User reviews

There is a reason Deanna Durbin was one of the top Hollywood stars from the mid-Thirties through the Forties. She was a natural actress with a fine face and figure and a deep- throated soprano she knew how to use. She was one of those people the camera loves. Her personality, direct and warm, comes straight across to the audience. She could handle all the immaculate make-up Hollywood gave her as she matured into a young woman, but there always was something of the tomboy about her. She had a natural exuberance, a sense of humor and a good-natured willingness to take pratfalls or march into mud-holes. And she was a professional at her craft. In this movie, Can't Help Singing, watch how she manages to wander through the woods singing, through bushes and over hillocks, avoiding branches, and periodically fronting pretty scenery. This scene is shot in long takes. I have no idea how many takes it took, but Durbin manages to move, sing, smile, emote a bit and hit all of her marks without any sign of effort or evidence of an editor's scissors used to mask mistakes.

By the time Durbin was 14 she was major box office, and stayed there until she retired in 1950 at 29. She never liked the glitz and fan adulation of stardom. She and her third husband left for France right after she retired and that was that. She still lives just outside Paris, has turned down any number of film offers and hasn't granted an interview with anyone since 1949. As a person who was grounded in reality and decided to live her own life, Deanna Durbin gets a tip of my hat.

Can't Help Singing is a lush, colorful musical about a young woman, Caroline Frost, daughter of a wealthy senator, who leaves Washington against the wishes of her father to meet the man she intents to marry. He is a cavalry lieutenant, and the senator has seen to it that his regiment has been sent to California to guard gold during the start of the Gold Rush. Caroline is determined, and along the way has to deal with steamboats, Russian con-men, a cross-country wagon, Indians, finaglers, grafters, boss-men and card sharps. The card sharp winds up holding more than cards. He turns out to be the romantic lead. After 90 minutes of songs, comedy, adventures and the occasional kiss, all ends well for everyone.

This was Deanna Durbin's only color movie and the studio went all out. Can't Help Singing is stuffed with wide-open vistas, detailed studio sets and costumes that would make Vincente Minnelli envious. What makes the movie memorable, however (in addition to Durbin), are two songs from the score by Jerome Kern and E. Y. Harburg. From the moment the movie starts and we see Durbin driving a two-horse carriage singing "Can't Help Singing," it's time to sit back and smile. The number is one of those big, fat, intensely melodic songs that few composers besides Kern could pull off. She sings it twice, the last time part of a production that takes place in an outdoor western bath house. It pops up now and then as a melodic background line. The song works every time. The second Kern/Harburg show-stopper is "Californ-i-ay," where "the hills have more splendor; the girls have more gender." It's another major production number with a big melody and clever lyrics. Everyone and everything from the two leads to giant vegetables take part.

The movie is pleasant enough, although the two Russian con-men get tedious and Durbin's leading man, while manly enough, doesn't make much of an impression. The movie belongs only to Deanna Durbin, as all of her films did. With those two songs from Kern and Harburg, it's worth spending some time with.

This Durbin vehicle had just three songs worthy of Jerome Kern and E. Y. Harburg: "More and More," "Californ-i-ay," and the title song. These are really wonderful pieces, which fortunately recur throughout on a regular basis.

The Technicolor is indeed glorious, and there's nothing wrong with the casting. It's also true that Durbin looks radiant in her first color film.

Alas, the rest of the score is a disappointment, simply lacking in inspiration. They try to beef it up with production values, to little avail. Likewise, the script's just not quite up to Deanna's standards. One can admire the costumes, staging, photography--and those three songs. Durbin fans will be probably be pleased with everything here; others, probably less so.

It's easy to see the Durbin magic as she lights up the screen with charisma and her beautiful voice. A pleasant trifle for the Durbin DVD "Sweetheart Pack."

