Film Facts
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer wisely received permission from Ruth Etting, Martin Snyder, and Johnny Alderman, which allowed a more accurate screen biography of Ettings life. In Cagney's first CinemaScope film, He delivered a fine performance as the Chicago Hoodlum with a limp, who was married to the twenties torch singer. Doris Day also gave a very good performance . Cagney stated in his biography that he felt her talents were wasted in the Pillow Talk films that she was to make later in her career. The film featured some good musical numbers, and Day sang two new songs written for the film. Cagney received his third nomination for best actor, with the film getting a total of six. Surprisingly, Day was ignored for best actress . It's only Oscar was for original motion picture story.
1955
" The Gimp so ably played by James Cagney. His presentation of the clubfooted Chicago hoodlum and muscle- man is the Cagney of the Warner Brothers gangster pictures of the early 1930's - hard bitten, cruel, sadistic and relenting"
Variety
" Doris Day, as Ruth Etting, does well in an unusual role, particularly with such Ettings favorite as " Ten Cents a Dance" , "Mean to Me" and the title song. But the films biggest boost comes from Jimmy Cagney who makes the Gimp into a ruthless yet understandable villain and achieves the greatest success so far in his movie comeback"
Life
