Love Me or Leave Me (1955)

(On Cable TV, March 2021) For seasoned movie fans, there’s an interesting meta-movie aspect in seeing two performers with strong screen presences go head-to-head in a single film, especially if they play roles reasonably close to their personas. Much of the fun in Love Me or Leave Me isn’t as much in the inspired-by-a-real-event story of a nightclub singer becoming married to a gangster, but seeing Doris Day, in singing mode, having to compose with James Cagney in full mob boss splendour. While the result is unquestionably a jukebox musical playing from Ruth Etting’s discography, Day gets closer to Cagney’s register than the reverse: the tone is dramatic, and Cagney’s character’s abusive behaviour appears harsh in a 1950s musical. There’s some additional interest in seeing Love Me or Leave Me portray the 1930s — or mostly failing to represent the 1930s while carrying itself like a 1950s musical. Still, seeing Day carry herself as a victim of spousal abuse is more sobering than other musicals at the time. The result is an interesting blend of elements — generally successful, but obviously pulled in two different directions at the same time.