, she takes on the part of Ruth Etting, the troubled songstress from the jazz age, and her twin talents merge memorably. It's a faultless performance, all the more impressive for staying understated, scaled down.
Her co-star, James Cagney, takes the low road; as Marty (`The Gimp') Snyder, a lopsided fireplug of a man, he sizzles with resentment and ignites into rages. Strangely, his scenery-chewing complements Day's underplaying; the tension between their temperaments fuels this dark drama which occasionally resembles a musical but is closer at heart to film noir (Vidor, after all, directed Gilda).
A taxi-dancer in a Chicago dive, Day catches Cagney's eye (he holds the linen-laundering concession for the place). Finding she's not the quick pick-up he had in mind, he lands her a job in the kick-line at another nitery he services. When he finds out she wants to be a singer, he arranges for lessons with pianist Cameron Mitchell (who plays the thankless role of the loyal but shoved-aside lover). But Cagney, used to getting what he wants and to browbeating everybody around him into surrender, meets his match in Day. Her quiet determination proves every bit as strong as his bellowing bluster. When it looks like her star is in ascendancy, he becomes her manager, puts her on radio, and snares her a spot in New York as a headliner in the Ziegfeld Follies.
They settle into a grudge-match of a marriage, with guerrilla warfare erupting from both sides. (Cagney's Snyder is a marginally less disturbed version of his Cody Jarrett in White Heat.) One of their flashfire fights takes place in her dressing room after a show. Cagney knocks a vase of flowers across the room; Day extends her arm for him to unclasp a bracelet. They bicker some more, with Cagney losing the argument while Day nurses the drink that has become her ally. He leans over and tells her `You oughtta lay off that stuff you're getting to look like an old bag.' It's the chilliest moment in the movie.
In the last third, Day answers a call from Hollywood, which lays the foundation for the unravelling of this messy, nerve-wracking relationship. And if the wrapping up grasps toward the sentimental (with a detour into the melodramatic), it doesn't quite take. Cagney, actor and character, hangs on like a bulldog with a bone. The Marty Snyders never change, and Cagney knows it; he stays the self-deluded small-time hood he started out as, who can't accept that he's driven away a woman he can't believe he loves so much.
Day, however, rises to a magnanimity that rings hollow. Her steely self-confidence about where her talents would bring her, and her casual callousness in using Cagney to help her get there, make her final gesture improbable. But when she takes the spotlight, singing `Mean to Me' or `Ten Cents A Dance' (with her feet planted provocatively defiantly apart), Day, actress and character, takes it by natural right. The voice isn't quite right Etting's was reedy and tremulous, Day's big and secure but the assurance and style are dead on.
Her co-star, James Cagney, takes the low road; as Marty (`The Gimp') Snyder, a lopsided fireplug of a man, he sizzles with resentment and ignites into rages. Strangely, his scenery-chewing complements Day's underplaying; the tension between their temperaments fuels this dark drama which occasionally resembles a musical but is closer at heart to film noir (Vidor, after all, directed Gilda).
A taxi-dancer in a Chicago dive, Day catches Cagney's eye (he holds the linen-laundering concession for the place). Finding she's not the quick pick-up he had in mind, he lands her a job in the kick-line at another nitery he services. When he finds out she wants to be a singer, he arranges for lessons with pianist Cameron Mitchell (who plays the thankless role of the loyal but shoved-aside lover). But Cagney, used to getting what he wants and to browbeating everybody around him into surrender, meets his match in Day. Her quiet determination proves every bit as strong as his bellowing bluster. When it looks like her star is in ascendancy, he becomes her manager, puts her on radio, and snares her a spot in New York as a headliner in the Ziegfeld Follies.
They settle into a grudge-match of a marriage, with guerrilla warfare erupting from both sides. (Cagney's Snyder is a marginally less disturbed version of his Cody Jarrett in White Heat.) One of their flashfire fights takes place in her dressing room after a show. Cagney knocks a vase of flowers across the room; Day extends her arm for him to unclasp a bracelet. They bicker some more, with Cagney losing the argument while Day nurses the drink that has become her ally. He leans over and tells her `You oughtta lay off that stuff you're getting to look like an old bag.' It's the chilliest moment in the movie.
In the last third, Day answers a call from Hollywood, which lays the foundation for the unravelling of this messy, nerve-wracking relationship. And if the wrapping up grasps toward the sentimental (with a detour into the melodramatic), it doesn't quite take. Cagney, actor and character, hangs on like a bulldog with a bone. The Marty Snyders never change, and Cagney knows it; he stays the self-deluded small-time hood he started out as, who can't accept that he's driven away a woman he can't believe he loves so much.
Day, however, rises to a magnanimity that rings hollow. Her steely self-confidence about where her talents would bring her, and her casual callousness in using Cagney to help her get there, make her final gesture improbable. But when she takes the spotlight, singing `Mean to Me' or `Ten Cents A Dance' (with her feet planted provocatively defiantly apart), Day, actress and character, takes it by natural right. The voice isn't quite right Etting's was reedy and tremulous, Day's big and secure but the assurance and style are dead on.
Frothy? Dramatic? Odd mix that entertains due to its peerless lead performances.
hitchcockthelegend19 September 2010
Out of MGM, Love Me or Leave Me is directed by Charles Vidor and stars Doris Day, James Cagney & Cameron Mitchell. Written by Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart, the film is loosely based on the true story of legendary 20s torch singer Ruth Etting (Day) and her rise to fame propelled by Chicago gangster Marty "The Gimp" Snyder (Cagney). It's shot in CinemaScope/Eastmancolor and features a number of Etting standards along with a couple of new tunes written especially for the film.
Vidor's movie was a box office success that earned six Oscar nominations, one of which was for Cagney in the Best Actor category. Most surprising on the nominations list is the absence of one for Day. Surprising since as good as Cagney is here (all snarly, bossy and maniacal gangster like), this most assuredly is Day's movie as she turns in arguably a career best performance. Etting herself wanted Jane Powell to play her in the movie, whilst Ava Gardner was courted, and courted back, for the role. But Cagney was sure that Day was right for the part, how right he turned out to be.
That Day would be able to carry off the tunes was a given, that she could immerse herself successfully in a character calling for a strong dramatic bent, still carried a question mark. Thankfully she delivers, even if her fluffy girl next door persona remains in tact. This comes down to much of the hard edge of the story from the source being absent or skirted over (Etting's battle with alcohol, pre-marital sex & infidelity), but Day and Cagney really manage to make the real life odd coupling come alive on the screen; and thus the dark aspects loom in the air just about enough to make us aware. She shows a naive, vulnerable, yet fame hungry streak, while he shows up to be a driven bully who literally will do what it takes to protect his "possession".