I wanted to second the comments of Sdiner that "Can't Help Singing" is a lavishly produced and totally unappreciated color movie from the early 1940s. A local showing a couple of years ago brought out dozens of fans in Southern Utah, including many who remember seeing it in the 1940s and 2-3 people who were extras in the film. Many scenes were shot in the meadows of the Markagunt Plateau, near Navajo Lake, in southwestern Utah, and Deanna Durbin was filmed against the backdrop of nearby Cedar Breaks National Monument (not Bryce Canyon), not far from the resort town of Brian Head. A number of movies between 1938 and the mid-1950s used this "studio" for real-life scenery, movies like "The Outriders," "My Friend Flicka," and "Drums Along the Mohawk." These movies did much to open up the interest of Americans in the West and its national parks, but it was the glorious Technicolor that made and makes "Can't Help Singing" truly special.

In a decade devoid of great (non-MGM, non-Rita Hayworth) color musicals, CAN'T HELP SINGING deserves a more important place among the celebrated. A female-driven western tale preceding HARVEY GIRLS, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, and CALAMITY JANE, while musically aping Broadway smash OKLAHOMA, this adaptation of GIRL OF THE OVERLAND TRAIL is the uniting of three great entertainment entities - Durbin, Jerome Kern, and the resources of the Universal Technicolor escapist machine. After losing Durbin's producer, Joe Pasternak, and her director, Henry Koster, to MGM, you'd think they would have tried more often, but no, Durbin's 1940s pictures were not expensively-mounted productions, and this is quite a distinctive product for 1943-4 Universal. However, not being a Durbin afficionado is probably the main reason this is my favorite Durbin vehicle. The superior if neglected Kern score awaits rediscovery, from the beguiling title tune (Durbin and company can't help singing from outdoor bathtubs) to lush ballads like "More and More" (also a big Perry Como hit), and a rousing, ersatz "Oklahoma" homage to "Californ-i-a." Without Maria Montez-John Hall to bolster, the populous if underused supporting company does well enough, with Robert Paige (a sort of poor man's John Carroll) not near so bad as I'd heard. Make no mistake, the "Durbin-ator" dominates the affair, surrounded by all the bright, lush colors of the Technicolor rainbow lavishly painting impressive backdrops of scenery, an extravagant, detailed, period wardrobe, and the Collector's Doll make-up adorning the star's perfect face. Durbin herself is at her gorgeous peak, and this colorful achievement is certainly the entertainment it set out to be.

Alan Jay Lerner came to France to play her his unfinished score of My Fair Lady, hoping she'd come out of retirement to play Eliza on Broadway; she turned down Kiss Me, Kate and other properties; she would have been wonderful in Showboat...as Anna in the King and I...but all Deanna Durbin wanted was to be a nobody and raise her children out of the spotlight.

At least her youth, voice and acting ability have been preserved, and in "Can't Help Singing," she's preserved in color.

Durbin plays Caroline, a young woman who runs away from home to join the man she loves (David Bruce) in Ft. Badger. Joining a wagon train, she meets and falls for Lawlor (Robert Paige), a gambler. Meanwhile, her father (Ray Collins) is after her, and two con artists posing as Russians (Leonid Kinskey and Akim Tamiroff) keep appropriating her trunk.

If the plot is silly and the Jerome Kern score is nice but not exceptional. However, the score is beautifully sung by Durbin and Robert Paige amidst glorious Utah scenery. Durbin's rich voice never sounded better, and she looks stunning.

I keep reading on this site that Deanna didn't like her last films, but this wasn't one of them. In the only interview she's given since her retirement in 1948, to Richard Shipman in 1983, she said her four last films were awful and Universal wasn't trying very hard with the scripts assigned to her. This was always the problem with Universal; though she saved the studio from bankruptcy, Universal didn't seek out the best properties for her, and they never seemed to want to spend a lot of money.

For "Can't Help Singing," though, no expense was spared, and it shows.

Forget the plot -- this is a feast for the eye and ear. Sixty-four years after her retirement (she turns 91 in December 2012) Deanna Durbin is still delighting audiences with her singing and acting.

