The light touch and sense of fun evident in so much of Stanley Donen's musical work is almost entirely missing from this ten-ton biopic of Sigmund Romberg, played diligently but without charm by Jose Ferrer. Apparently it just wasn't a very interesting life, so MGM masked a near-total absence of drama with a bevy of guest appearances. Some work out beautifully, though most of these have more to do with dance than Romberg's melodies: a nifty tap production number with Ann Miller, an extremely hot "Desert Song" pas de deux by Cyd Charisse and James Mitchell, a lively comedy routine with Gene Kelly and his brother Fred. But the best of Romberg is stiffly staged in vignettes featuring a bored-looking Jane Powell and Vic Damone ("Maytime"), William Olvis ("The Student Prince"), and Howard Keel (a very uneasy "My Maryland"). Worse, none of the people surrounding Ferrer seem right: Merle Oberon was nothing like Dorothy Donnelly, and the screenwriters' attempt to create some drama by suggesting she was vainly in love with Siggy falls flat. The love of his life, Mrs. Romberg, is given to a pallid Grace Kelly wannabe, Doe Avedon. Helen Traubel, as his best pal, sings well but is also given too much shtick. Arthur Freed might have invested more vitality than Roger Edens, but it's an unexciting and overlong entertainment, worth sitting through once for the better musical numbers.
Review of Deep in My Heart
