Love Me or Leave Me (1955) Directed by Charles Vidor
Biography / Drama / Musical / Romance
Film Review
One of the finest and most popular musical biopics to come out of
Hollywood, Love Me or Leave Me
stands out from the rest because it doesn't gloss over the more sordid
aspects of the protagonist's life but instead paints a grimly
honest picture of how its subject achieved stardom. Amidst the
usual MGM froth and jaunty musical numbers there is a no-nonsense love
story with a keen edge to it, which is all the more emotionally
stirring because it is faultlessly played by two of Hollywood's finest,
James Cagney and Doris Day. Charles Vidor directs the film with
his customary aplomb, not wasting a cent of his lavish budget in his
attempt to deliver one of cinema's most authentic and vibrant
recreations of the Jazz Age.
Love Me or Leave Me was just
one of James Cagney's many late comebacks and he is superbly cast as
Etting's overly possessive first husband, combining the rough gangster
persona of his early years with the tragic vulnerability of a
self-sufficient man who is incapable of showing his emotions. It
was Cagney who pushed for Doris Day to take the lead role when other
actresses (including Ava Gardner) had set their sights on it.
Cagney's instincts proved to be right - no one could have injected more
life and poignancy into this film than Day. The on-screen
chemistry between Cagney and Day is electrifying, so intense and so
unpredictable that you feel anything is possible. With such a
winning duo and hit songs like I'll
Never Stop Loving You and Ten
Cents a Dance, what's there not to like? This is a
classic, in every sense of the word.
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Film Synopsis
In 1920s Chicago, Ruth Etting scrapes a living by dancing with patrons
at an exclusive nightclub. When she loses her job, racketeer
Marty Snyder takes her under his wing and offers her an opportunity to
achieve her ambition to become a singer. Although suspicious of
Marty's motives, Ruth plays along and in no time is a singing
sensation, drawing the crowds on Broadway and looking forward to a
career in the movies. But when payback day comes Ruth has no
choice but to marry the man who made her a star, even though she has
lost her heart to songwriter Johnny Alderman. Marty's attempts to
control Ruth's career soon bring the couple to the brink of disaster...
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),
Dorothy Abbott (Dancer),
Jay Adler (Orry),
John Alban (Reporter),
Mal Alberts (Reporter),
Georgia Bitner (Chorus Girl),
Veda Ann Borg (Dance Hall Hostess),
Chet Brandenburg (Chauffeur),
Benny Burt (Stage Manager),
Claire Carleton (Claire)
Country: USA
Language: English
Support: Color
Runtime: 122 min
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