CAN'T HELP SINGING (Universal, 1944), directed by Frank Ryan, is a musical, naturally. What the title doesn't imply is that it's also a western. Starring Deanna Durbin, Universal's star attraction, who was earlier MAD ABOUT MUSIC (1938), here CAN'T HELP SINGING, is often classified as a movie inspired by the then current stage musical sensation of "Oklahoma," which lead to MGM's own musical western theme of THE HARVEY GIRLS (MGM, 1946) starring Judy Garland. While this edition lacks the singing flavor of "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" from "Oklahoma" or "The Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe" from THE HARVEY GIRLS, it does have the brunette turned blonde Deanna Durbin, in glorious Technicolor for the only time in her movie career, vocalizing new songs composed by the legendary songwriter, Jerome Kern, with story passages to have avid film buffs think of Frank Capra's Academy Award winning "It Happened One Night" (1934), minus the bus, road camps and hitchhiking.

Based on the story, "The Girl of the Overland Trail" by Samuel J. and Curtis B. Warshawsky, the narrative opens in Washington, D.C., 1849, where the first shipment of gold from California is presented to the President James Knox Polk (Edward Earle) at a crowd gathering. Caroline Frost (Deanna Durbin), having been away in the country, arrives early to meet with the man she loves, Lieutenant Robert Latham (David Bruce), forgetting she's scheduled to later sing at the White House reception. Her father, Senator Martin Frost (Ray Collins), disapproves of Caroline's involvement with Latham because he believes him to be an opportunist, thus, doing everything possible keeping them apart. Learning Latham has been stationed to California with his Fourth Calvary, Caroline sneaks away from home to follow and marry him. Tracking him down to Missouri, Caroline is told by Army officers that Latham has gone to Fort Richards. Learning her father has posted in newspapers a $5,000 reward for her return, Caroline keeps herself from being noticed by avoiding any personal contact. During the course of her travels, Caroline encounters such characters types as Gregory (Akim Tamiroff) and Koppa (Leonid Kinskey), a couple of Russian stowaways who help carry her trunk they believe to have its weight in gold; and Sam Archer (Andrew Toombes), a confidence man who swindles Caroline of her money for a horse and buggy belonging to somebody else. She then meets Johnny Lawlor (Robert Paige), a card sharp who, aware of her true identity, agrees to help the runaway heiress on a 2,000 mile trip to California at his asking price of $1,000 to be paid to him by her fictional fiancé, Jake Carstairs (Thomas Gomez) of Sonora, labeled "the best shot in the world," a man she knows about but has never met. If that isn't enough, Johnny, who detests liars, has Gregory act the part of her husband in order to gain passage on a wagon train. Once everyone reaches their California destination, further complications ensue.

Others in the cast include: Clara Blandick (Caroline's Aunt Cissy); June Vincent (Frances McLean); George Cleveland (The Marshal); and in smaller roles, Irving Bacon, Roscoe Ates, Renie Riano and Arthur Housman. As much as Universal might have placed such accomplished male singers as Dick Foran or Allan Jones as Durbin's co-star, Robert Paige, basically an actor of forgettable second features, is acceptable in his John Payn-type of performance who surprisingly gets to sing, and quite well at that.

In between doses of misunderstandings and comedy passages, such as a running gag of a little boy named Warren constantly twisting his hair and being disciplined by his mother, song interludes take place, including: "Can't Help Singing" (sung by Deanna Durbin); "Elbow Room," "Can't Help Singing" (reprise by Durbin with Robert Paige and others); "Any Moment Now," "Swing Your Sweetheart," "More and More," "Californ-I-Ay," FINALE: "Californ-I'ay," "More and More" and "Can't Help Singing." Regardless of Jerome Kern and E.Y. Harburg's collaboration with the composition, and the Academy Award Best Song nomination for "More and More," the songs in general are forgotten. "Can't Help Singing" is lively, with latter reprise set in a bath- house with Durbin singing in the bath-tub covered with bubbles, while the Award nominated "More and More" seems slow and dull, not living to any expectation to other song nominees. Durbin's solo song number of "Any Moment Now," with blue skies and visual mountain background in the manner of Julie Andrews' opening of THE SOUND OF MUSIC (20th Century-Fox, 1965), is the film's most diverting highlight.

