Tyrannical love

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Movie
German title Tyrannical love
Original title Love Me or Leave Me
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1955
length 122 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Charles Vidor
script Daniel Fuchs ,
Isobel Lennart
production Joe Pasternak
music George Stoll
camera Arthur E. Arling
cut Ralph E. Winters
occupation
synchronization

Tyrannical love (Original title: Love Me or Leave Me , alternative title: Nachtclub-Affären ) is an American film musical by Charles Vidor from 1955 with Doris Day and James Cagney in the leading roles. It tells the life story of the singer and actress Ruth Etting , who was in a relationship with a gangster who pushed her career forward, but at the same time tormented her with his "tyrannical love".

action

The young and ambitious Ruth Etting worked as a singer in a small shabby dance hall in Chicago during the 1920s . She dreams of a great career. One day she meets the mafia gangster Martin Snyder, who wants to help her become a big star with his contacts in the nightclub scene. He got her promising engagements and even her own radio show. Ruth, who is increasingly dependent on him, always refuses a serious relationship with him. During one of her performances, Ruth meets the pianist Johnny Alderman, who, like Martin, falls in love with Ruth, which is why both men repeatedly clash out of jealousy.

Finally, Martin ensures that Ruth can perform with the famous Ziegfeld Follies in New York . When the theater people there do not show him the respect he is used to from Chicago, he becomes angry and immediately, to Ruth's great disappointment, wants to terminate her contract with the Ziegfeld Follies. Ruth doesn't love Martin, but out of a sense of duty she agrees to marry him and leave the Follies. This does not detract from their popularity, as Martin now devotes his time entirely to Ruth's career. When he negotiates a role for her in a film, she initially reacts disgruntled. Only when she learns that Johnny will be working on the film with her does she finally look forward to her first screen appearance.

When Martin also discovers that Johnny is working as the film's musical director, he is furious. Ruth accuses him of never having achieved anything independently in his life, whereupon he buys a nightclub that he wants to make big. Since Ruth refuses to give up her film career to sing in Martin's pub, Martin loses patience again and gives her a slap in the face. Ruth asks him for a divorce shortly afterwards, which hurts Martin deeply. Johnny is then gunned down by Martin on the way to his car after a visit to Ruth, during which they both got closer. Ruth later visits Martin in prison and tells him that she wants to marry Johnny, who is injured in hospital and on the way to recovery. Although Ruth thanks Martin for everything he has done for her career, he refuses to even listen to her.

Soon afterwards Martin is released again with the help of his friend Bernard V. Loomis. When he arrives at his nightclub, where there are already many guests and numerous press people, he is horrified to find that Ruth will be performing there. He lets her sing, however, because despite their private differences he is still convinced of her talent and feels great pride for her.

background

Jane Powell was initially discussed for the role of Ruth Etting . In 1953, singer Jane Morgan was tested for the role by MGM . In the spring of 1954 it was said that Ava Gardner should play Etting. However, she turned down the role and was subsequently suspended by MGM. Humphrey Bogart , Richard Widmark and Farley Granger were originally considered for the role of Martin Snyder .

The film premiered on May 26, 1955 in New York. In Germany, Tyrannische Liebe was released in cinemas on March 16, 1955. The film was shown on German television for the first time on January 1, 1973.

Music and dance numbers

Most of the songs in the film were originally recorded by Ruth Etting in the 1930s. However, two of the songs were written specifically for the film - Never Look Back by Chilton Price and I'll Never Stop Loving You by Nikolaus Brodszky and Sammy Cahn .

Reviews

Bosley Crowther of the New York Times praised James Cagney, who made his role "bearable with his verve and skill" and even "a little likeable" thanks to his ability to give it "a certain liveliness and chivalry". Cagney and Doris Day did a “very good” job and formed “an unusually interesting and dramatic screen couple for a musical”. The scene in which Cagney slapped Day seems as real as the scene in The Public Enemy , where Cagney Mae Clarke pushes a grapefruit in the face. Also, "hardly anyone is better qualified to sing Ruth Etting's old songs than the lovely and soulful Day".

