While it can be said that without question MGM cornered the market in producing high quality musicals, that is not to say that all of those musicals were good. It seems to me that the quality varied a great deal, and that after a while audiences tired of seeing the same old stars trotted out for virtually every major musical.
Having said that, I would have also say that "Deep In My Heart" is one of MGM's better musicals. Yes, you see quite a few of those "same old stars", but here there are enough...well, you might call them gimmicks...to keep you interested. For example, when did you ever see Gene Kelly doing a peppy dance number...with his real brother Fred? Or Rosemary Clooney singing and dancing...with her husband Jose Ferrer (star of the film). And then again, how often did you see Jose Ferrer singing and dancing? Yes, there are a number of things to keep you interested here. Among them are the "cameos" for the musical numbers -- (in addition to those already mentioned) Jane Powell, Vic Damone, Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse, Howard Keel, and Tony Martin.
In terms of the acting cast, Jose Ferrer was different enough here that I must reevaluate his talents. He really does rather nicely on the song and dance numbers. Merle Oberon is around as a lyricist, but her talents are rather wasted. Helen Traubel -- opera singer -- does a nice turn as a friend of Romberg's. Walter Pidgeon has a bit of a role as one of the theatrical Shuberts, and Paul Henreid appears briefly as Florenz Ziegfeld. Paul Stewart and Jim Backus do nicely in supporting roles, though Backus is underused.
The problem with this film -- for modern audiences -- is that the music is very outdated. And most audiences today do not have very diverse musical tastes.
Having said that, I would have also say that "Deep In My Heart" is one of MGM's better musicals. Yes, you see quite a few of those "same old stars", but here there are enough...well, you might call them gimmicks...to keep you interested. For example, when did you ever see Gene Kelly doing a peppy dance number...with his real brother Fred? Or Rosemary Clooney singing and dancing...with her husband Jose Ferrer (star of the film). And then again, how often did you see Jose Ferrer singing and dancing? Yes, there are a number of things to keep you interested here. Among them are the "cameos" for the musical numbers -- (in addition to those already mentioned) Jane Powell, Vic Damone, Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse, Howard Keel, and Tony Martin.
In terms of the acting cast, Jose Ferrer was different enough here that I must reevaluate his talents. He really does rather nicely on the song and dance numbers. Merle Oberon is around as a lyricist, but her talents are rather wasted. Helen Traubel -- opera singer -- does a nice turn as a friend of Romberg's. Walter Pidgeon has a bit of a role as one of the theatrical Shuberts, and Paul Henreid appears briefly as Florenz Ziegfeld. Paul Stewart and Jim Backus do nicely in supporting roles, though Backus is underused.
The problem with this film -- for modern audiences -- is that the music is very outdated. And most audiences today do not have very diverse musical tastes.