LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME was MGM's lush and richly entertaining biography of 1920's torch singer Ruth Etting. Though not big on the facts, it is a wonderfully compelling drama with music chronicling the rise of the troubled young torch singer, who, according to this film's screenplay, had a trouble getting her career going until she met a gangster named Jimmy "The Gimp" Snyder (James Cagney), whose dangerous exterior melted in Etting's presence escalating to his Svengali-like grip on her career and her personal life. Etting tries to retain her independence until it is implied that Jimmy rapes her and Etting becomes,in Jimmy's mind, his possession. It is the relationship between the two, slightly complicated by the warm-hearted pianist (Cameron Mitchell)that makes up the crux of the story here. Cagney has rarely been more electrifying on screen and received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor but Day matches him scene for scene, in what is easily the finest performance of her career,but for some reason,the Academy overlooked her. Day, who was loaned to MGM from Warners for this, is smoldering, intense, and sexier than she has even been on screen. The scene where she stands alone on a nightclub stage, in a tight, black dress, dripping in sequins and fringe,and belts out the classic "Ten Cents a Dance" is worth the price of admission alone. If you're looking for facts about Ruth Etting's life, read a book, but if you're looking for supreme entertainment, don't miss this one. A must for Day and Cagney fans.