Tweet Ruth Etting, smothered by strings

As I write this I’m listening to a CD, the Ruth Etting collection released on the Flapper label under the title Love Me or Leave Me. I need a strong dose of the real thing after watching the 1955 film by that title on TCM last night. As everyone reading this surely knows, the movie purports to tell the story of Etting, played by Doris Day, and her abusive boyfriend, Martin “The Gimp” Snyder, played by James Cagney. When I first saw it as a teenager I was impressed by Cagney’s intensity in such an unsympathetic role, but Day’s performance came as something of a shock. I knew her from her TV series and her wholesome, dum-dum romantic comedies, but her Ruth Etting is unlike anything else she ever did. She and Cagney have an unexpected rapport, dramatically speaking, and that part of the movie still works: they really do strike sparks off each other, and paint a vivid picture of an ugly, mutually dependent, dysfunctional relationship.

But the film’s music is something else again. In the years since I first saw Love Me or Leave Me I’ve tracked down a lot of Ruth Etting recordings, first on vinyl and then on CD, and I just love her voice. She’s haunting on the bluesy ballads, and charming on the upbeat novelty tunes. I love the arrangements, too. That’s where the movie really drove me up a wall, this time around. Percy Faith ruined every song, every damn one of them, with his schmaltzy strings and cheesy brass sections. (Not just the ballads -- even “Sam the Accordion Man” falls flat.) I guess they figured the original arrangements would sound too rinky-tink for contemporary listeners, and maybe that was true at the time, but the originals sure sound better to me now than the versions sung by Day.

And forget about period detail, of course. Most period films made in the ‘50s look like the ‘50s, no matter what period they’re supposed to be set in, and this one is a prime example. They hardly even bothered. The actors look like people going to a “Roaring Twenties” costume party who had only a day or two to prepare for it. Most of the women kept their bouffant hair styles, but put on those silly headbands with feathers, the ones that are supposed to suggest flappers. You never see those headbands in films actually made in the ‘20s, or in photos from the era, only in movies or TV shows from the ‘50s and ‘60s, set during Prohibition. I wonder how that got started.

Well, getting back to Ruth Etting. As far as I can tell, there has been only one full-length biography written about her, called Ruth Etting: America’s Forgotten Sweetheart. Has anyone here read it? Now that I’ve seen the movie again I’m interested in finding out how close (or otherwise) the screenplay may be to the facts of her life. Copies of the book are pricey, however, so I hope someone can tell me if it’s worth the expense.

When discussing Ruth's Victor test (on 4 April 1924), the authors make a number of outrageous mistakes: they imply that Ruth was not only a pioneer in the realm of electrical recording, but in disc records! ( 'cause Emile Berliner's patents of 1887 just laid dormant for 40 years, y'know.) They write: "...the Victrolas that would have played the cylinders [sic] (if RCA [sic] had followed through) had not changed much since their introduction in 1906...poor recording quality caused all singers to sound the same".

1) Victrolas do not play cylinders, a sensible arrangement as Victor never manufactured cylinders.
2) RCA had no direct involvement with the recording industry at the time of Ruth Etting's audition. They did not absorb Victor until 1929.
3) <sarcasm> Yes, acoustic recording made Plançon sound just like Melba. </sarcasm>

When researchers make errors of that magnitude, one has to wonder how serious they are about the whole enterprise, but the rest of the book--those portions I've looked at on Amazon--do seem to shed a good deal of light on her life, particularly her later years and comeback attempts. So if you can disregard the goofs noted above, it may be worth at least a borrow from the library.

-HA

My two attempts (years apart) to watch this picture both ended in failure about half way through it, partly for its abject failure to convey an authentic '20s flavor, & partly because I've just never been able to warm to DD, despite her undeniable talent & looks; my problem, not hers. Perhaps it's an artifact of '20s recording technology, but Ruth's voice sounds to me lighter, more delicate & plaintive than DD's richer tone; I happen to prefer Etting's sound (love the mordents she so often sings), but have no quarrel with DD's voice, either. (Heard a recent interview with her on NPR--impressed me as an extremely likable personality.)

I'd be interested in this "Flapper" CD myself IF it's a faithful reproduction of her '20s 78s.

Couldn't agree more about the aggressively un-'20s look and sound in LMOLM. Just as bad is the same era's I'LL CRY TOMORROW with Susan Hayward as Lillian Roth; if memory serves the cars were even from the 40s/50s during Roth's early days. Music-wise it did seem an intended rebuke to the "rinky-dink" authentic arrangements, submerging the tight and jaunty originals with sodden, string-heavy orchestrations. This is what I first knew growing up--these bogus re-creations, and then once I discovered Paul Whiteman, Eddie Cantor, the Boswell Sisters etc. the revelation was all there.

P.S. On hearing Doris Day on recent radio interviews, she's the youngest sounding 88 year-old I've ever heard.

once I discovered Paul Whiteman, Eddie Cantor, the Boswell Sisters etc. the revelation was all there.

