Can't Help Singing
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Frank Ryan
Deanna Durbin
Robert Paige
Akim Tamiroff
David Bruce
Leonid Kinskey
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In Washington, D.C., during the Gold Rush era, Senator Martin Frost arranges to have Lieutenant Robert Latham sent to California in order to keep the young man away from his daughter Caroline. Frost believes that Robert is an opportunist who is only interested in Caroline because she is the daughter of a powerful senator, but Caroline disagrees with him, and insists on marrying Robert. Without the approval of her father, Caroline boards the first train for Sonora, California, hoping to catch up with her sweetheart. Soon after leaving Washington, Caroline is reported missing in the local newspapers, and a nationwide manhunt ensues. After offering a $5,000 reward for the return of his daughter, Martin goes to Pittsburgh, where Caroline was last seen. When Caroline arrives in Independence, Missouri, she discovers that Robert's unit has already left for Fort Richards, and that there is no room available for her on the westward-bound wagon train. Determined to get to the fort, Caroline buys a horse and wagon from Sad Sam, a fast-talking confidence artist, only to discover that the horse and wagon were not his to sell. Later, at a gambling house, Caroline finds Sam gambling with her money, and when Sam loses the money to a prospector named Lawlor, she tries to take her money back. Lawlor recognizes Caroline as the missing senator's daughter and threatens to turn her in for the reward, until she offers him $10,000 to take her to California. Caroline promises Lawlor that he will be paid in California by the wealthy Jake Carstairs, whom she calls her "fiancée." Accompanied by two bumbling Russian thieves, Caroline and Lawlor join the wagon train heading west. Along the way, Caroline and Lawlor fall in love, and vow never to separate. In California, Lawlor sends Caroline to tell Carstairs that they are in love, and Caroline, who has never met Carstairs, persuades the millionaire to play along with the hoax. Complications arise, however, when Carstairs' wife arrives and accuses her husband of having an affair. In the confusion, Robert arrives, calling out to his fiancée. A fistfight between Robert and Lawlor ensues as Lawlor believes that Caroline has a third suitor. The truth comes out, though, and Lawlor and Caroline resume their romance and celebrate with a song.
Director
Frank Ryan
Cast
Deanna Durbin
Robert Paige
Akim Tamiroff
David Bruce
Leonid Kinskey
June Vincent
Ray Collins
Andrew Tombes
Thomas Gomez
Clara Blandick
Olin Howlin
George Cleveland
George Eldredge
Joseph E. Bernard
Kernan Cripps
Robert Homans
Edward Earle
Bill Sundholm
Jim Farley
Frank Darien
Ruby Dandridge
Glenn Strange
Fred Steele
Frank Hagney
Harry Woods
George Lloyd
Bob Mckenzie
Bob Perry
Jack Stoney
Forrest Taylor
John James
Frank Melton
Carl O'bryan
Eddie Acuff
Phil Warren
Dennis Moore
James Bush
George Lewis
Max Wagner
Eddie Hart
Vic Potel
Nina Campana
Harry Semels
Frank Lackteen
Nana Bryant
Jay Novello
Heinie Conklin
Herbert Heywood
Fern Emmett
Jody Gilbert
Jimmy Aubrey
Irving Bacon
Renie Riano
Theodore Rand
Geneva Holt
Gertrude Astor
Virginia Sale
Roscoe Ates
Almira Sessions
Barbara Pepper
Jack Clifford
Art Miles
Gladys Blake
Rico Demontez
Manuel Paris
Crew
Woody Bredell
Bernard B. Brown
Edgar Fairchild
Lewis R. Foster
William Fritzsche
John P. Fulton
Russell A. Gausman
Robert Glatworthy
John B. Goodman
W. Howard Greene
E. Y. Harburg
William Holland
Felix Jackson
Natalie Kalmus
Ted J. Kent
Jerome Kern
John Klorer
Joe Lapis
Jack Pierce
Walter Plunkett
Edward R. Robinson
Frank Ryan
H. J. Salter
André De Segurola
Frank Shaw
Frank Skinner
Richard Towers
Leo Townsend
Edwin L. Wetzel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Nominations
Best Music Original Dramatic Score
Best Song
Quotes
Trivia
Deanna Durbin's only film in Technicolor.
Notes
The working title of this film was Caroline. Can't Help Singing was the only Technicolor film to star Deanna Durbin. According to Universal press materials, portions of the film were shot on location in Cedar City, UT and Lake Arrowhead, CA. Hollywood Reporter news items also list Parowan Gap and other Utah locations as filming sites. According to a Hollywood Citizen-News news item, Universal chose to shoot large portions of this color film in Utah rather than in California because of the greener scenery, the lack of high tension wires and the better cloud effects.
According to Hollywood Reporter news items, Universal originally sought Rouben Mamoulian as director, because he had directed the successful Broadway musical Oklahoma. In turn, the New York Times reviewer pointed out the similarities between the songs "Oklahoma" and "Californi-I-Ay." Hollywood Reporter news items include Marietta Canty in the cast, but her appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. According to Hollywood Reporter, the film's $300,000 advertising budget was the largest of any Universal film to date. The film received two Academy Award nominations: Jerome Kern and H. J. Salter were nominated for their musical score and Kern and E. Y. Harburg were nominated for their song "More and More."
