Can't Help Singing (1944)

A senator's daughter (who can't help singing) follows her boyfriend West in the days of the California gold rush.

Director:

Frank Ryan

Writers:

Lewis R. Foster (screenplay), Frank Ryan (screenplay),

Stars:

Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige, Akim Tamiroff

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Deanna Durbin	...	Caroline
Robert Paige	...	Lawlor
Akim Tamiroff	...	Gregory
David Bruce	...	Latham
Leonid Kinskey	...	Koppa
June Vincent	...	Miss McLean
Ray Collins	...	Senator Frost
Andrew Tombes	...	Sad Sam
Thomas Gomez	...	Carstairs
Clara Blandick	...	Aunt Cissy
Olin Howland	...	Bigelow (as Olin Howlin)
George Cleveland	...	Marshal

Storyline

With the California Gold Rush beginning, Senator Frost's singing daughter Caroline loves a young army officer; the Senator can't stand him, and has him sent to California. Headstrong Caroline follows him by train, riverboat, and covered wagon, gaining companions en route: a vagrant Russian prince and gambler Johnny Lawlor, who just might take her mind off the army.

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Plot Keywords:

covered wagon | woman in bathtub | bryce canyon | saloon | male in bathtub | 

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Taglines:

THE THRILL YOUR EYES WILL PRIZE FOREVER! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Musical | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

29 December 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Caroline

Filming Locations:

Duck Creek, Kanab, Utah, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie is Deanna Durbin's only Technicolor vehicle. Unfulfilled plans to showcase Miss Durbin in color, proposed between 1938 and 1953, included these eventually produced films: First Love (which starred Miss Durbin in black and white), Phantom of the Opera (Susanna Foster in Technicolor), Up in Central Park (Miss Durbin in black and white), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Rhonda Fleming in Technicolor), Melba (Patrice Munsel in Technicolor), Kiss Me Kate (Kathryn Grayson in Anscocolor), The Student Prince (Ann Blyth in Anscocolor) and Song of Norway (Florence Henderson in Color by DeLuxe). As reported by A.H. Weiler in The New York Times on August 3, 1947, Deanna Durbin was being offered a black-and-white filming in Britain of The Beggar's Opera, which ultimately featured Dorothy Tutin portraying Polly Peachum in Technicolor.

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Goofs

After her bath Caroline changes into a clean white dress. However, she has had no access to her trunk where she would have kept her clothing. Such a voluminous dress couldn't have been stored in her hat-box or her small case, her only other luggage.

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Soundtracks

"MORE AND MORE"
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
Sung by Deanna Durbin; reprised Deanna Durbin and Robert Paige

User Reviews

A delight for fans of traditional musical comedy, and surprisingly innovative too!

You don't need to be a Deanna Durbin fan to find this film delightful. It should appeal to anyone who enjoys traditional musicals like "Oklahoma" and "Showboat".

Can't Help Singing is filled with humor and wit, played with a wink to the audience and genuine gusto--not dated in the least. Akim Tamaroff is especially funny; you can clearly see how he was the model for "Boris Badinov" in the "Bullwinkle" cartoons.

The songs are first rate; Kearn's melodies are beautiful and Harburg's lyric to "Californiay" is full of wit, creativity, and surprises; his other lyrics are well done, but nothing special.

Another layer of delight and interest to someone who knows about the history of movie musicals, like myself, is how far ahead of it's time this film is. The large majority of it is filled outdoors, a lot of it on location. This is unique and innovative in an era when virtually all musicals were filmed inside sound stages with some use of the studio back lot. One of the musical numbers features Durbin in outdoor locations which vary from shot to shot, while she continues to sing seamlessly. This is something that became common a decade or more later, but certainly pioneering in 1944.

Durbin and Paige are both fine singers, most likable, adept at playing the light humor their roles call for. This is a film that should be much better known and appreciated.