{"id":13058,"date":"2010-10-30T14:54:59","date_gmt":"2010-10-30T21:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=13058"},"modified":"2021-01-21T15:35:18","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T22:35:18","slug":"love-me-or-leave-me-1955","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=13058","title":{"rendered":"Love Me Or Leave Me (1955)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;ve had enough! It&#8217;s up to here for me. From now on, I&#8217;m number one!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Or-Leave-Me-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Or-Leave-Me-Poster-194x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-64988\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Or-Leave-Me-Poster-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Or-Leave-Me-Poster-83x128.jpg 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Or-Leave-Me-Poster-175x270.jpg 175w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Or-Leave-Me-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAspiring singer Ruth Etting (Doris Day) marries a gangster (Jimmy Cagney) who helps her make a name for herself &#8212; but she continues to hold romantic feelings towards her pianist (Cameron Mitchell).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aspiring Stars<\/li>\n<li>Biopics<\/li>\n<li>Cameron Mitchell Films<\/li>\n<li>Doris Day Films<\/li>\n<li>Gangsters<\/li>\n<li>Jimmy Cagney Films<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Marital Problems<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<li>Singers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nIt&#8217;s probably safe to say that most film fanatics would be unfamiliar with torch singer Ruth Etting &#8212; &#8220;American&#8217;s Sweetheart of Song&#8221; &#8212; if it weren&#8217;t for this white-washed but relatively gritty biopic about her infamous rise to stardom courtesy of gangster Marty &#8220;Moe&#8221; Snyder (whose insane jealousy eventually led him to shoot her lover). <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Direction.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Direction-1024x407.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"254\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64995\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Direction-1024x407.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Direction-300x119.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Direction-128x51.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Direction-768x305.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Direction-1536x611.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Direction-604x240.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Direction.png 1667w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The screenplay manages to nicely sidestep the issue of whether Etting slept with Snyder during the early, pre-marriage phase of their relationship together (which she surely must have) &#8212; instead implying that Snyder eventually raped her and &#8220;forced&#8221; her into an unhappy marriage. To that end, it&#8217;s frustrating to view Etting portrayed in such a uniformly righteous light &#8212; and fascinating to know how upset many of Day&#8217;s fans nonetheless were at her for deviating so noticeably from her more traditional &#8220;good girl&#8221; roles. <\/p>\n<p>Given the limitations of their characters as dictated by the screenplay, however, Day and Cagney work wonders with their roles, and share a number of hard-hitting scenes together. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Drama.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Drama-1024x412.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"258\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64993\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Drama-1024x412.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Drama-300x121.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Drama-128x51.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Drama-768x309.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Drama-1536x618.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Drama-604x243.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Drama.png 1669w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cagney turns in an especially powerful performance as a &#8220;gimpy&#8221; gangster accustomed to getting his way at every turn, while Day effectively taps into Etting&#8217;s emotional core as she struggles to stay loyal to the man she knows she owes her career to despite feeling more and more disgusted by him. Meanwhile, Cameron Mitchell is nicely cast (against type) as Etting&#8217;s enduring love interest, waiting patiently behind the wings. Most importantly, however, Day fans will enjoy her fine renditions of a number of Etting&#8217;s most noteworthy songs &#8212; including &#8220;I&#8217;ll Never Stop Loving You&#8221;, &#8220;Shaking the Blues Away&#8221;, and the title song. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Check out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0048317\/trivia\">TCM&#8217;s trivia page<\/a> for the film, which includes a number of interesting tidbits &#8212; including the fact that Cagney accepted second billing for the first time since achieving stardom in the 1930s, given his acknowledgment that &#8220;Day&#8217;s character was more central to the film&#8217;s plot&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jimmy Cagney as Martin Snyder<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Cagney.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Cagney-1024x405.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"253\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Cagney-1024x405.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Cagney-300x119.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Cagney-128x51.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Cagney-768x304.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Cagney-1536x608.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Cagney-604x239.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Cagney.png 1675w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Doris Day as Ruth Etting<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Doris-Day.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Doris-Day-1024x418.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"261\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64991\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Doris-Day-1024x418.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Doris-Day-300x122.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Doris-Day-128x52.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Doris-Day-768x313.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Doris-Day-1536x627.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Doris-Day-604x246.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Doris-Day.png 1659w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Cameron Mitchell as Johnny<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Mitchell.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Mitchell-1024x409.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"256\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64989\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Mitchell-1024x409.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Mitchell-300x120.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Mitchell-128x51.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Mitchell-768x307.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Mitchell-1536x613.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Mitchell-604x241.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Love-Me-Mitchell.png 1675w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for the fine leading performances.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0048317\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1955\/05\/27\/archives\/screen-story-ballad-of-ruth-etting-and-the-gimp-musical-love-me-or.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1580day.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/82020\/love-me-or-leave-me#articles-reviews?articleId=18538\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/love-me-or-leave-me\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve had enough! It&#8217;s up to here for me. From now on, I&#8217;m number one!&#8221; Synopsis: Aspiring singer Ruth Etting (Doris Day) marries a gangster (Jimmy Cagney) who helps her make a name for herself &#8212; but she continues to hold romantic feelings towards her pianist (Cameron Mitchell). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Aspiring Stars Biopics Cameron Mitchell Films Doris Day Films Gangsters Jimmy Cagney Films Love Triangle Marital Problems Musicals Singers Review: It&#8217;s probably safe to say that most&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=13058\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13058"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64997,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13058\/revisions\/64997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}