However, the blend of a musical, gangster basis and biography never fully works. In fact, even tho the songs are a joy (particularly a sultry Day warbling Ten Cents a Dance), there's too many numbers used. Many times when the film threatens to really break out into bold territory, a number is inserted and the dramatic ark hits the buffers. This also gives off a feeling of repetition as time and again Cagney goes ape about something, Doris sighs and then she sings, and on it goes. All told the film is an odd fusion of intents, as odd as the central relationship of the piece in fact. In lesser hands it could have been a misfire (credit to good performances from Mitchell & Robert Keith too), but even tho it has faults, and suffers from the absence of daring, the lead actors make it a hugely enjoyable movie regardless. 7/10
Vidor's movie was a box office success that earned six Oscar nominations, one of which was for Cagney in the Best Actor category. Most surprising on the nominations list is the absence of one for Day. Surprising since as good as Cagney is here (all snarly, bossy and maniacal gangster like), this most assuredly is Day's movie as she turns in arguably a career best performance. Etting herself wanted Jane Powell to play her in the movie, whilst Ava Gardner was courted, and courted back, for the role. But Cagney was sure that Day was right for the part, how right he turned out to be.
That Day would be able to carry off the tunes was a given, that she could immerse herself successfully in a character calling for a strong dramatic bent, still carried a question mark. Thankfully she delivers, even if her fluffy girl next door persona remains in tact. This comes down to much of the hard edge of the story from the source being absent or skirted over (Etting's battle with alcohol, pre-marital sex & infidelity), but Day and Cagney really manage to make the real life odd coupling come alive on the screen; and thus the dark aspects loom in the air just about enough to make us aware. She shows a naive, vulnerable, yet fame hungry streak, while he shows up to be a driven bully who literally will do what it takes to protect his "possession".
However, the blend of a musical, gangster basis and biography never fully works. In fact, even tho the songs are a joy (particularly a sultry Day warbling Ten Cents a Dance), there's too many numbers used. Many times when the film threatens to really break out into bold territory, a number is inserted and the dramatic ark hits the buffers. This also gives off a feeling of repetition as time and again Cagney goes ape about something, Doris sighs and then she sings, and on it goes. All told the film is an odd fusion of intents, as odd as the central relationship of the piece in fact. In lesser hands it could have been a misfire (credit to good performances from Mitchell & Robert Keith too), but even tho it has faults, and suffers from the absence of daring, the lead actors make it a hugely enjoyable movie regardless. 7/10
Doris Day Deserved An Oscar Nomination For This Film
Blooeyz200111 April 2002
This film pre-dates & set the standard for films like Barbra Streisand's "Funny Girl" & Diana Ross' "Lady Sings The Blues", two other great films which showcased singers in acting roles playing real-life people. "Love Me Or Leave Me" was Doris Day's MGM "extravagaza" (after several formula, cookie-cutter musicals at Warner Bros.) playing Ruth Etting a torch singer from the 1920's. She is at her dramatic best & never looked sexier. Her voice is as pleasing as ever & the songs are very enjoyable ("At Sundown", "Love Me Or Leave Me", "Shaking The Blues Away", & "Mean To Me", among others). Some of Doris' fans were distraught to see her drinking & scheming to climb her way to the top, but the fact of the matter is she was playing someone else & she was very convincing. James Cagney was grating as Marty "The Gimp" Snyder the Chicago gangster who helped Etting attain her show biz goals. This film displays all that Doris Day could have been if she had continued to find meaty roles to her acting advantage. When most people think of her, they think of the fluffy bedroom comedies she did with Rock Hudson, Cary Grant & James Garner.("Pillow Talk", "Lover Come Back", "That Touch of Mink"...), the virginal persona, the freckles, etc. If you're only familiar with those films you should see this & you'll be impressed. (I recently heard Jennifer Lopez wants to re-make this film, God help us all!!)
Ruth Etting and Doris Day two different types of singers, two different stories!
msladysoul28 March 2006
I enjoy this movie, this is what good entertainment is all about, Hollywood today should learn lessons from movies like this.
Well, as all of us classic movie fans know that the 1950's was the era of movies about real-life vocalists who rose to fame but had a hard price to pay that ruined them. Lillian Roth's story "I'll Cry Tomorrow" portrayed by Susan Hayward, The Helen Morgan Story, The Country Girl, then "A Star Is Born," and countless of other fictional or non-fictional films on vocalists who pay the ultimate price for fame. We never get enough of seeing movies about fallen stars who left a place in our hearts.
This particular movie always interested me, I saw this movie on Turner Classic Movies and fell in love with the singing of Doris Day, I didn't know there was a real Ruth Etting, I didn't know she was really portraying a real life singer, I didn't check out the real Ruth Etting until 2 years ago, I saw her for the first time in "Hips Hips Hooray" on Turner Classic Movies and was kind of shocked the real Ruth wasn't anything like how Doris Day portrayed her. Doris Day's portrayed Ruth as a sexy and sassy performer and sung with a strong, jazzy, bluesy voice, when I saw the real Ruth perform in the movies and in 2 shorts, she wasn't sexy and sassy, she was reserved, the type of performer to stand still and sing with great emotion and feeling, she wasn't the wiggling hips type like Doris Day portrayed and Ruth's voice was so light, airy, powerful without being loud and aggressive, you don't hear the blues, jazz in Ruth's voice yet she was a torch singer. I see why she was popular she was a one of a kind. She didn't have to shout and sing various notes to get a song across, she knew how to put over a number without all that fancy stuff, singers today could learn a lot about singing from Helen Morgan, Lillian Roth and Ruth Etting, they didn't have to jump around, move around, shake their butts, be overly blatantly sexual, they weren't loud and annoying to make you cover your ears, they just sung their songs, each word with feeling, they didn't do all that oooh, ahhh, ooohwoooyeah stuff. The two things that Ruth and Doris did have in common was they both sing with great feeling and emotion.
The real Ruth Etting seems frail and too sweet, she's adorable, which makes me wonder why she hooked up with a gangster anyway but then again looks can be deceiving, I heard she wasn't the sweet, girl next door type in the first place and she wasn't so naive and a pushover like Doris Day portrayed her. Doris is very curvy and plump in this movie, she looks tough and looks like she could let the limping Cagney have it and run so he couldn't catch her yet Doris portrays Ruth as weak, so it makes me wonder what the real Ruth Etting was really like, the real Ruth looks so frail and innocent, she looks as though you could knock her over with a feather but I hear she was tougher than Doris portrayed her but I guess the movie was more interesting portrayed Ruth as naive and gullible. You know how Hollywood is, they never tell the whole truth, they either leave something out and put in what they want. Ruth Etting didn't like this movie, she said many things were false and she was going to sue but told not to by Walter Winchell. Ruth Etting was one of the top singers in her prime, the definition of a torch singer. She was quite unique and powerful yet with a little voice and a little body but you believed everything she singed, her adorable face and presence would naturally make you feel her pain, behind the pretty face that was a lot of hurt that was obvious through her singing. She was a true artist who makes you stop and listen.
Well, as all of us classic movie fans know that the 1950's was the era of movies about real-life vocalists who rose to fame but had a hard price to pay that ruined them. Lillian Roth's story "I'll Cry Tomorrow" portrayed by Susan Hayward, The Helen Morgan Story, The Country Girl, then "A Star Is Born," and countless of other fictional or non-fictional films on vocalists who pay the ultimate price for fame. We never get enough of seeing movies about fallen stars who left a place in our hearts.
