Deep in My Heart *** (1954, José Ferrer, Merle Oberon, Paul Henreid, Walter Pidgeon, Helen Traubel) – Classic Movie Review 9978

Director Stanley Donen’s 1954 Eastmancolor MGM musical Deep in My Heart is another one of Hollywood’s starry biopics of a composer – this time starring José Ferrer as the Hungarian-born US composer of operettas Sigmund Romberg (1887-1951).

Deep in My Heart is nothing to write home about as a meaty yarn, but the old-time songs are sweet and the lavish MGM production includes entertaining star-spotting appearances from a huge roster of guest stars, including Merle Oberon as writer Dorothy Donnelly, Paul Henreid as show producer Florenz Ziegfeld and the Kelly brothers Gene and Fred in their one movie together. The Kelly brothers play the O’Brien Brothers, performers in ‘Dancing Around’.

On the performing front all is dandy when Ann Miller (performer in ‘Artists and Models’) and Cyd Charisse (performer in ‘The Desert Song’) provide the dancing and Rosemary Clooney (performer in ‘That Midnight Girl’), Jane Powell (performer in ‘Maytime’), Vic Damone (performer in ‘Maytime’), Howard Keel (performer in ‘My Maryland’) and Tony Martin (performer in ‘New Moon’) provide the singing.

José Ferrer, showing charm and versatility, really does quite well in the central role.

It is written by Leonard Spigelgass, based on Elliott Arnold’s book.

Romberg composed the operettas The Student Prince (1924) and The Desert Song (1926), both filmed in the Fifties as the musicals The Student Prince (1954) and The Desert Song (1953).

The main cast are José Ferrer, Merle Oberon, Paul Henreid, Walter Pidgeon, Helen Traubel, Doe Avedon, Tamara Toumanova, Paul Stewart, Isobel Elsom, David Burns, Jim Backus, Gene Kelly, Fred Kelly, Rosemary Clooney, Jane Powell, Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse, James Mitchell, Howard Keel, Tony Martin and Joan Weldon.

Deep in My Heart is directed by Stanley Donen, runs 132 minutes, is made and released by MGM, is written by Leonard Spigelgass, , based on Elliott Arnold’s book, is shot in Eastmancolor by George J Folsey, is produced by Roger Edens, is scored by Alexander Courage (orchestrator), Adolph Deutsch (conductor / music supervisor) and Hugo Friedhofer (orchestrator), with music by Sigmund Romberg, is choreographed by Eugène Loring and is designed by Cedric Gibbons and Edward C Carfagno.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9978

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