''Can't Help Singing'' is a 1944 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

western film The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Calif ...

directed by Frank Ryan and starring

Deanna Durbin Edna May Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born American soprano and actress, who moved to the U.S. from Canada with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1 ...

Robert Paige Robert Paige (born John Arthur Paige, December 2, 1911 – December 21, 1987) was an American actor and a TV newscaster and political correspondent and Universal Pictures leading man who made 65 films in his lifetime. Early life Born in Ind ...

, and

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character actors of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tamiroff developed a pr ...

. Based on a story by John D. Klorer and Leo Townsend, the film is about a senator's daughter who follows her suitor West in the days of the California gold rush. Durbin's only

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

film, ''Can't Help Singing'' was produced by Felix Jackson and scored by

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg. The movie was one of the most expensive in Universal's history.

Plot

Set during the early years of the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

, the film tells of the adventures of Caroline Frost, the wilful and spoilt daughter of a

US Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. He does not approve of her beau, Lt Robert Latham, of the US

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

, and persuades President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

to post Latham to guard gold shipments from the California mines owned by Jake Carstairs. Caroline travels by train and

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

and manages to join a wagon-train about to trek overland to the West. She shares a wagon with Johnny (Robert Paige), a debonair but ruthless gambler with whom she falls in love, and two comically inept opportunists, Prince Gregory Stroganovsky and his much put-upon

servant A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...

Koppa. At first, she tells Johnny she is engaged to Carstairs. However, no unattached women are allowed to join the wagon train, so Johnny tells everyone she is married to the Prince and she is forced to go along with the ruse. Eventually, she eventually reaches

Sonora, California Sonora is the only incorporated city in Tuolumne County, California, United States, of which it is also the county seat. Founded during the California Gold Rush by Mexican miners from Sonora (after which the city is named), the city population ...

. Here, her problems are quickly sorted out. After some confusion between Carstairs and his real wife, Caroline decides that she really loves Johnny. Her father, who has followed her, is reconciled.

Cast

as Caroline Frost *

as Johnny Lawlor *

as Prince Gregory Stroganovsky * David Bruce as Lt. Robert Latham *

Leonid Kinskey Leonid Kinskey (18 April 1903 – September 8, 1998) was a Russian-born American film and television actor, best known for his role as Sascha in the film ''Casablanca'' (1942). His last name was sometimes spelled Kinsky. Life and career Kinskey ...

as Koppa * June Vincent as Jeannie McLean * Ray Collins as Sen. Martin Frost *

Andrew Tombes Andrew Tombes (29 June 1885 – 17 March 1976) was an American comedian and character actor. Biography The son of a grocer, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, Tombes was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. Early in his career, he worked as a v ...

as Sad Sam *

Thomas Gomez Thomas Gomez (July 10, 1905 – June 18, 1971) was an American actor. Life and career Spanish on his father (Sabino Tomás Gómez)'s side (Gibraltar and Santander, Spain) and French-Irish on his mother's side (Alsace and County Cork), Gomez's ...

as Jake Carstairs *

Clara Blandick Clara Blandick (born Clara Blanchard Dickey; June 4, 1876 – April 15, 1962) was an American character, film, stage and theater actress who portrayed Aunt Em in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). As a character actress, ...

as Aunt Cissy Frost * Olin Howlin as Bigelow, the Wagonmaster *

George Cleveland Grover "George" Alan Cleveland (September 17, 1885 – July 15, 1957) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1930 and 1954. Career Cleveland was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. His first appearance on ...

as U.S. Marshal *

Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with ...

as Poker Player (uncredited) *

Heinie Conklin Heinie Conklin (born Charles John Conklin; July 16, 1880July 30, 1959) was an American actor and comedian whose career began in the silent film era. Early years Conklin was born Charles John Conklin on July 16, 1880, in San Francisco, Califor ...

as Waiter (uncredited) *

Edward Earle Edward Earle (16 July 1882 – 15 December 1972) was a Canadian-American stage, film and television actor. In a career which lasted from the 1910s to 1966, he appeared in almost 400 films between 1914 and 1956. He was born in Toronto and died ...

as President Polk (uncredited) *

Robert Homans Robert Edward Homans (November 8, 1877 – July 28, 1947) was an American actor who entered films in 1923 after a lengthy stage career. Life and career Robert Homans was born November 8, 1877, in Malden, Massachusetts. Although he studied ...

as Albert (uncredited)

Production

The film was known as ''Caroline''.

signed to write music in September 1943. In October, Frank Ryan was assigned to direct. In December Jack Yellen signed to do the script. In March 1944 the title was changed to ''Can't Help Singing''. David Bruce was cast the same month. Universal had traditionally borrowed leading men to appear opposite Durbin but for this film they used contract players Bruce and Robert Paige.

Filming locations

* Johnson Canyon, Cascade Falls, Duck Creek, Strawberry Point,

Navajo Lake (Utah) Navajo Lake is a small reservoir in northwestern Kane County in southern Utah, United States. It is shallow, reaching depths of only . Recreation includes fishing, boating, swimming, and lodging facilities. Species of trout in Navajo Lake are br ...

, and Cedar Breaks in Utah. * Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA * Lake Arrowhead, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Reception

Critical response

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "delightful".

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said of Durbin's singing as "thoroughly pleasing" and the film "gaudy".

Home media

''Can't Help Singing'' was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

on January 25, 1997, by

Universal Studios Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...

. The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on September 6, 2016, by Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Awards and nominations

* 1946 Academy Award Nomination for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture (Jerome Kern and Hans J. Salter) * 1946 Academy Award Nomination for Best Music, Original Song (Jerome Kern and E.Y. Harburg)

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0036692, Can't Help Singing
Can't Help Singing
at Letterbox DVD 1944 films Universal Pictures films 1940s Western (genre) musical films Films set in California Films set in the 1840s Films set in the 1850s Films shot in Utah American Western (genre) musical films Films scored by Hans J. Salter Films with songs by Yip Harburg Films directed by Frank Ryan 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language Western (genre) musical films