This particular movie always interested me, I saw this movie on Turner Classic Movies and fell in love with the singing of Doris Day, I didn't know there was a real Ruth Etting, I didn't know she was really portraying a real life singer, I didn't check out the real Ruth Etting until 2 years ago, I saw her for the first time in "Hips Hips Hooray" on Turner Classic Movies and was kind of shocked the real Ruth wasn't anything like how Doris Day portrayed her. Doris Day's portrayed Ruth as a sexy and sassy performer and sung with a strong, jazzy, bluesy voice, when I saw the real Ruth perform in the movies and in 2 shorts, she wasn't sexy and sassy, she was reserved, the type of performer to stand still and sing with great emotion and feeling, she wasn't the wiggling hips type like Doris Day portrayed and Ruth's voice was so light, airy, powerful without being loud and aggressive, you don't hear the blues, jazz in Ruth's voice yet she was a torch singer. I see why she was popular she was a one of a kind. She didn't have to shout and sing various notes to get a song across, she knew how to put over a number without all that fancy stuff, singers today could learn a lot about singing from Helen Morgan, Lillian Roth and Ruth Etting, they didn't have to jump around, move around, shake their butts, be overly blatantly sexual, they weren't loud and annoying to make you cover your ears, they just sung their songs, each word with feeling, they didn't do all that oooh, ahhh, ooohwoooyeah stuff. The two things that Ruth and Doris did have in common was they both sing with great feeling and emotion.
The real Ruth Etting seems frail and too sweet, she's adorable, which makes me wonder why she hooked up with a gangster anyway but then again looks can be deceiving, I heard she wasn't the sweet, girl next door type in the first place and she wasn't so naive and a pushover like Doris Day portrayed her. Doris is very curvy and plump in this movie, she looks tough and looks like she could let the limping Cagney have it and run so he couldn't catch her yet Doris portrays Ruth as weak, so it makes me wonder what the real Ruth Etting was really like, the real Ruth looks so frail and innocent, she looks as though you could knock her over with a feather but I hear she was tougher than Doris portrayed her but I guess the movie was more interesting portrayed Ruth as naive and gullible. You know how Hollywood is, they never tell the whole truth, they either leave something out and put in what they want. Ruth Etting didn't like this movie, she said many things were false and she was going to sue but told not to by Walter Winchell. Ruth Etting was one of the top singers in her prime, the definition of a torch singer. She was quite unique and powerful yet with a little voice and a little body but you believed everything she singed, her adorable face and presence would naturally make you feel her pain, behind the pretty face that was a lot of hurt that was obvious through her singing. She was a true artist who makes you stop and listen.
Smashing "Gangster Musical"
harry-7622 August 2002
"Love Me Or Leave Me" has been critically lauded and publicly supported. I can only concede it's a very fine music/drama/biopic.
What's so unique about this film is it's skillfully combining the "gangster" element with the "musical" genre. The bio-based storyline plays out like somewhat like a crime drama, while the musical portion rings forth with twelve complete full-bodied numbers.
The casting is truly inspired: what a coup getting Doris Day, at the peak of her physical, acting and vocal powers to be cast in a real-life role, while snaring the brilliant, often breathtaking James Cagney--forever at the peak of his powers--as the indestructible "Gimp."
Together they create fireworks, playing off one another's sweet 'n' sour characterizations with great relish. How amusing it is to see Cagney having fun with his deft limp-walk and grueling thug-character, complemented by Day's equally enjoyable, contrastingly lovable persona.
The songs are all very beautiful, and expertly rendered by Day in this, a wonderful tribute to her vocal talent and impressive musicianship.
The script is well-written to utilize the stars' individual gifts, and the widescreen production is a delight to watch. After all these years, "Love Me Or Leave Me" holds its own, thanks to the contributions of two now-legendary stars.
What's so unique about this film is it's skillfully combining the "gangster" element with the "musical" genre. The bio-based storyline plays out like somewhat like a crime drama, while the musical portion rings forth with twelve complete full-bodied numbers.
The casting is truly inspired: what a coup getting Doris Day, at the peak of her physical, acting and vocal powers to be cast in a real-life role, while snaring the brilliant, often breathtaking James Cagney--forever at the peak of his powers--as the indestructible "Gimp."
Together they create fireworks, playing off one another's sweet 'n' sour characterizations with great relish. How amusing it is to see Cagney having fun with his deft limp-walk and grueling thug-character, complemented by Day's equally enjoyable, contrastingly lovable persona.
The songs are all very beautiful, and expertly rendered by Day in this, a wonderful tribute to her vocal talent and impressive musicianship.
The script is well-written to utilize the stars' individual gifts, and the widescreen production is a delight to watch. After all these years, "Love Me Or Leave Me" holds its own, thanks to the contributions of two now-legendary stars.
I'd love to know the exact truth to this story...
planktonrules21 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
As a retired history teacher, I always look at the historical accuracy of films and often investigate this on my own before or after I see a film. According to a quote on IMDb, this film is half truth and half fiction. So what, then, is the real story? Well, after some reading, I found that I STILL don't know! I do know some of the film was embellished (for example, Ruth Etting was a headliner BEFORE she met Martin Snyder AND Martin's nickname was "The Gimp" yet his character walks just fine in the film)--but where is that line between truth and fiction and how far over did it go? I sure wish I knew.
This is an odd film--a gangster musical. I like gangster films but frankly I felt there was a bit too much singing for my taste--though since the story is about a professional singer, I guess my complaint is very minor. Doris Day plays Etting and her husband is played with lots of gusto by James Cagney. The plot concerns him managing her career and its impact on their marriage. He's a bully and thug--and at first he's an asset. Later, when he alienates practically everyone, he's an obvious deficit and Day leaves him for a piano player. Cagney's reaction is bad--to put it mildly.
I know this film has a very good reputation, but I found that after a while I got a bit tired of the movie. Cagney's 'big dumb jerk routine' got a bit old (how can a man YELL for an entire film?!) and Day's 'nice girl routine' seemed fake. At least to me, it was hard feeling sorry for the character, as she seemed to willingly make a deal with the devil--so to speak. Portraying her as a victim seemed disingenuous. So, rather one-dimensional and unlikable characters made this a bit hard to love. Still, the quality of the production was high--and I did enjoy it. I just didn't love it.
This is an odd film--a gangster musical. I like gangster films but frankly I felt there was a bit too much singing for my taste--though since the story is about a professional singer, I guess my complaint is very minor. Doris Day plays Etting and her husband is played with lots of gusto by James Cagney. The plot concerns him managing her career and its impact on their marriage. He's a bully and thug--and at first he's an asset. Later, when he alienates practically everyone, he's an obvious deficit and Day leaves him for a piano player. Cagney's reaction is bad--to put it mildly.