CAN'T HELP SINGING has some fine moments, but no lasting appeal once the movie is over. Aside availability on video cassette in 1997, and on DVD years later, television broadcasts have been few and far between over the years, ranging from public television (1980s), to cable's American Movie Classics (1996-2000); Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: May 3, 2010), RetroPlex and occasionally Encore Westerns. For those who enjoy Durbin, the girl who can't help singing, will find this 89 minute western musical/comedy pleasing, enjoyable fluff. (***1/2)

For insight into the enormous popularity of soprano singing sensation Deanna Durbin, who dropped out of films for good at age 28, this is a good bet. The music is some of the lesser known work of Jerome Kern, and this is Durbin's only movie in Technicolor. --from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

Can't Help Singing featuring Deanna Durbin singing those wonderful Jerome Kern-E.Y. Harburg songs either solo or with Robert Paige is nice musical entertainment. So entertaining it can even be forgiven some very illogical plot premises.

Deanna's the daughter of a United States Senator who's run away from home to catch up to her beau, cavalry lieutenant David Bruce. On the wagon train west to California she hooks up with gambler Robert Paige and a couple of Russian con artists, Akim Tamiroff and Leonid Kinsky.

Maybe I am being picky, but I cannot understand for the life of me why Deanna's father Ray Collins had such a problem with David Bruce. He sees him as an opportunist, but at the time of the California gold rush when this film is set, there was in fact a very famous marriage by an army lieutenant to a prominent Senator's daughter. That would be John C. Fremont wedding Jessie Benton, daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton.

Of course an ambitious army lieutenant is no match for his sugarplum, but hooking up with a gambler is all right. Doesn't make any sense no matter how many times I see Can't Help Singing.

Still when Jerome Kern writes the music, a whole multitude of sins are forgiven. Universal spent quite a bit of money on this film, probably more than they'd spend on three Abbott and Costello films and those two were Universal's bread and butter at this time.

In fact Kinsky and Tamiroff make a very funny pair. Maybe they should have teamed more often.

Can't Help Singing is good musical entertainment, just learn to live with the ridiculous plot.

For reasons beyond comprehension, "Can't Help Singing" is a film no one I know has even heard of, much less seen, probably because Deanna Durbin, a child actress of the mid-1930s who blossomed into an alluring,witty, beautiful young woman in the 1940s, suddenly chucked her career in 1948, started a new life in the French countryside with her husband and subsequent children, and has never been heard from since. But, within a little more than a decade, she not only saved Universal studios from bankruptcy but was the most popular female star of her time. Watching her films today, one is amazed at how contemporary they--and she--are, particularly when she graduated from child star ("100 Men and a Girl," "Three Smart Girls") to a spunky young lady with a voice of pure velvet and a melting range of emotions (from rueful to sensual). "Can't Help Singing" is a luscious introduction to the timeless charm of Ms. Durbin. Her first--and only-- film in Technicolor, this lighthearted musical Western must have cost Universal a fortune--filmed mainly on outdoor locations in the Northwest, with one of Jerome Kern's most beautiful (and underappreciated scores). Forget the plot about a politician's daughter who, against her father's orders, heads West to track down her handsome cavalry lover (David Bruce) but, en route via covered wagon to the wild, wild West, finds herself locking horns--and finally arms--with a dashing, sarcastic cowboy (Robert Paige--whose good looks and soaring baritone are more than a match for Ms. Durbin's beauty and exquisite soprano).

What counts is the ravishing color photography of Kern's songs--filmed on location in the great outdoors (the highlight, for me, is Ms. Durbin's soaring rendition of "Any Moment Now" filmed as she wanders through the breathtaking backdrop of Bryce Canyon--truly one of the most exquisite musical interludes in movie history). Add "More and More" (Oscar-nominated), "Californiay," and the knockout title song (performed by Ms. Durbin & Mr. Paige in adjoining outdoor bathtubs--don't ask!)and there's little more you could wish for in a movie--musical or otherwise. I've read that the film was a boxoffice disappointment and hastened Ms. Durbin's decision to call it quits a few years later. And most of the reviews I occasionally come across are generally lukewarm, if not hostile. Movie scholars might argue that, from an historical viewpoint, "Can't Help Singing" was an unintentional precursor of all the zesty, musical Westerns that were to enchant movie audiences during the next decade. Perhaps so. Who cares. I can't see how anyone can resist the once-in-a-lifetime glories of Deanna Durbin in her dazzling prime, the most beauteous use of Technicolor imaginable, and the entrancing melodies of probably our finest American composer, Mr. Kern. Thank you all very much.

