A belter of a musical / drama with Day and Cagney in contrastingly powerhouse roles. My folks have long urged me to watch this movie to see the other side of Ms Day and here she deliver grits, not ditz, to great effect. She looks genuinely sexy in her scenes, not a word often used to describe her screen persona. Her singing too is terrific and almost all the songs are great, although a little artistic control might have seen fit to drop "Sam the Accordion Man". Cagney is, well Cagney, rampaging through the movie, slugging everyone in sight, including Day. I think the film was right to depict him with almost no redeeming features up until, I suppose, the obligatory happy ending - you feel he doesn't deserve the good turn that Day / Etting pays him when his new club opens. The only problem for me with continuity in the film is one minute Cagney's forcing himself onto Day at her moment of greatest repulsion to him and the next they're married. Did I nod off or something? By the way I've noticed that hardly any of the reviews here mention the young Cameron ("Buck Cannon") Mitchell as the triangular love interest. In contrast to Cagney's overblown characterisation, he subtly underplays his part and is clearly in sympatico with Day in their scenes together. However, he really should get his hands closer to the dummy keyboard in the song set-pieces! In fact it's a real shame that Day didn't continue in this vein of acting, as many have said, but also, for me, that Mitchell subsided into hack television work. What else? Well, the dialogue is realistic, smart and sassy, the sets sumptuous and the direction well paced. I too can't understand why Cagney and not Day (or Mitchell come to that) got the Oscar nomination. "Love me or Leave Me" is a refreshing contrast to the Rodgers / Hammerstein musicals of the times with its candid depiction of 20s and 30s America, surely one of the most fascinating and exciting times ever.