I know this film has a very good reputation, but I found that after a while I got a bit tired of the movie. Cagney's 'big dumb jerk routine' got a bit old (how can a man YELL for an entire film?!) and Day's 'nice girl routine' seemed fake. At least to me, it was hard feeling sorry for the character, as she seemed to willingly make a deal with the devil--so to speak. Portraying her as a victim seemed disingenuous. So, rather one-dimensional and unlikable characters made this a bit hard to love. Still, the quality of the production was high--and I did enjoy it. I just didn't love it.
Doris Day's Finest Hour on Film
ScottAmundsen6 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
As a performer, Doris Day had it all from the start. Beautiful, sexy, and gifted with one of the loveliest voices ever to grace the silver screen, she also had an enormous gift for light comedy that made her a superstar at Warner Bros in a series of lighter-than-air musicals as good as anything MGM and the Freed unit ever produced. And later on, her talent for comedy would make her a legend in three unforgettable, hilarious films co-starring her pal Rock Hudson; the first of these, PILLOW TALK, would garner Day her only Oscar nomination.
Now a talent for comedy is not to be despised; in fact, any actor will tell you that in many ways comedy is harder to do than drama. But it seemed to come so easily to Day that when she made the 1955 biopic of 1920's singer Ruth Etting, LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME, some of her fans were shocked. For while LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME has plenty of music in it, sung only as Day could sing, it was a far cry from the lightweight stuff people associated with her.
LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME is a slightly fictionalized biography of Ruth Etting, who was quite a big singing star in the 1920s and who actually made a couple of film appearances in the early sound era. And it marked a huge departure for Day, playing a broad on the make with questionable morals who gets mixed up with Chicago gangster Martin "The Gimp" Snyder, played with his customary intensity by the legendary James Cagney.
Day does not pull any punches in this film. Etting is no innocent girl from the country. She is an ambitious singer who wants to go places and is not too scrupulous about allowing Snyder to help her career along. That he does so because he is smitten with her she is fully aware of but she tries to pretend she doesn't notice. But Snyder, though a thug, is not a fool, and he is most definitely not accustomed to being denied what he wants. So when Ruth finally gets her big break in the Ziegfeld Follies, and Marty is barred from backstage, he throws a huge fit, breaks her contract with Ziegfeld, and rapes Ruth in a shockingly obvious scene for a 1950s film. Next thing we know, she has married him.
Ruth is a woman who is great on the stage but cannot stop making bad choices in life. Marrying Snyder out of a sense of obligation, she does not love him and it isn't long before she is in utter misery, particularly when she goes to Hollywood and reunites with old flame Johnny Alderman (Cameron Mitchell), who she still carries a torch for but does not dare to get close to for fear of what her insanely jealous husband will do.
This is by far the hardest-hitting film Doris Day ever made, and pitted against the immortal Cagney, she reveals a set of acting chops as sharp and as hungry as his. She matches him scene for scene and moment for moment, and their scenes together grow in intensity until the final confrontation when she demands a divorce, which devastates her husband and drives him to seek revenge.
It would be unfair to reveal too much more. This is without a doubt my very favorite of all of Doris Day's movies, an unflinching look at a woman who isn't always sympathetic, and Day has no problems showing Etting's true nature, warts and all. And when she is working with Cagney the screen threatens to catch fire.
Brilliant, intense, disturbing, and with gorgeous music. What a package.
Now a talent for comedy is not to be despised; in fact, any actor will tell you that in many ways comedy is harder to do than drama. But it seemed to come so easily to Day that when she made the 1955 biopic of 1920's singer Ruth Etting, LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME, some of her fans were shocked. For while LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME has plenty of music in it, sung only as Day could sing, it was a far cry from the lightweight stuff people associated with her.
LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME is a slightly fictionalized biography of Ruth Etting, who was quite a big singing star in the 1920s and who actually made a couple of film appearances in the early sound era. And it marked a huge departure for Day, playing a broad on the make with questionable morals who gets mixed up with Chicago gangster Martin "The Gimp" Snyder, played with his customary intensity by the legendary James Cagney.
Day does not pull any punches in this film. Etting is no innocent girl from the country. She is an ambitious singer who wants to go places and is not too scrupulous about allowing Snyder to help her career along. That he does so because he is smitten with her she is fully aware of but she tries to pretend she doesn't notice. But Snyder, though a thug, is not a fool, and he is most definitely not accustomed to being denied what he wants. So when Ruth finally gets her big break in the Ziegfeld Follies, and Marty is barred from backstage, he throws a huge fit, breaks her contract with Ziegfeld, and rapes Ruth in a shockingly obvious scene for a 1950s film. Next thing we know, she has married him.
Ruth is a woman who is great on the stage but cannot stop making bad choices in life. Marrying Snyder out of a sense of obligation, she does not love him and it isn't long before she is in utter misery, particularly when she goes to Hollywood and reunites with old flame Johnny Alderman (Cameron Mitchell), who she still carries a torch for but does not dare to get close to for fear of what her insanely jealous husband will do.
This is by far the hardest-hitting film Doris Day ever made, and pitted against the immortal Cagney, she reveals a set of acting chops as sharp and as hungry as his. She matches him scene for scene and moment for moment, and their scenes together grow in intensity until the final confrontation when she demands a divorce, which devastates her husband and drives him to seek revenge.
It would be unfair to reveal too much more. This is without a doubt my very favorite of all of Doris Day's movies, an unflinching look at a woman who isn't always sympathetic, and Day has no problems showing Etting's true nature, warts and all. And when she is working with Cagney the screen threatens to catch fire.
Brilliant, intense, disturbing, and with gorgeous music. What a package.
Day Shines in Middling Biopic
daoldiges22 June 2022
Love Me or Leave Me looks great and comes with great production values. As a biopic film it falls a little flat though as the two main characters aren't really fully developed enough to create the desired tension the story needs. This in turn weakens the relationship between the two leads as its hard to understand why Day's character has fallen so hard for her thug boyfriend, played a bit one note by Cagney. Day looks stunning, sexy and sounds great in the musical numbers. She does a wonderful job interpreting the classic Etting songs. I think the one dimensionality of the Cagney character is the central weakness here, but Love Me or Leave Me is still a film worth checking out, particularly if you're a Doris Day fan.
Much as I hate to say it, extremely disapointing
buzzerbill9 June 2019
I just watched this film again on TCM, and it just isn't very good. Doris Day considered it her best performance, and it might well be. It showcases both her acting and her singing; I've always considered her almost criminally undervalued as both an actress and a singer. It certainly has plenty of MGM gloss and great production values. If you look at the trivia file here on the film, you will see that it was heavily censored for things which today would not be censored, but celebrated.
However, it's a chore, not a pleasure, to watch, and the blame rest largely on James Cagney's shoulders. I realize that I'm in a minority in considering Cagney a very limited talent. He's very effective when the film matched his talents, as a hyperkinetic song and dance man in Footlight Parade, or a hyperkinetic thug in his early gangster films, or a hyperkineitic psycho thug in White Heat, or even a hyperkinetic business exec in One, Two Three. But it's all variations on a theme (there's also the sentimental streak in some of his films, but the less said of that, the better) and in this film it degenerates to mannerisms and attitude. His performance is painfully one-dimensional.