"Can't Help Singing" isn't a bad movie. It's a pleasant time-passer. However, the film isn't any more--mostly due to too many forgettable songs and a paper-thin plot. Because of such movies as this, you can easily understand why the star, Deanna Durbin, only made 28 films and then retired--even though she was a top box office star.

The film begins with Caroline (Durbin) insisting that she's going to marry some dashing cavalry officer. However, her father, the Senator (Ray Collins), isn't about to let her marry the guy. So she does what any impetuous and goofy young lady would do--she runs off and joins a wagon train heading west so she can find her sweetie. However, this incredibly naive lady ends up getting into no end of trouble. Eventually, she ends up going west with a professional gambler--and because they dislike each other so much, you just know that by the end of the film they'll be in love--such are the clichés in this movie.

I would consider this brainless fun. As I mentioned above, the songs aren't very good and distract from the plot--not a major plus for the film. But the characters are kind of cute--even if Caroline is a bit flighty. Not a bad film, as it will keep your interest...except whenever she breaks into song!

By the way, as a retired history teacher I should point out that the guns in this film are anachronistic. Everyone with a gun in this film has a revolver, though the film is set around 1847 and such weapons weren't widely used until around the Civil War.

I wonder how many movies I have in my collection on this same theme. It has to be more than a dozen, all languages included, with minor changes here and there.

With a mésalliance on the horizon, the girl escapes the iron-grip of her progenitor and goes off in a wild run (the field differs. Here it is wild-wild west, in "It happened One Night" it was just country-side, Roman Holiday it is town, and so on.

On the way she meets some-one who was never in her scheme of things (nor her fathers obviously) and finds that this was the true love, the other one was just the rebellion, and naturally in the end, probably in all the cases, all has to lead to logical conclusion (except in Roman Holiday of course).

Of all the versions (naturally Bollywood or other Indian versions excluded), I think only this one is musical.

Naturally (as one would expect), almost none of the movies give credit to where it is due. In fact most likely even the very first one has been plagiarized ? I am not too sure, but there has to be one of the fairy tales of this model, by Grimms or Andersson, or some other. If it is, at the moment, it is missing the neuron connection in my brain.

When I talk of the very first one, it is not 'It happened One Night (1934), who does give credit to Samuel Hopkins Adams - though not mentioned, for his short story Night Bus (1933), This one too credits "Girl Of the Overland Trail" of Warshawsky (Brothers?), Roman Holiday doesn't credit any external person.

The first one, in my list, is Jessie Matthew's - There Goes The Bride - which is of 1932, that is one year senior to even the short story 'Night Bus' . The only difference is that here Jessie runs away to escape the mésalliance and not to jump into it (which the father tries to impose onto her). After this, whether the story, or the movies were all 'Influenced' by this.

The movie story is known in first five minutes. The moment a rich girl, the main protagonist, wants to marry a handsome in look but not in character man, and it is hinted, or clearly said, that it is only since the father hates, she wants to do it, we know where it is going to lead.

However with the interest gone, it still is watchable, mainly due to Deanna, though she looks too sweet to be of rebellious kind (Colbert had a tougher look, Audrey had a whimsical one), but still the movie didn't become too dull., and that was despite big holes in the plot, in fact some of these could have been well avoided, for example the Marshall failing to recognize., with her photograph published everywhere ? Even the India scene was a bit too derogatory, but at least that was better than other westerns, where they are shown as blood-thirsty killing machines... or was this depiction worse? Well I can give 2 stars to Deanna, and about 4 to 4.5 for the execution, and it goes to just above average, but watchable, that is not boring.

Yup, even though I am a Deanna Durbin fan, I'll still recommend that you to skip this one.

