The old M3 grease gun was loose, cheap, and easy to manufacture, because it was made from mostly stamped steel. They needed something else to fill the need for a submachinegun. The Thompson was an awesome piece, and my favorite submachinegun. But it was heavy, tightly fitted, and made from fully machined forgings. It was time consuming and expensive to manufacture, as well as somewhat less tolerant of dirt and grit. It was more accurate, more reliable in the long run, and more controllable when firing, especially a long burst. That extra weight helped a bunch.
There was another stamped steel gun manufactured for World War II. It was made for the OSS, and called the Liberator. It was a cheap stamped sheetmetal pistol, intended to be used only to kill a soldier (at very close range, preferably contact range) and take his weapons and ammunition. Thousands of them were dropped to various resistance fighters by the OSS to help them arm themselves. They look frighteningly cheap and flimsy, I'd be pretty hesitant to pull the trigger on a brand new one.
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