Love Me or Leave Me is technically a musical, as it is filled with many Doris Day stage performances. But none of the dialogue is sung, and the romantic storyline may appeal to fans of crime or 'film noir' genres.
Love Me or Leave Me tells the story of prohibition-era nightclub singer Ruth Etting (Doris Day), whose career was overseen by her feisty, gangster husband, Martin 'The Gimp' Snyder. Although Snyder (James Cagney) is bullying and obnoxious, he has connections and persistence. Etting has no romantic interest in him, but she is very ambitious. She tries to keep him at arm's length, stringing him along while he is still of use to her.
Etting's career rises from a 'dime a dance' waitress to become one of the nation's top singers. She is helped by the musical compositions of Johnny Alderman (Cameron Mitchell), who becomes the third corner of her romantic triangle. Snyder's devoted stooge is Georgie (Harry Bellaver), and his accountant is Bernie (Robert Keith).
Love Me or Leave Me marked a quarter century's worth of gangster roles for Cagney, whose star was born with Public Enemy in 1931. However, his jealous, obsessive character here is less sympathetic than his usual anti-hero. While he was nominated for Best Actor, for only the third time in his career, his character is very unpleasant.
But it is Doris Day who dominates the film. She received first billing over Cagney, and she has no less than twelve stage numbers. How well you regard Love Me or Leave Me has much to do with what you think of Doris Day as a torch singer. She has a clear, smooth voice, and she can follow an arrangement.
But for me, she is boring both as a singer and an actress. Her songs have melodies, but lack verve and emotional commitment. The same goes for her acting: when her character must cry, she does so with her head buried in her arms, to hide her face. Day was a popular actress throughout the 1950s, but aside from her voluptuous figure, I can't understand why.
The ending to the film is almost ridiculous. It is difficult to explain why without introducing spoilers. But I can say that Etting's payback to Snyder comes at a strange time, just after he has committed unforgivable acts.
The real-life Etting, Snyder and Alderman were still alive when the film was released. MGM had to pay them for the rights to their story. The studio also had to buy the rights to the soundtrack. It was the first MGM film for both Cagney and Day, who had previously worked mainly for Warner Brothers.
Love Me or Leave Me was a huge critical and commercial success. The soundtrack album spent seventeen weeks at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts. The widescreen musical made millions at the box office, and generated six Academy Award nominations. It won for Best Story, and was also nominated for Best Actor (Cagney), Best Screenplay (Isobel Lennart, Daniel Fuchs), Best Score, Best Song ("I'll Never Stop Loving You") and Best Sound. (50/100)
Recreated here is the real-life drama of jazz age singer Ruth Etting and the evil-tempered gangster who orchestrates her climb to stardom. Academy Awa...More at Family Video
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.