Main Cast: Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige, Akim Tamiroff, David Bruce, Leonid Kinskey
Release Year: 1944
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
Deanna Durbin's first Technicolor feature is a lavish musical western, replete with a Jerome Kern-E. Y. Harburg score. Set in the mid-19th century, the story finds Caroline (Durbin), daughter of a wealthy senator, bound and determined to wed dashing cavalry officer Lawlor (Robert Paige). When the officer is transferred to California, Caroline chases after him, encountering prospectors, bandits and Indians all along the way. That's about all that happens, save for a few awkward slapstick moments wherein the pleasantly plump Ms. Durbin falls into various bodies of water. Lensed on location in Utah, Can't Help Singing is entertaining enough, but wasn't sufficient to halt the downward slide of Deanna Durbin's popularity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
On paper, Can't Help Singing has plenty of the makings of a classic movie musical. Yet something went wrong from paper to celluloid, making Singing moderately entertaining instead of a great treat. It's easy to say that the "something" that went wrong is the screenplay, and it's hard to argue with that. This is one of those by-the-numbers plots that one finds in so many musicals of the period. In addition, the dialogue is no great shakes and the characterizations are admittedly shallow. Yet better musicals have been made from material of a similar quality. Perhaps it's Frank Ryan's merely adequate direction that is to blame. Or maybe it's simply that the parts just didn't add up the way they should have; the chemistry just wasn't right. Still, Singing does have a couple of aces up its sleeve in its silver-voiced leading lady and its beautiful Jerome Kern-E.Y. Harburg score. Deanna Durbin sounds as gorgeous as ever, and she handles the light dramatic chores with aplomb. Kern's music is as gossamer as ever, and Harburg's lyrics are delightful, and especially felicitous in "Californ-i-ay." Throw in some yummy Technicolor and some nice location lensing, and there's enough to make Can't Help Singing fun -- just not a classic. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Robert Clatworthy - Art Director, John B. Goodman - Art Director, Frank Shaw - Associate Producer, Walter Plunkett - Costume Designer, William Holland - First Assistant Director, Frank Ryan - Director, Ted Kent - Editor, Jerome Kern - Composer (Music Score), Hans Salter - Composer (Music Score), Edgar "Cookie" Fairchild - Musical Direction/Supervision, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg - Songwriter, Jerome Kern - Songwriter, Jack Pierce - Makeup, Elwood Bredell - Cinematographer, W. Howard Greene - Cinematographer, Felix Jackson - Producer, Russell A. Gausman - Set Designer, Edward Ray Robinson - Set Designer, Bernard B. Brown - Sound/Sound Designer, Joe Lapis - Sound/Sound Designer, Lewis R. Foster - Screenwriter, Frank Ryan - Screenwriter, Curtis B. Warshawsky - Book Author, Samuel J. Warshawsky - Book Author
The plot told of a young girl travelling to California, against her father's wishes, to visit her fiancee. There, she meets another man, and falls in love with him instead. The cast also includes Robert Paige, Akim Tamiroff, Thomas Gomez, and David Bruce.
