Love Me or Leave Me

[Evert]

Webmaster, thank you very much, I know now already that you are a trustable person.
The movie "Love me or leave me" is coming to the Netherlands soon.
And you know, I want to watch the movie also, thanks to my mother, she see it a lot of times in 1955 in the cinema, almost 60 years ago, and thanks to this forum. First I watch "Midnight Lace" , but thats another topic.
"Midnight Lace" and "Love me or Leave me" are the favorites, I hear.
My age is 49, and I think old enough to become a Doris Day fan also.

Greetings from Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

[webmaster]

Hi Evert

"Love Me or Leave Me" is a classic 1950s film and excellent in its own right, with James Cagney giving one of his best performances. As Doris Day became a bigger star, she tended to dominate the films she made and sometimes the film suffered as a result. But in this one the balance is much better - she is one of the three main characters. I think anyone who likes movies from any era as long as they are good would have to enjoy it!

Some more info on the main website: http://www.dorisday.net/mgm.html

Let us know what you think when you finally get to see it!

[webmaster]

Almost forgot this - a film website I made:

http://classicfilmsreloaded.com/love-me ... ve-me.html

See the section "Assault on a (Movie) Queen: Cagney socks Day"

[Toby_Martin]

Thanks Bryan, what a nice tribute to Doris Day and the film Love Me or Leave Me! And thanks for all you've done with this forum over the years. As fans, we have all greatly appreciated it. Am I correct in saying that the forum is ending? I'm confused to what's happening!

[webmaster]

Thanks Toby and NO the forum isn't ending - it's just that people will have to email me if they want to join rather than register here. (Because I'm spending too much time deleting spam members.)

[Toby_Martin]

Pheww! So happy that it's not! and thank you for the clarification!

[Evert]

I let you know about the movie "Love me or leave me", Webmaster.
The DVD is coming to the Netherlands soon!
I can't wait.

[luckyme123]

LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME. ONE OF THE BEST PERFORMANCE SHE DID.THE SONGS WERE FABOULIS. HER ACTING WITH jAMES CAGNEY WAS SO GREAT AND REAL. WATCHED IT 23 TIMES,

[melancholy]

Saw Love me or leave me on TCM yesterday-evening,again,it simply is a stunning performance,a highlight when it comes to acting.Doris certainly is not the girl nextdoor here,not to forget the lovely songs.One classy act.

[Johnny]

It would be wonderful if Love Me or Leave Me would be brought back as a great stage musical. I could see a Broadway star like Kristen Chenoweth belting out some of these terrific songs, like Ten Cents A Dance. It is a tough yet tender story with lots of drama. I think the multi-talented James Franco may be good in the James Cagney role.

Today's audiende would appreciate all the terrific songs that should not be forgotten.

Love Me or Leave Me is amongst the very best of Doris' films.

[Johnny]

Love Me Or Leave Me is amongst the best of Doris' films. In looking at the character played by Cameron Mitchell as the piano player and love interst it may have needed a stronger perfomer in this part. Perhaps Dean Martin or Paul Newman would have been stronger in the role. It may have created a stronger attraction for Doris' character, Ruth Etting.

[Johnny]

Being the 60th anniversary for Love Me or Leave Me seems rather shocking that this amount of time has gone by. The film holds up extremely well and is fascinating to watch. The things I appreciate now about LMOLM that I did not see in the past are:
The emotional and technical intelligence of Doris Day and James Cagney in their roles.
The production values that captures the period of the time.
The classic haunting of the lyrics of Love Me or Leave Me. It was a anthem for it's time.

I hope that Love Me or Leave Me will be brought back to theaters where it can be properly appreciated. I would also like to see a film on the making of Love Me or Leave Me as was done for Gone With The Wind.

[jmichael]

LMOLM is past due for a proper BLU RAY release. Turner network needs to clean and restore the original print and add a bunch of juicy extras to the package. The 60th anniversary year would be a great time to do this. And in a perfect world, we'd get a full length commentary from Doris. No laws against dreaming

Michael

[Jas1]

Agree Michael - we "can dream, can't we....?"

Wouldn't it be great too if somehow they found the cut footage of the rape scene that failed to get past the censors at the time?

[jmichael]

Agree Michael - we "can dream, can't we....?"

Wouldn't it be great too if somehow they found the cut footage of the rape scene that failed to get past the censors at the time?

