Richard Burin 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.

seegmiller 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.

sdiner82 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.

tashman 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.