Variety said that the unconventional about the "strange relationship" between Etting and the gangster in the film is portrayed "honestly and realistically", which evokes "mixed feelings" when watching. James Cagey's portrait of the underworld thug is reminiscent of his gangster films at Warner Brothers in the early 1930s. He was "hardy, cruel, sadistic and merciless". The MGM production provided in color and CinemaScope "a magnificent picture of the wild 1920s with courageous and excellent performances" by the actors.

“The story offers nothing special for a biographical music film; However, the character study of an impresario and gangster is unusually interesting, ”said the lexicon of international films . The film magazine Cinema , on the other hand, highlighted the leading actress in its conclusion: “Although atypical, Doris Day's best role!” The film critic Leonard Maltin described the film in retrospect as a “[f] elling musical” with “strong ideas” by Day and Cagney could.

Awards

At the Academy Awards in 1956 , the film was nominated in six categories: Best Actor (James Cagney), Best Sound , Best Score , Best Song ( I'll Never Stop Loving You ), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Story . But only in the latter category was author Daniel Fuchs able to prevail against the competition. He and Isobel Lennart also received a 1956 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Film Musical. Director Charles Vidor received a nomination for another award from the Directors Guild of America .

German version

The German dubbed version was created in 1956 in MGM's dubbing studio in Berlin.

role actor Voice actor
Ruth Etting Doris Day Tilly Lauenstein
Martin Snyder James Cagney Ernst Schröder
Johnny Alderman Cameron Mitchell Heinz Dragon
Bernard V. Loomis Robert Keith Paul Wagner
Frobisher Tom Tully Walther Suessenguth
Georgie Harry Bellaver Clemens Hasse
Paul Hunter Richard Gaines Martin hero
Fred Taylor Peter Leeds Horst Niendorf
Greg Trent John Harding Siegfried Schürenberg

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Notes on tcm.com
  2. ↑ See Love Me or Leave Me . In: Variety , 1955.
  3. ↑ “[I] t is Mr. Cagney's verve and virtuosity that make the character sufferable. It is his skill at giving the hard-boiled 'muscler' a certain vividness and gutter gallantry that make it possible […] to like him a little bit […]. Mr. Cagney and Miss Day do their jobs extremely well and make an uncommonly interesting and dramatic couple for a musical film. […] When Mr. Cagney finally slaps Miss Day in the face [… i] t's as real as when the old 'Public Enemy' squashed a grapefruit in Mae Clarke's face. And, of course, it is hard to think of anyone better qualified to do the job of singing Miss Etting's old numbers than the lovely and lyrical Miss Day. " Bosley Crowther : Story Ballad of Ruth Etting and The Gimp; Musical 'Love Me or Leave Me' Opens Doris Day and Cagney Play Lead Roles . In: The New York Times , May 27, 1955.
  4. ↑ “The off-beat aspects of the strange real-life relationship of Etting and 'Col.' Moe […] Snyder has been caught with an honesty and realism that borders on creating mixed emotions. [...] His personation of the clubfooted Chicago hoodlum and muscle-man is the Cagney of the Warner Bros. gangster pictures of the early 1930s - hard-bitten, cruel, sadistic and unrelenting. [...] Under Metro filming, in CinemaScope and color, it's a rich canvas of the Roaring 20s with gutsy and excellent performances. " See Love Me or Leave Me . In: Variety , 1955.
  5. ↑ Tyrannical love. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed June 10, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  6. ↑ cf. cinema.de ( Memento from May 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ “Engrossing musical bio […]. Day and Cagney give strong performances. " Leonard Maltin : Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2006 . Signet, 2005, p. 784.
  8. ↑ cf. synchrondatenbank.de