James,

Oh yes, since we're dreaming, it would be wonderful to see the deleted scenes and some alternate takes as well. Sadly,I suspect none of the lost footage exists today.

Michael

[Johnny]

Information on Love Me Or Leave Me on the Back Jacket DVD Cover:

"Day's Best Performance, Cagney Fairly Scorches the Celluloid".
John Douglas Eames -The MGM Story

Roaring 20's songstress Ruth Etting had everything- the looks, the wiles, the smoky jazz voice, the "IT". She also had Chicago racketeer, "The Gimp" Snyder who even as he propelled her career, afflicted her.

Laced with Doris Day's vibrant performance of songs from the era, his 1955 Academy Award winner, (Best Motion Picture Story), is based on the tough-minded tale of Etting's life with the man who boosted her career with strong-arm tactics and smothered her in an obsessive grip she escaped at great peril. As Snyder, James Cagney earned one of the film's six Oscar nominations. Day's Etting was a carrer-best dramatic performance bringing acclaim from the critics and protests letters from fans unprepared for the departure from her traditional sunny roles.

Special DVD Features:
Soundtrack Remastered in Dolby Digital 5.0

3 Vintage Shorts, the first two with Ruth Etting: A Modern Cinderella - Roseland- A Salute To The Theaters.

Theatrical Trailer

Ruth Etting was born on November 23, 1897 and died September 24,1978. She had over 60 hit recordings during the 1920's and 1930's.

It is interesting to note that Love Me or Leave Me and two of Doris' other dramatic films (Julie and Midnight Lace) focused on abusive men who were untrustworthy. Being that Marty Melcher was Doris' Business Manager\Husband and chose these scripts for her seems more than coincidental. He must have understood the villain in the film.

[ray]

I don't think Martin Melcher wanted to be a villian. He just got lost with the power and money. He seems to have really Loved Doris and wanted the best for her even if he might not have been right. They had a strong bond even when the marriage was in name only. Sad when he was sitting on the sidewalk sickly waiting for Doris to come back form a bike ride in Beverly Hills. Maybe he should have been just her manager and not Husdand. But he gave Doris what she wanted desperately. A marriage, a family and a home. With Marty she got all that if even for a short time in the very early fifties. The movies picked for Doris went beyond Marty. I am sure the studio and movie heads knew what they were doing. Whoever a Superstar emerged mainly because of Doris and her talent and how much the camera and fans love her.

[Jas1]

I agree ray.

[howard]

Right on, Ray!

[Peter Flapper]

Hi Ray,

Nicely put, and my feelings too. Even later in their mariage, (I make this conclusion looking through a lot of photo's I've seen of them through the years), they seem very comfortable with each other. After love, there was a kind of friendship or devotion to each other till Marty's dead.

P

[ray]

Yes Peter you are right. Look at the way he looks at her in some pictures. Doris may not realize or she does that she had a long and special Love with Marty.

[Johnny]

In Tom Santopietro's book Considering Doris Day, he writes about Love Me Or Leave Me the following observations:
"Upon the opening of the film's release the answers were immediately apparent: Doris Day had delivered on every possible level and in the process gave the single best musical performance of her career. Drawing on all her skills as singer, dancer and actress, Doris Day in Love Me Or Leave Me actually gives one of the greatest musical performances of all time. It is proof of legendary singer Rosemary Clooney's comment that "The same thing applies to Doris' acting as to her singing...it is seem less". Anyone wondering why Doris Day became such a big star for such a long period of time need look no farther.


The opening credits of Love Me Or Leave Me immediately announce the lush MGM treatment has been accorded this property:Filmed in Cinemascope, the titles are laid out against a background of plush curtains, announcing the fact that Doris Day's music is arranged and conducted by no less a personage than chart-topper Percy Faith. Directed by Charles Vidor, the screenplay by Daniel Fuchs and Isabel Lennart (who subsequently wrote Funny Girl) that perfectly captures the backstage show business milieu.

Love Me Or Leave Me

[Jas1]

I am so glad Doris got this chance - in a top notch production. Her jazzy smoky song styling in this film is excellent.

[howard]

I never tire of seeing this magnificent film.

[jmichael]

Me either, Howard, it is first rate all the way and a real game changer for Doris' film career. I don't anyone looked at her quite the same way after this film.

Michael