I just read in the trivia section that Jane Powell originally was supposed to play the role and Ruth Etting wished she had gotten the part. After Love Me or Leave Me a few minutes ago they showed a musical short starring Ruth Etting. Jane Powell looks just like her!
It's Saks! There's a reason why Winona stole from there.Their stuff is gorgeous!
I've read that, too, Reportedly Joe Pasternak purchased the rights to Ruth Etting's life story as a vehicle for Jane after she complained that he (and MGM) hadn't allowed her to grow up on screen.
In one of her last interviews (I think it was a 1976 one for FILMS IN REVIEW), Etting stated that she wished that Powell, who had a softer personality and singing style compared to Doris Day's, had portrayed her onscreen. (Etting reportedly wasn't very happy with LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME, which is probably understandable.)
I also agree that Jane looked more like the real Ruth Etting than Doris Day, but I think Doris did a fine job overall portraying the character as written. (I just can't stand that high-pitched "squeal/shriek" she tends to do in the middle of her crying scenes. She does it in both her comedies and dramas and to me it sounds fake.)
I always describe it at "trilling" when I hear Jane Powell sing.
shareI listened to Ruth Etting sing "I'll Get By" on YouTube. She was very pretty and sexy in a Ziegfeld Girl way. Her voice was closer to Jane Powell's IMO. Of the three singers (Powell, Etting, and Day) Doris is the one with the chops.
Maybe Jane Powell looked more like Ruth Etting than Doris Day, but there was no way she was up to the dramatic acting required by this film. I think it would have been a very different film with Powell in the lead, and a much inferior one.
shareJane Powell did not have gravitas or acting talent necessary to hold her own with James Cagney. Doris Day and James Cagney both had the talent chops to make Love Me or Leave Me a great movie. It was an oscar caliber movie.
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