Love Me or Leave Me (1955)

Director:

Charles Vidor

Writers:

Daniel Fuchs (screenplay) and
Isobel Lennart (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 June 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

You'll Love it!...The Big Lavish Musical of the Roaring Twenties!

Plot:

A fictionalized account of the career of jazz singer Ruth Etting and her tempestuous marriage to gangster Marty Snyder, who helped propel her to stardom.

Plot Keywords:

Success | Singing | Star | Male Female Relationship | Pressure

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Doris Day	...	Ruth Etting
James Cagney	...	Martin Snyder
Cameron Mitchell	...	Johnny Alderman
Robert Keith	...	Bernard V. Loomis
Tom Tully	...	Frobisher
Harry Bellaver	...	Georgie
Richard Gaines	...	Paul Hunter
Peter Leeds	...	Fred Taylor
Claude Stroud	...	Eddie Fulton
Audrey Young	...	Jingle Girl
John Harding	...	Greg Trent

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) | 4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Sound System) (35 mm magnetic prints)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | UK:A (original rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #17433) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG | Germany:6

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

MGM wanted Ava Gardner to play Ruth Etting but she turned down the role because she didn't want to be dubbed again as in Show Boat (1951).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Post-war vehicles shown in rear projection near the end of the movie.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey (1991) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Sam, the Old Accordion Man

Doris Day Deserved An Oscar Nomination For This Film

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!!)