Without Cagney, I might rank it a six. Day is great; the production looks good; but overall it really is a formula picture, and not the best formula to boot.
However, it's a chore, not a pleasure, to watch, and the blame rest largely on James Cagney's shoulders. I realize that I'm in a minority in considering Cagney a very limited talent. He's very effective when the film matched his talents, as a hyperkinetic song and dance man in Footlight Parade, or a hyperkinetic thug in his early gangster films, or a hyperkineitic psycho thug in White Heat, or even a hyperkinetic business exec in One, Two Three. But it's all variations on a theme (there's also the sentimental streak in some of his films, but the less said of that, the better) and in this film it degenerates to mannerisms and attitude. His performance is painfully one-dimensional.
Without Cagney, I might rank it a six. Day is great; the production looks good; but overall it really is a formula picture, and not the best formula to boot.
Doris Day? Absolutely!!
movibuf19625 September 2003
Warning: Spoilers
(Contains one small spoiler.) After purchasing the tape of this film, all I can say is the sooner it goes to DVD, the better. LMOLM is a scintillating musical bio, rich in production value from costumes to set pieces and beautiful stereophonic sound. And, of course, its two stars are electric together- perhaps even more so because they are so mismatched. Doris Day (playing wonderfully against type) stars as 1920's chanteuse Ruth Etting (who needs discovery badly); James Cagney is gangster Marty Snyder who comes to her professional rescue, and the amazing thing is that had the film ended on just this oil-and-water partnership alone, it would've been sensational. They are both schemers; the difference is, Day's Etting is more subtle about her climb to stardom, getting all the help she can from Cagney while slipping quietly under his brutish radar. But when it's time for her to sing- whether it's just with a rehearsal piano or the Ziegfeld Follies- she delivers the goods in some of the most heartbreaking torch songs ever delivered on film. (Listen to her renditions of "It All Depends on You," "Never Look Back," or "Ten Cents A Dance.") Their parry-and-thrust relationship reaches a horrible, brutal peak in a scene which Day wrote in her 1975 autobiography was actually shot as a full-blown rape, but drastically edited down by release time. The film realistically shows warts on both of the leads, and illustrates that, in spite of their better interests, they both need each other. Cagney was great, but Day was phenomenal, and should've been nominated for an Oscar right alongside her co-star. Oh well, 'que sera...,' whoops, wrong movie. You gotta see this one!
Day and Cagney in a disturbing character study of spousal abuse with songs thrown in for good measure
movieman-20015 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Love Me Or Leave Me (1955) is perhaps Doris Day's finest hour as an all around performer. That she is in fair voice is to be expected. But to also find her an accomplished actress of the melodrama is quite astonishing, since Day is often known as the fluffy powder puff of feather weight musical tripe, or, the squeaky clean, yet strangely asexual appendage of Rock Hudson. However, in 'Love Me Or Leave Me' Day smolders sensuality, proving that her acting chops were sadly underrated during the rest of her career.
The film is a musical bio based on the rather sorted life and times of torch singer, Ruth Etting (Day). Ruth's initial affiliation with Marty 'the gimp' Snyder (James Cagney) elevates her status from taxi dancer to nightclub performer. But Marty's a small time operator; a hood in the vein Cagney well understood and brought memorably to the screen in countless performances throughout his illustrious career. At first proud of his wife's success, Marty's admiration quickly turns to jealousy as he begins to sense a growing affection between Ruth and her piano player, Johnny Alderman (Cameron Mitchell). That the affection is platonic is a moot point, especially after Marty decides to put a couple of slugs in what he perceives to be his wife's illicit paramour.
Apart from its tempered moral attitude toward sex, director, Charles Vidor keeps the film's narrative pretty darn close to the truth of Etting's own life. It helps, by classical Hollywood standards that in real life Ruth Etting achieved something of reconciliation with her murderous ex while dashing off into the sunset with Johnny. The score for the film is first rate. Day warbles to sultry perfection the smoky "Ten Cents A Dance" and "Love Me Or Leave Me", tears your heart out with "Never Look Back" and "I'll Never Stop Loving You" and stops the show with her radio debut, "Sam, the Accordion Man" and the film's singular, lavishly staged, production number, "Shakin' The Blues Away." Considered a departure from the 'usual' musical fair of its day, in that the emphasis here almost seems to be more concentrated on the drama rather than the music, 'Love Me Or Leave Me' is dynamic box office entertainment. It sings, slinks and sets the screen on fire with two enigmatic performances from Doris Day and James Cagney.
Warner's DVD has been very nicely rendered. Though some grain and age related artifacts are apparent during transitional dissolves and fades (as was an inherent flaw of all early Cinemascope films), the anamorphic widescreen picture exhibits a more than pleasing quality with deep blacks, velvety navy blues and pronounced reds and oranges. Flesh tones can appear a tad pasty at times, but this is in keeping with the limitations of early Ansco Color and is NOT a flaw of DVD mastering. The audio has been remastered to 5.1 and is surprisingly aggressive during the musical sequences. Three vintage shorts, two featuring the real Ruth Etting, are the only extras we get. It would have been nice to have Ms. Day do an audio commentary, but alas, no such indulgence for the film buff.
The film is a musical bio based on the rather sorted life and times of torch singer, Ruth Etting (Day). Ruth's initial affiliation with Marty 'the gimp' Snyder (James Cagney) elevates her status from taxi dancer to nightclub performer. But Marty's a small time operator; a hood in the vein Cagney well understood and brought memorably to the screen in countless performances throughout his illustrious career. At first proud of his wife's success, Marty's admiration quickly turns to jealousy as he begins to sense a growing affection between Ruth and her piano player, Johnny Alderman (Cameron Mitchell). That the affection is platonic is a moot point, especially after Marty decides to put a couple of slugs in what he perceives to be his wife's illicit paramour.
Apart from its tempered moral attitude toward sex, director, Charles Vidor keeps the film's narrative pretty darn close to the truth of Etting's own life. It helps, by classical Hollywood standards that in real life Ruth Etting achieved something of reconciliation with her murderous ex while dashing off into the sunset with Johnny. The score for the film is first rate. Day warbles to sultry perfection the smoky "Ten Cents A Dance" and "Love Me Or Leave Me", tears your heart out with "Never Look Back" and "I'll Never Stop Loving You" and stops the show with her radio debut, "Sam, the Accordion Man" and the film's singular, lavishly staged, production number, "Shakin' The Blues Away." Considered a departure from the 'usual' musical fair of its day, in that the emphasis here almost seems to be more concentrated on the drama rather than the music, 'Love Me Or Leave Me' is dynamic box office entertainment. It sings, slinks and sets the screen on fire with two enigmatic performances from Doris Day and James Cagney.
