Love Me or Leave Me (1955)

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.

Director:

Charles Vidor

Writers:

Daniel Fuchs (screenplay), Isobel Lennart (screenplay),

Stars:

Doris Day, James Cagney, Cameron Mitchell

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

In 1920's Chicago, Ruth Etting wants to be a renowned singer, which is a far step away from her current work as a taxi dancer. Upon walking into the dance hall and seeing her, Chicago gangster Marty Snyder immediately falls for Ruth, and works toward being her lover, which he believes he can achieve by opening up singing opportunities for her. Ruth is initially wary of Marty, but makes it clear that she is not interested in him in a romantic sense. Regardless, he does help her professionally, and through his opportunities, which are achieved through intimidation and fear, Ruth does quickly start to gain a name as a singer, which she is able to do because of her talent and despite Marty's intimidation tactics. However, the greater her success, the more reliant she becomes on him. This becomes an issue in their relationship as she believes he can take her only so far before he becomes a liability, however he will never let her go that easily. The one person who tried and tries to get ...

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Plot Keywords:

singer | gangster | singing | dancer | 1920s | 

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Taglines:

...The dramatic musical love story of Ruth Etting!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 June 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ama-me ou Esquece-me

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A phenomenal success for Doris Day, the Columbia Records soundtrack album maintained the number-one spot among "Billboard"'s popular albums for an impressive 17 weeks. The CD released by Sony in 1993 presented the score in true stereo sound. The disc also contained previously unreleased versions (in mono) of the title song (music by Walter Donaldson, lyrics by Gus Kahn) and "Ten Cents a Dance" (music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart).

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Goofs

Ruth Etting's name is billed over 'Ziegfeld Follies' on a theater marquee. The Ziegfeld Follies never allowed any performer's name to be placed over the title of the show.

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Quotes

Martin Snyder: [Indignantly to Ruth] Now look here, you stupid liyyle broad, do you know who I am? Do you think I let dames talk to me that way?

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Connections

Featured in 1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration (1955)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Sitting on Top of the World"
(uncredited)
Music by Ray Henderson
Lyrics by Sam Lewis and Joe Young
Sung by Claude Stroud

User Reviews

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!!)