Proving she was far more than a pretty face and voice, Doris Day gives one of her best performances in this spirited biopic of Twenties singer Ruth Etting. But she has stiff competition from Oscar-nominated James Cagney as Ruth's gangster friend Marty the Gimp, who promotes her career. The sets are lavish, the support acting super and it's packed with vintage songs, notably the torchy title number and Ten Cents a Dance. The story won an Oscar. Etting said she never worked as a dance hall hostess, as shown in the Ten Cents a Dance number. Ava Gardner was desperate for the star role but Cagney wanted Day, his co-star on 1950's The West Point Story.

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