Warner's DVD has been very nicely rendered. Though some grain and age related artifacts are apparent during transitional dissolves and fades (as was an inherent flaw of all early Cinemascope films), the anamorphic widescreen picture exhibits a more than pleasing quality with deep blacks, velvety navy blues and pronounced reds and oranges. Flesh tones can appear a tad pasty at times, but this is in keeping with the limitations of early Ansco Color and is NOT a flaw of DVD mastering. The audio has been remastered to 5.1 and is surprisingly aggressive during the musical sequences. Three vintage shorts, two featuring the real Ruth Etting, are the only extras we get. It would have been nice to have Ms. Day do an audio commentary, but alas, no such indulgence for the film buff.
One of Day's best
dmnemaine4 May 2006
Not being a great Cagney fan, I didn't have high hopes for this film when I first saw it. The only reason I did watch it was Doris Day. Boy, am I glad I did. Anyone who questions Day's acting abilities should take a look at this film. Personally, I've always thought she was one of Hollywood's few singers who really could act. Look at the lackluster acting of Kathryn Grayson or Jane Powell sometime. Doris Day runs circles around them. If you're still in doubt after seeing this film, watch "Julie" sometime. Another one of her best films.
Also, Day is in fine voice in this film. All of the songs are wonderful. "Ten Cents A Dance" and "Shaking The Blues Away" among the best. I have heard the real Ruth Etting's rendition of both these numbers, and they are nothing like Day's performances. Obviously, they weren't going for mimicry here, but it works fine just the same. Highly recommended.
Also, Day is in fine voice in this film. All of the songs are wonderful. "Ten Cents A Dance" and "Shaking The Blues Away" among the best. I have heard the real Ruth Etting's rendition of both these numbers, and they are nothing like Day's performances. Obviously, they weren't going for mimicry here, but it works fine just the same. Highly recommended.
Singer's shady past glossed over in this biopic
SimonJack1 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Nobody could play a mean, nasty, unlikeable character in the movies better than James Cagney. The veteran actor proved his mettle as Martin "Marty" Snyder in "Love Me or Leave Me." Doris Day was an excellent singer and she does a very good job in this film. But, Day's voice sounded nothing like that of Ruth Etting, whom she plays here. Day's singing is robust and full of life. She plays her character that way here as well, even in the somber numbers. That's quite different from the character and musical delivery of Etting. She had a distinctive sound – higher in the early years, and somewhat nasal, but appealing in later life. And, she had a tinge of sultry about her when she sang. Etting said she would have preferred someone else to have played her in this film.
If Moe "The Gimp" Snyder was as mean and bad a character as he is in this film, one might conclude that Ruth Etting was nuts for marrying him – let alone, having anything to do with him at all. But this movie is Hollywood, and a highly fictionalized account of the years of Etting's career as a singer. Without a researched biography book, too little about Etting's life is really known. And, of what has been written about her, many pieces are conflicting from source to source. At best, her past is fuzzy. One wonders why more details weren't written about her childhood and early career. Even with the scandal at the height of her career (former husband shooting current lover), Etting's life remains something of a mystery.
While Day's acting is OK here, her character strikes me as too strong and determined. From what we know about Etting, she was anything but that way. Her character here seems just not right. The rest of the cast are OK. Some were fictional, others based on real people. This film is entertaining for the songs that Doris Day sings. But as a biopic about Ruth Etting it seems too unreal. Hollywood tends to glamorize the lives of musical people in its biopics. In this case, MGM did a major fictional piece with many changes in Etting's personal life.
Some facts about her life and career are noteworthy for their exclusion in this film. The first is that Martin "Moe the Gimp" Snyder was married and that he divorced his wife to marry Etting. (Doesn't that throw a different light on the whole movie and its implication that Ruthie was pressured into marrying the Gimp?) The second is that Snyder wasn't a wealthy business owner and gangland boss. He worked as a bodyguard for prominent people, including those in the entertainment field, and had many contacts there. The third is that Etting's second husband, Harry Myrl Alderman ("Johnny," in the movie), also was married when he and Etting began their relationship. (After Snyder shot Alderman, the latter's wife accused Etting of alienation of affections when she filed for divorce.)
From the facts known about her but not shown in this film, is it too much to wonder why Etting's career may have so soon come to an end? Some other people with Hollywood scandals survived them to go on with their careers. But, if Ruth Etting was seen as a home wrecker in the 1930s, that might have been enough to end her career in Hollywood. But why her singing career? Again, some mystery. Maybe Etting really loved Snyder and didn't care about breaking up his marriage. Or, she might have married him just for his entertainment connections, as this movie implies. That would be a reason to tolerate his crude and mean nature. Maybe she fell in love with her piano player, and didn't care that he was married. Or, she didn't care about her career at that point.
The movie implies the Snyder roughneck stuff might have turned Hollywood off for using Etting in films. She starred in nearly three dozen shorts from 1929 through 1936. Most were short story plots in which she sang two or three songs. They were entertaining musically, but the acting was mostly like that of B-films. If anything, Etting seems plain or droll in her roles in the shorts I've seen. She did appear in three feature films, but only in minor roles to sing a number or two. She said herself that she didn't know how to act. Had she real talent for acting, one would think Hollywood would have ensured that she weathered the scandal and made a comeback. Rather, I think her film career never really got launched simply because she wasn't much of an actress. Without her voice, she wouldn't have been in the shorts she made. Anyway, after the scandal, she married Alderman and the couple soon after retired to live in Colorado Springs away from the spotlight. They probably had a comfortable life, because she had done very well recording more than 150 songs -- including 60 hit tunes, during the decade before she retired. In her divorce settlement with Snyder, she had to pay him $50,000.
In the mid-1920s to mid-1930s, Ruth Etting was known as the Sweetheart of radio. She had a distinctive voice and was well-liked as a singer. She was a leading recording artist for more than a decade. Of her 60 hit tunes, some have been etched in musical history. Among them are "Shine On, Harvest Moon," 'Love Me or Leave Me," "Shaking the Blues Away," "You're the Cream in My Coffee," "Button Up Your Overcoat," "Back in Your Own Back Yard," "Dancing With Tears in My Eyes," "It All Depends on You," and "Good Night, Sweetheart."
By the way, neither Etting nor Snyder were happy about the way this film turned out.
If Moe "The Gimp" Snyder was as mean and bad a character as he is in this film, one might conclude that Ruth Etting was nuts for marrying him – let alone, having anything to do with him at all. But this movie is Hollywood, and a highly fictionalized account of the years of Etting's career as a singer. Without a researched biography book, too little about Etting's life is really known. And, of what has been written about her, many pieces are conflicting from source to source. At best, her past is fuzzy. One wonders why more details weren't written about her childhood and early career. Even with the scandal at the height of her career (former husband shooting current lover), Etting's life remains something of a mystery.