There's a coincidence for you--until just last night when I watched Connie Bennett's Moulin Rouge, '34, I must confess I'd not heard of the Boswell Sisters, who perform a number therein.

The Boswell Sisters are definitely worth discovering!!

None of the biopics of 20s stars are really worth watching from a biographical or musical accuracy point of view. I was watching 'The Dolly Sisters' earlier and thinking what a load of hokum it was. However, 'Love Me or Leave Me' is a good film if you put aside thoughts of how Miss Etting actually sounded. The same can be said I suppose of 'Star!' where Julie Andrews was certainly nothing like Gertie Lawrence and the arrangements were totally wrong for the period.

LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME may be a lousy biopic, but it's one hell of an entertaining and involving film (unlike another lousy biopic, THE BUSTER KEATON STORY). The first time I saw it was on the big screen at a film festival, and it's been one of my faves ever since. Day and Cagney are a dynamite team, with Cam Mitchell in able support.

I'd be interested in this "Flapper" CD myself IF it's a faithful reproduction of her '20s 78s.

It's a great CD, and definitely faithful to the original sound. Flapper is a subsidiary label of Pavilion Records Ltd., of East Sussex, England. They specialize in historical recordings, and offer greatest hits collections of such worthies as Hoagy Carmichael, Gracie Fields, Bea Lillie, etc. Their website is worth exploring. And I like this note they include on all their releases: "Please remember that, inevitably, early recordings can bear some surface noise, which may be reduced by use of your own tone controls if you so wish." What a civilized turn of phrase!

The Ruth Etting disc includes most of her best-known songs and some interesting rarities. And hearing it again has had a tonic effect on me after sitting through the Percy Faith versions of some of these tunes.

Re Flapper label--I'm impressed; the Boswell Sisters to Hank Williams. No price info. Is there an American distributor? (98% of the artists ARE American.)

Another British label offering historic recordings (mostly British artists) is Vocalion, which provided me with the only Bebe Daniels recording currently available, as far as I know.

Re Flapper label--I'm impressed; the Boswell Sisters to Hank Williams. No price info. Is there an American distributor? (98% of the artists ARE American.)

Another British label offering historic recordings (mostly British artists) is Vocalion, which provided me with the only Bebe Daniels recording currently available, as far as I know.

There is another Bebe CD out there - It's on the Empress label (RAJCD 850) - released in 1995. Titled "Stop, It's Wonderful" it has 22 of Bebe's 78rpm recordings.
Alistair
Sorry to get off the topic here, guys!

There is another Bebe CD out there - It's on the Empress label (RAJCD 850) - released in 1995. Titled "Stop, It's Wonderful" it has 22 of Bebe's 78rpm recordings.
Alistair
Sorry to get off the topic here, guys!

No topic tops Bebe with me! The bad news is that the Empress catalog no longer lists this title, but the TERRIFFIC news is that new copies are listed on Amazon for $14 postpaid from a distributor in Britain. That the recordings of this quintessentially American girl continue to be available there, but not here, is no doubt a tribute to the immense popularity of her BBC radio & TV shows.

While on Amazon, also found a Ruth Etting "Love Me or Leave Me," but I'm suspicious that it's the Flapper CD--displays a huge "Easy Listening" banner on the CD; hope that ain't the one.

Today I found a copy of the Ruth Etting biography at the Performing Arts Library. It’s part of the research collection and therefore can’t be checked out, but I browsed a couple of sections. Before I go into more detail, I’d like to offer a belated ‘thanks’ to Harold Aherne for his post the other day:

When discussing Ruth's Victor test (on 4 April 1924), the authors make a number of outrageous mistakes: they imply that Ruth was not only a pioneer in the realm of electrical recording, but in disc records! . . . [edit] . . . When researchers make errors of that magnitude, one has to wonder how serious they are about the whole enterprise, but the rest of the book--those portions I've looked at on Amazon--do seem to shed a good deal of light on her life, particularly her later years and comeback attempts. So if you can disregard the goofs noted above, it may be worth at least a borrow from the library. -HA

I’m no expert on recording technology, so I wouldn’t have caught all the mistakes mentioned in Harold's post, but I do expect historians to do their homework. I’m always disturbed when I find similar errors in biographies; it calls everything else in the text into question.

That said, the passages I read today regarding Etting’s personal life, her relationship with Snyder, and the making of Love Me or Leave Me, were really interesting. As you’d expect, the movie had very little to do with the facts. Both Etting and Snyder lived to see the movie, both were unhappy about how they were depicted, and both demanded -- and received -- settlements from MGM in the wake of the film’s success. Etting was especially disturbed by scenes in which Doris Day was seen to drink heavily, some of which were cut at her behest, which is understandable since Etting didn’t drink at all. Snyder complained about the scene where Cagney slaps Day, and claimed that he’d never struck his wife, an outrageous and pathetic lie. (Reminds me of Ike Turner, and O.J.) It appears that Snyder was far more abusive of Etting than his screen counterpart: it’s said he once beat her with a cane, and she ultimately filed for divorce when he punched her.

