Love Me or Leave Me
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCharles Vidor
Written byDaniel Fuchs
Isobel Lennart
Produced byJoe Pasternak
StarringDoris Day
James Cagney
Cameron Mitchell
CinematographyArthur E. Arling
Edited byRalph E. Winters
Music byGeorge Stoll
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's Inc.
Release date
  • May 26, 1955 (1955-05-26)
Running time
122 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.76 million[1]
Box office$5.6 million[1][2]

Love Me or Leave Me is a 1955 American romantic musical drama film starring Doris Day, with James Cagney and Cameron Mitchell in support. Also a biopic, the MGM production recounts the life of Ruth Etting, a singer who rose from dancer to movie star. Nominated for six Academy Awards, the picture was directed by Charles Vidor, and written by Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart.

Plot

Nineteen-twenties Chicago nightclub singer and dime-a-dance girl Ruth Etting is in jeopardy of losing her job for kicking a customer for his unwelcome attention. Martin Snyder, known as "The Gimp" because of his game leg, intervenes on her behalf. A man of considerable clout, he owns a laundry business as a front and runs a thriving protection racket.

Etting is desperate to get into show business. Snyder gets her a job dancing in a floor show, then pays for a singing coach, Johnny Alderman, who is also attracted to her.

Drive-in advertisement from 1955.

Etting and Alderman are grateful, but Snyder makes it clear he expects Etting to travel to Miami with him, not for business but for pleasure. Etting declines, but Snyder's interest in her continues. Through an agent, Bernie Loomis, he arranges a radio program to feature Etting, followed by a job with the Ziegfeld Follies. His crude behavior and violent temper cause Etting multiple problems.

Johnny continues to woo Etting, but under heavy pressure from Snyder she marries him instead. His heavy-handed management continues as her career blossoms. Goaded to enter the entertainment business, Snyder decides to open a nightclub of his own, sinking his wealth heavily into it. Upset at sensing a relationship resuming between Etting and Johnny during their filming of a Hollywood movie, Snyder strikes her; she runs off and seeks a divorce. Snyder then catches them together, shoots Johnny and is arrested.

Horrified but conflicted because of all Snyder has done for her career, Etting arranges for Loomis to bail him out of jail. At his nightclub which he expects to find deserted, Snyder arrives to find Etting performing there herself. At first enraged by what he perceives as an act of charity, Snyder finally realizes this is Etting's way of showing her appreciation, even if she can't be part of his life any longer.

Cast

Production

The role of Snyder was originally intended for Spencer Tracy, but he turned it down. After the Etting role was turned down by Ava Gardner, Cagney suggested Doris Day to producer Joe Pasternak. Gardner was subsequently placed on a temporary salary suspension by MGM as a punishment.

Reception

Variety called the film "a rich canvas of the Roaring '20s, with gutsy and excellent performances."[3]

Awards and nominations

Award Category Nominee(s) Result
Academy Awards[4] Best Actor James Cagney Nominated
Best Screenplay Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart Nominated
Best Motion Picture Story Daniel Fuchs Won
Best Scoring of a Musical Picture Percy Faith and Georgie Stoll Nominated
Best Song "I'll Never Stop Loving You"
Music by Nicholas Brodszky;
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn		 Nominated
Best Sound Recording Wesley C. Miller Nominated
Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Charles Vidor Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards Best Written American Musical Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart Won

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Box-office

According to MGM records the film earned $4,035,000 in the US and Canada and $1,597,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $595,000.[1] Love Me or Leave Me was the eighth ranked movie in 1955.

Soundtrack

All but two of the songs in the movie were hits that Etting had recorded originally back in the 1920s and early 1930s. These new songs, written specifically for the film, are "Never Look Back" by Chilton Price and "I'll Never Stop Loving You" by Nicholas Brodzsky and Sammy Cahn.[3]

The songs as they appear in the film (all sung by Doris Day except as shown):

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ↑ For domestic take see also 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956
  3. 1 2 Variety's review Posted: December 31, 1954
  4. ↑ "The 28th Academy Awards (1956) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
  5. ↑ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  6. ↑ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  7. ↑ "AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-19.
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