While Day's acting is OK here, her character strikes me as too strong and determined. From what we know about Etting, she was anything but that way. Her character here seems just not right. The rest of the cast are OK. Some were fictional, others based on real people. This film is entertaining for the songs that Doris Day sings. But as a biopic about Ruth Etting it seems too unreal. Hollywood tends to glamorize the lives of musical people in its biopics. In this case, MGM did a major fictional piece with many changes in Etting's personal life.
Some facts about her life and career are noteworthy for their exclusion in this film. The first is that Martin "Moe the Gimp" Snyder was married and that he divorced his wife to marry Etting. (Doesn't that throw a different light on the whole movie and its implication that Ruthie was pressured into marrying the Gimp?) The second is that Snyder wasn't a wealthy business owner and gangland boss. He worked as a bodyguard for prominent people, including those in the entertainment field, and had many contacts there. The third is that Etting's second husband, Harry Myrl Alderman ("Johnny," in the movie), also was married when he and Etting began their relationship. (After Snyder shot Alderman, the latter's wife accused Etting of alienation of affections when she filed for divorce.)
From the facts known about her but not shown in this film, is it too much to wonder why Etting's career may have so soon come to an end? Some other people with Hollywood scandals survived them to go on with their careers. But, if Ruth Etting was seen as a home wrecker in the 1930s, that might have been enough to end her career in Hollywood. But why her singing career? Again, some mystery. Maybe Etting really loved Snyder and didn't care about breaking up his marriage. Or, she might have married him just for his entertainment connections, as this movie implies. That would be a reason to tolerate his crude and mean nature. Maybe she fell in love with her piano player, and didn't care that he was married. Or, she didn't care about her career at that point.
The movie implies the Snyder roughneck stuff might have turned Hollywood off for using Etting in films. She starred in nearly three dozen shorts from 1929 through 1936. Most were short story plots in which she sang two or three songs. They were entertaining musically, but the acting was mostly like that of B-films. If anything, Etting seems plain or droll in her roles in the shorts I've seen. She did appear in three feature films, but only in minor roles to sing a number or two. She said herself that she didn't know how to act. Had she real talent for acting, one would think Hollywood would have ensured that she weathered the scandal and made a comeback. Rather, I think her film career never really got launched simply because she wasn't much of an actress. Without her voice, she wouldn't have been in the shorts she made. Anyway, after the scandal, she married Alderman and the couple soon after retired to live in Colorado Springs away from the spotlight. They probably had a comfortable life, because she had done very well recording more than 150 songs -- including 60 hit tunes, during the decade before she retired. In her divorce settlement with Snyder, she had to pay him $50,000.
In the mid-1920s to mid-1930s, Ruth Etting was known as the Sweetheart of radio. She had a distinctive voice and was well-liked as a singer. She was a leading recording artist for more than a decade. Of her 60 hit tunes, some have been etched in musical history. Among them are "Shine On, Harvest Moon," 'Love Me or Leave Me," "Shaking the Blues Away," "You're the Cream in My Coffee," "Button Up Your Overcoat," "Back in Your Own Back Yard," "Dancing With Tears in My Eyes," "It All Depends on You," and "Good Night, Sweetheart."
By the way, neither Etting nor Snyder were happy about the way this film turned out.
Essential Doris Day
gepete11 June 2018
Doris and Jimmy act up a storm, and that's about it
marcslope22 February 2010
One of the more adult mid-'50s musicals, and it's surprising that it came out of MGM, which generally preferred happy-happy song-and-dance shows, and starred two big stars who had never before worked at Culver City. Day and Cagney are tremendous, she playing up Ruth Etting's unattractive ambition without flinching, and he bringing unexpected charm to a thoroughly unlikable gangster character. As a study of how bad relationships stay stuck in the groove, it's remarkably grown-up for its day, and you might not expect these two stars to play well off each other, but they certainly do. The downside: Ruth Etting had a small, chirpy voice, rather like her contemporaries Janet Gaynor or Nancy Carroll, and Day's vocal delivery is nothing like hers. She sings like... Doris Day. Nor are the arrangements anything like period--they're standard mid-'50s overkill. The costumes and hairstyles don't even pretend to be '20s. And though much is made of Miss Etting's film career--you'd have thought she was a great movie musical star--her Hollywood sojourn was actually brief and unimpressive. Finally, there's that audience depressant Cameron Mitchell as her love interest, and you can't get very interested in him, or root for him. After so many vacuous sunny-side-up musicals at Warners, Day must have relished this opportunity to show what she could really do, and it's very worth sitting through to watch the Day-Cagney fireworks. I guess an accurate portrayal of Ruth Etting and her times would be asking too much.
One of the greatest Oscar travesties
HotToastyRag3 February 2018
It's impossible to pick just one Doris Day to movie to watch in your life, but if you have to choose only three, I insist you watch Romance on the High Seas, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Love Me or Leave Me.
Even though she neither looks nor sounds anything like Ruth Etting, Doris Day gives an incredible performance in this biopic of the famous 1920s singer. Ruth started out in a dance hall, as described in one of her most famous songs "Ten Cents a Dance" before she was discovered by powerful mobster Marty Snyder, played in the film by James Cagney. I've seen this film many times, and while I had one impression of it at first, I've since learned to appreciate the other levels of the story and performances. The first time I watched it, my heart went out to my beloved James Cagney, and I started crying every time Doris Day would reject his advances and hurt his feelings. As I got older and watched it again and again, I absorbed the complex and cunning relationship between the two main characters-but it still makes me cry!
Doris plays a conniving wannabe star, stringing Jimmy along with empty promises of her affections just so he'll help her career. I didn't pick up on her intentional meanness the first time through; I thought she was just being an idiot by not falling for him. Every word out of her mouth is intentional, and she knows the power she holds over him. Doris is so fantastic in this untrustworthy role that if you've never seen one of her movies, I wouldn't recommend watching this one first. You might forever after see her as a bad girl and never trust her again!
On the other hand, Jimmy Cagney's character isn't as golden as I once thought he was. He notices Doris's body in her skintight dress and nothing more. He promises her stardom, but when she holds out her end of the bargain, his attraction grows. Although at first he's only interested in a one-night stand, Doris becomes his obsession and his reason to live, and he gives an incredibly heartbreaking performance. James Cagney's performance in Love Me or Leave Me is one of the greats I often reference in my disillusionment with the Academy Awards. He, Frank Sinatra, James Dean, and an un-nominated Robert Mitchum were all passed over in favor of Ernest Borgnine in Marty, one of the most ridiculous awards in Oscar history. When you watch Love Me or Leave Me and you finish drying your tears, you'll probably lose respect for the Oscars, too.
Cameron Mitchell is supposed to play the antithesis of James Cagney's character: kind-hearted, honest, and easy to love. I don't think he's any of those qualities, so his scenes with Doris were easily the weakest in my opinion. I am admittedly biased; I don't know if anyone would have been easier to love than James Cagney in this film. On the upside, Robert Keith and Harry Bellaver are very likable and sweet in their supporting roles, so it's relatively easy to drown Cameron out and pretend he's not in the movie.