There were lovely sets, strange costume designs and good people in it, but the script dragged, there was no continuity between musical numbers, and very little creativity. And the songs looked like the director forgot about them and a studio head said, "Slap some in!" But the color was nice.

The sad part was that the premise could have made for a great film - a drama with a lot of comedy, just like life. After all, taking a spoiled rich girl and stick her in the harsh environs of a wagon train with rather unscrupulous individuals will cause some very interesting results. But this was soooo poorly executed that I found myself having to take multiple breaks just to get through it. (I know I should have just shut it off, but that's what happens when you are a fan.)

Add a star if you are a die-hard fan and plan to be bored. If you are not a fan or just starting, your time is better spent watching the grass grow.

Toward the end of her career at Universal, they finally splurged on technicolor and fancy scenery for an enjoyable, tuneful,colorful western-comedy-romance, 'Can't Help Singing' featuring a musical score by Jerome Kern. Deanna's father (Ray Collins) wants her to forget the Army officer she loves (David Bruce) and sends him off to California during the Gold Rush days. Deanna decides to go west to find him--but en route falls in love with a handsome cowboy (Robert Paige). Against some stunning technicolor scenery, much of the music is given the full treatment by Durbin at her best--her voice was richer than ever. She does a standout job on 'Can't Help Singing', 'More and More', and 'Cali-for-ni-ay' and even duets with Robert Paige for a reprise of the title song (both in outdoor bathing tubs up to their necks in soap bubbles). Some of the comedy routines seem a bit strained and weak--but overall it's a wonderful showcase for Deanna Durbin and her fans certainly should appreciate the chance to see her at her radiant best. AMC shows it in a beautifully restored technicolor print.

I saw this film twice in 1945 when I was in the US Navy. Enjoyed it immensely! Most of the "film data" ignore listing the various songs and the artists who wrote them: Jerome Kern, music, and E. Y. Harburg, lyrics. There are very few citations to the actual lyrics. It would be helpful if someone would give an Internet site for getting the lyrics. Google isn't much help.

E.Y. Harburg was a most talented lyricist. I attended a talk by his son, who was plugging a biography of his late father, several years (about 15) ago in California. Even bought the book, which I never regretted. It has some detailed lyrics, but not from the "Can't Help Singing" film. Harburg collaborated with many famous songwriters, but usually only once with each: Harold Arlen for "The Wizard of Oz", and someone else for the stage (and film) "Finian's Rainbow", his two most notable achievements.

Has Deanna Durbin died? She was truly a gem!

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.

"CAN'T HELP SINGING" - I first saw this charming colour film on television and treasured the tape recording for many years.

My late mother liked Deanna and had a "Deanna Durbin" Hat and told me that she once visited Paris in the late 30's and misplaced this cherished hat and was asking everyone if they'd seen "mon chapeau" - she retrieved it! The hat is remembered from "100 Men and A Girl" with the theatre caretaker watching the moving feather as Deanna was hiding behind the theatre seats.

The songs from "Can't Help Singing" are memorable and they are repeated nicely in the colourful dress-changing finale of the film. I believe "continuity" was a bit apprehensive, but Deanna said "no one will notice"! I love the public bath-house scene and note the slightly cross look Deanna throws her co-star's way when he insists on joining in the song at one point - as if she wants to keep the song's delivery entirely to herself! It is a great scene along with the bonus confusion at the end of it, when Robert Page eagerly awaits the unknown singer.

"More and More" is performed beautifully with Deanna serenading her travelling companion. I like the the bells at the end of "Any Moment Now" at which Deanna reacts. "Californ-i-ay" is another highlight. A super happy film with quite a bit of hilarity at the end.

Thanks Deanna!

Deanna Durbin's one Technicolor movie gives her a decent showcase, and adds a Jerome Kern score plus plenty of good settings and scenery, to make for enjoyable light entertainment and pleasant viewing. Its pluses include Durbin's singing and the colorful outdoors photography.

