As Hungarian composer Sigmund Romberg, who made a big splash in New York City in the 1920s writing the music for an array of hit Broadway shows, José Ferrer sings, dances and cuts up like never before, even dropping to one knee for an Al Jolson impression. Ferrer gives an appealing performance (particularly in his finale at Carnegie Hall), but less of Ferrer is more; he's certainly a trouper, but Ferrer is on the screen far too much. He's just about upstaged, anyhow, by a virtual roll call of MGM talent (Ann Miller, Howard Keel, Jane Powell, and Gene Kelly dancing with real-life brother Fred), all appearing in the kind of glorified cameos the studio excelled at during this period. Cyd Charisse and James Mitchell share a camp-exotica number heightened by surprisingly erotic choreography, and Powell's operetta number from "Maytime" is beautifully presented. The film is short on melodrama (which is a plus), and the final sequence--capped with a nice performance of "When I Grow Too Old to Dream"--is heartfelt. But overall, this is strictly pot luck for star-watchers, one with hokey voice-overs, characters who come and go at whim, and spinning newspaper headlines marking time. ** from ****
Review of Deep in My Heart