Love Me or Leave Me is a fantastic movie, an essential for James Cagney, Doris Day, or musical fans. You'll probably want to familiarize yourself with their other films first, though. To make sure you can appreciate Doris's new dramatic talent, watch Pillow Talk or Romance on the High Seas first, and to make sure you're on James Cagney's side, watch Angels with Dirty Faces and The Strawberry Blonde first.
Even though she neither looks nor sounds anything like Ruth Etting, Doris Day gives an incredible performance in this biopic of the famous 1920s singer. Ruth started out in a dance hall, as described in one of her most famous songs "Ten Cents a Dance" before she was discovered by powerful mobster Marty Snyder, played in the film by James Cagney. I've seen this film many times, and while I had one impression of it at first, I've since learned to appreciate the other levels of the story and performances. The first time I watched it, my heart went out to my beloved James Cagney, and I started crying every time Doris Day would reject his advances and hurt his feelings. As I got older and watched it again and again, I absorbed the complex and cunning relationship between the two main characters-but it still makes me cry!
Doris plays a conniving wannabe star, stringing Jimmy along with empty promises of her affections just so he'll help her career. I didn't pick up on her intentional meanness the first time through; I thought she was just being an idiot by not falling for him. Every word out of her mouth is intentional, and she knows the power she holds over him. Doris is so fantastic in this untrustworthy role that if you've never seen one of her movies, I wouldn't recommend watching this one first. You might forever after see her as a bad girl and never trust her again!
On the other hand, Jimmy Cagney's character isn't as golden as I once thought he was. He notices Doris's body in her skintight dress and nothing more. He promises her stardom, but when she holds out her end of the bargain, his attraction grows. Although at first he's only interested in a one-night stand, Doris becomes his obsession and his reason to live, and he gives an incredibly heartbreaking performance. James Cagney's performance in Love Me or Leave Me is one of the greats I often reference in my disillusionment with the Academy Awards. He, Frank Sinatra, James Dean, and an un-nominated Robert Mitchum were all passed over in favor of Ernest Borgnine in Marty, one of the most ridiculous awards in Oscar history. When you watch Love Me or Leave Me and you finish drying your tears, you'll probably lose respect for the Oscars, too.
Cameron Mitchell is supposed to play the antithesis of James Cagney's character: kind-hearted, honest, and easy to love. I don't think he's any of those qualities, so his scenes with Doris were easily the weakest in my opinion. I am admittedly biased; I don't know if anyone would have been easier to love than James Cagney in this film. On the upside, Robert Keith and Harry Bellaver are very likable and sweet in their supporting roles, so it's relatively easy to drown Cameron out and pretend he's not in the movie.
Love Me or Leave Me is a fantastic movie, an essential for James Cagney, Doris Day, or musical fans. You'll probably want to familiarize yourself with their other films first, though. To make sure you can appreciate Doris's new dramatic talent, watch Pillow Talk or Romance on the High Seas first, and to make sure you're on James Cagney's side, watch Angels with Dirty Faces and The Strawberry Blonde first.
The usual Hollywood stereotype.
JohnHowardReid16 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Love Me or Leave Me is the Daniel Fuchs-Isobel Lennart story of singer Ruth Etting.
Although the melodramatic and squalid details of Miss Etting's career are chronicled with considerable relish, her character, in the hands of Doris Day, is constantly and incongruously that of the clean-cut ideal of American womanhood to which Miss Day has long accustomed us.
And although ideally cast as Snyder, James Cagney is unable to prevent his frequent neurotic outbursts from becoming monotonous; while Cameron Mitchell is his usual dull, deadly self.
However, the 20's atmosphere is well captured, the back-stage scenes are handled with authority, and Miss Day attacks the musical numbers with commendable zest.
But, although based on real life, in my opinion this biography - especially the denouement, with prizes for everybody - smacks too much of the Hollywood stereotype.
Although the melodramatic and squalid details of Miss Etting's career are chronicled with considerable relish, her character, in the hands of Doris Day, is constantly and incongruously that of the clean-cut ideal of American womanhood to which Miss Day has long accustomed us.
And although ideally cast as Snyder, James Cagney is unable to prevent his frequent neurotic outbursts from becoming monotonous; while Cameron Mitchell is his usual dull, deadly self.
However, the 20's atmosphere is well captured, the back-stage scenes are handled with authority, and Miss Day attacks the musical numbers with commendable zest.
But, although based on real life, in my opinion this biography - especially the denouement, with prizes for everybody - smacks too much of the Hollywood stereotype.
A great drama/musical; Cagney and Day at their best.
none-858 January 1999
A great great biopic of Ruth Etting and Martin, the "Gimp" Snyder. Day is in great singing form and also holds her own as an actress. Her rendition of the title song is tremendous. Was there ever a better actor than Cagney? Did he ever make a bad film? His style will live forever. When you think of the films he made- White Heat, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Man of a Thousand Faces, and Love Me or Leave Me - I mean, who can compare? Joe Pesci is in some respects a good successor- as a little tough guy. But Cagney is great in all kinds of films- not just gangster films. And he could dance.
Doris Day And James Cagney Impress In Sad Story
atlasmb1 June 2016
"Love Me or Leave Me" is the fictionalized but essentially accurate biopic of Ruth Etting (Doris Day), popular vocalist from the 1920s and 30s. It's a tragic story about an ambitious but principled young woman who attracts the attention of a gangster, Marty Snyder (James Cagney), with an inferiority complex and a need for control.
Cagney plays his part with such conviction that the film is not enjoyable to watch. His Marty Snyder never ceases to dominate Ruth with his smothering attentions and a jealous eye.
Day displays her singing voice, some dance moves, a killer body that is often overlooked because of her prim portrayals, and a strong dramatic performance. Ruth's sad story, in reality, is much as the film depicts. The ending of the film is a concession to neat Hollywood endings, but dramatically it serves its purpose.
There have been other films about women who were dominated by men wanting to capitalize on their talents (see "Star 80"), with destructive results. This one is convincing, thanks to its two stars. Fans of either will want to see this film.
Cagney plays his part with such conviction that the film is not enjoyable to watch. His Marty Snyder never ceases to dominate Ruth with his smothering attentions and a jealous eye.
Day displays her singing voice, some dance moves, a killer body that is often overlooked because of her prim portrayals, and a strong dramatic performance. Ruth's sad story, in reality, is much as the film depicts. The ending of the film is a concession to neat Hollywood endings, but dramatically it serves its purpose.
There have been other films about women who were dominated by men wanting to capitalize on their talents (see "Star 80"), with destructive results. This one is convincing, thanks to its two stars. Fans of either will want to see this film.
Disappointing
shopgirl24289 June 2019
The 3 stars are for the good singing. The songs are great. Even with the great leads, I find the film dull and overreacted. I also find Doris Day's costumes to be very distracting. As beautiful as they are, they were not made to portray the era in which the film was to take place. The styles were very much if the current time in which the film was made in, the 1950s. None of her gowns or wardrobe look like the silhouettes or cuts of the 20s or 30s.
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