AllMovie

On paper, Can't Help Singing has plenty of the makings of a classic movie musical. Yet something went wrong from paper to celluloid, making Singing moderately entertaining instead of a great treat. It's easy to say that the "something" that went wrong is the screenplay, and it's hard to argue with that. This is one of those by-the-numbers plots that one finds in so many musicals of the period. In addition, the dialogue is no great shakes and the characterizations are admittedly shallow. Yet better musicals have been made from material of a similar quality. Perhaps it's Frank Ryan's merely adequate direction that is to blame. Or maybe it's simply that the parts just didn't add up the way they should have; the chemistry just wasn't right. Still, Singing does have a couple of aces up its sleeve in its silver-voiced leading lady and its beautiful Jerome Kern-E.Y. Harburg score. Deanna Durbin sounds as gorgeous as ever, and she handles the light dramatic chores with aplomb. Kern's music is as gossamer as ever, and Harburg's lyrics are delightful, and especially felicitous in "Californ-i-ay." Throw in some yummy Technicolor and some nice location lensing, and there's enough to make Can't Help Singing fun -- just not a classic.