The period setting makes it different from the stories in most of Durbin's other movies, but fortunately her character (an independent-minded Senator's daughter) is similar enough to many of her other roles, in giving her a lively character with a variety of material to work with. (It wasn't really necessary, though, to make her hair so much lighter - her dark hair would have looked great in color.) The settings range from 1840s Washington DC to the unsettled expanses of the Old West. In itself, the period atmosphere works pretty well, and it also throws in one or two ironic details along the way.

As Durbin's co-star, Robert Paige is a bit bland as a character, but his singing is up to par. Akim Tamiroff has a good role as one of the scamps heading west with Durbin's character. In smaller roles, Ray Collins and Thomas Gomez give good performances. The combination of Durbin's voice, energy, and charm with the period story and settings works rather well.

Deanna Durbin was the Canadian opera star who saved Universal Studios (the dream factory, not the tourist attraction). Beginning as a 14-year-old in 1936's Three Smart Girls, she made 21 tuneful, attractive musicals that charmed America, and provided Winston Churchill with his favourite film, 100 Men and a Girl. Can't Help Singing is notable for a few reasons. It was Durbin's only colour vehicle, the only one with an Old West setting and the only one with songs by Jerome Kern, the tunesmith who wrote the score to Swing Time, was immortalised in the spotty 1946 biopic Till the Clouds Roll By (£3 at a shop near you) and was once discovered by '30s star Myrna Loy sitting on her porch, trapped in a glass jar.

Durbin plays a flighty senator's daughter who heads out West after her caddish lover (David Bruce, whose character is abominably underdeveloped) but finds herself falling for travelling companion Robert Paige. Akim Tamiroff and Leonid Kinskey (Sascha in Casablanca) are a pair of feckless tramps also along for the ride, while Ray Collins (Gettys in Citizen Kane) is Durbin's father. The set-up, borrowed from the Capra/Riskin classic It Happened One Night, is solid, but the narrative moves too quickly, with a dearth of scenes charting the growing relationship between Durbin and Paige. The unfailingly charming leads do their best, despite Deanna having been made-up to within an inch of her life - boasting blusher that seems to be causing her near-constant embarrassment. It's a shame the script isn't stronger, as the songs are gloriously performed, with the big budget allowing them to be extravagantly, imaginatively staged.

Durbin and Paige's duet to Can't Help Singing is a tremendous addition to the singin' in the bathtub tradition (think Winnie Lightner in The Show of Shows, Lena Horne in that legendary deleted scene from Cabin in the Sky, or me the other day, crooning Tom Waits as I washed my feet), with Californ-i-ay a superior precursor to Oklahoma!'s title tune and Any Moment Now really rather touching. One could argue that Elbow Room - performed by a knockabout chorus - is the most dispensable entry in the canon of 20th century song, but More and More more than makes up for it. Can't Help Singing doesn't rank with the best of the Durbin films, but it's good fun, with a slew of musical highlights making up for the slightly hurried plotting.

I enjoy and appreciate Deanna Durbin and her extraordinary talent. She had one of the best singing voices ever to grace the silver screen. And I think she deserved better.

"Can't Help Singing" is your only chance to see Deanna in color, and the color is gorgeous. In fact, the whole production is flawless as Universal evidently pulled out all the stops to showcase its brightest star. It was filmed on location, which was unusual for Universal, and here she is surrounded by some of Hollywood's best supporting actors. There is Ray Collins, George Cleveland, Akim Tamiroff, Leonid Kinsky and Thomas Gomez.

Granted, it was wartime and perhaps all the big stars were in the service, so here she is stuck with bland 'B' star Robert Paige as her leading man (good voice, lacks charisma). My biggest objection - here I split with other reviewers - was the uninspired musical score written by, of all people, Yip Harburg and Jerome Kern, two of the biggest names in music, movie or otherwise. Save for the title song, the rest is tuneful but pedestrian and below the standards of these two master musicians. Deanna tries mightily to put her songs over and Paige follows suit but the task is too daunting.

The story is good, with a too-pat ending, but other movies have had better success with less. Maybe Universal should have waited until the war was over, and when Harburg and Kern were feeling better. "Can't Help Singing" is included in a Deanna collection of DVD's - nice to see Universal is finally catching on.