Biographic movie about the American composer Sigmund Romberg.
Similar titles
You May Also Like
Reviews
People are voting emotionally.
Awesome Movie
Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
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 ****
I saw the movie once, when it first came out, while I was in the army, and enjoyed it greatly. I knew Romberg for his *Blossom Time*, a fictionalized life of Franz Schubert, a la the German *Dreimaederlhaus*. (There are some differences.)Early on in the movie,*Deep in My Heart*, Romberg acknowledged that his music was not *The Mikado* but that *The Mikado* in turn was not...something else. Does anyone here recall the scene and what he claimed The Mikado to rank behind? I recently caught the final moments of the movie on TV but the episode I'm asking about had occurred earlier. Any help w/ my question would be appreciated.
If you doubt the summary comment, ask a few of your friends under the age of 55 if they've heard of Sigmund Romberg (Sigmund who)? Since I took piano lessons as a kid - I did - yet when I stumbled upon this film in my local library I thought "when did this come out" (I was in the service overseas at the time). I was totally blown away by the musical score and the performances. By the way, this is about the only musical film I've seen structured as a Broadway musical play - overture through finale. The last number of the first act, so the speak, was Jane Powell and Vic Damone singing "Will you Remember" from "Maytime". This show was such a success a second company opened across the street - only time in Broadway history!See for yourself, then try to find "The Student Prince" and watch that - and listen. He composed about 600 or 700 songs for Broadway. By the way, did you know Gene Kelly had a song and dance man brother? You'll see them together the only time in "Deep in my Heart"
I found this one to start out strong, sag painfully in the middle when plot takes over, then pick up again and finish with a bang. Some splendid singing from the very likeable Miss Helen Traubel, and some swell production numbers by a bevy of MGM artists. Highlight for me was Cyd Charisse dancing with James Michell (sp?). A movie in which the splendid music Sigmund Romberg is well-served.