But the S.O.B. couldn’t deny that he shot Myrl Alderman (played by Cameron Mitchell and called “Johnny” in the film). What amazed me in skimming through the book today was that the actual shooting episode was far more dramatic, prolonged, and intense than the comparatively downplayed version in the film. The real thing sounds like something from a crime flick. Snyder confronted Alderman in a parking lot, pulled a gun on him, and demanded that he take him to Etting, who was evading him at the time. Alderman drove Snyder to their home, they went in, and then Snyder held Alderman and Etting at gunpoint and threatened to kill them both. Then the shooting started. Sounds like it turned into a crazy melee, with Ruth firing her own pistol at Snyder as well. Edie, the teenage daughter of Snyder & Etting, was there too. (Of course, she was written out of the film entirely.) There was testimony about all of this at Snyder’s subsequent trial. At the risk of sounding callous, it sure sounds like it would have made for a more exciting scene.

The book details many distortions of the truth in the screenplay of Love Me or Leave Me, but the biggest one, or group of distortions, comes at the finale. To quote from the book:

“The film’s most preposterous fiction was that Ruth would ever appear in a Snyder-owned night club to show her appreciation. Ruth in her wisdom never saw Snyder again after the trial’s end -- she never visited him in jail, and he never had the wherewithal, intellectually, temperamentally, or financially, to set up a night club and manage it.”

I’m intrigued, and hope to track down a second-hand copy of this book. It’s a fascinating story.

Just a quick note re the Empress CD - it duplicates many of the recordings on the other CD.
Alistair

There is another Bebe CD out there - It's on the Empress label (RAJCD 850) - released in 1995. Titled "Stop, It's Wonderful" it has 22 of Bebe's 78rpm recordings.
Alistair
Sorry to get off the topic here, guys!

No topic tops Bebe with me! The bad news is that the Empress catalog no longer lists this title, but the TERRIFFIC news is that new copies are listed on Amazon for $14 postpaid from a distributor in Britain. That the recordings of this quintessentially American girl continue to be available there, but not here, is no doubt a tribute to the immense popularity of her BBC radio & TV shows.

While on Amazon, also found a Ruth Etting "Love Me or Leave Me," but I'm suspicious that it's the Flapper CD--displays a huge "Easy Listening" banner on the CD; hope that ain't the one.

While she is not the sole subject, Etting is prominently featured - and in her own words - in George Eels' GINGER, LORETTA and IRENE WHO? (Putnam, NY 1976)

ymmv, but of the 50s (ish) celebrities-of-the-20s biopics (Incendiary Blonde, The Helen Morgan Story, The Buster Keaton Story, The Best Things In Life are Free, I'll Cry Tomorrow, etc.) I find Love Me or Leave Me to be about the best. As othrs have noted, the costumes, production design and musical arrangements are anything but period, but the bare bones of the Etting story are more or less correct and the three leads are all fine.

There are times when ignorance can be bliss.

I took another look at the Etting bio today -- and incidentally, Harlett, the authors frequently cite the book you mentioned, Ginger, Loretta, and Irene Who? as a source. This time I focused on the section covering the making of Love Me or Leave Me, and on the music recorded for the film. Interestingly, at the time the movie was in production, Doris Day emphasized in interviews and other P.R. pieces that she would not attempt to impersonate Etting’s singing style or personal mannerisms. Day pointed out that she’d never met the lady, and claimed (rather incredibly, for a singer who came of age when she did) that she’d never even heard a Ruth Etting record. And yet, when Day wrote her autobiography years later, she said that she prepared for the role by listening to lots of Etting records.

It’s understandable that MGM would want their leading lady to promote her performance as an original, intuitive piece of work, not a mere imitation. But there was hardly any reason to say that, once people saw the movie. Anyone who knew Etting from her personal appearances or films wouldn’t recognize her here, either visually or in the way Day sang her songs. And for those unfamiliar with her, it wouldn’t matter. As for the schmaltzy arrangements, well, I guess the folks at MGM knew what they were doing, in the short-term commercial sense, because the movie was a huge success, and the soundtrack LP issued by Columbia was a top seller. To our ears (or to mine, anyway) the lushly orchestrated remakes of the famous songs are travesties of the originals, but they seem to be just what audiences and record-buyers of 1955 wanted to hear.

There’s a nice pay-off, however. Along with the soundtrack LP, Columbia also put out a remastered collection of Etting’s recordings. A critic from Time magazine compared the two, and although he suggested that some of Etting’s vocal affectations sounded dated, even “laughable,” he preferred her renditions to Day’s over all. It was stated that the movie soundtrack is “gorged with soaring strings, a chorus of vocalizing angels and a rhythm section that explodes like the 1812 Overture.” And it’s gratifying to add that the critic concluded: “Doris Day is a competent singer, but besides Ruth Etting she is frozen custard.”