Alan Ladd with the Rita Rio All Girl Band 1942

When Alan Ladd's acting career was not going too well he briefly earned his living as a crooner. Here he is singing "I Look At You" with the all girl band of Rita Rio - although it is rather doubtful that these women really played; it is most likely played by a male orchestra!

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Music

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• swing
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• girl
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• big

[BestPlaymateEver]

This entire series of comments is full of armchair musicians that don't have a clue. This was a real band, a 1941 "soundie", and yes they were really playing those instruments. A flat out lie that men were actually playing or some of the women didn't know how to hold their instruments. That was a claim by chauvinists during the 30's & 40's but proved to be 100 percent false. Its great that clips like this are provided on You Tube but terrible history is re-written by idiots.

[harryoakley]

@BestPlaymateEver I am a trumpeter myself and I digitalised and uploaded this film from my own 16mm filmcollection. Rita Rio had a genuine all-girl band but this clip is 100% voiced over and it is clear that several of the girls fake it and don't know how to hold their instrument. It is very doubtful that it is even the Rio band on the soundtrack and that it is actually Alan Ladd's voice.

[NorthernPlus]

Well if the band performed in real life, I can understand that they may not have had the mic setup available for them to look natural on the bandstand. So they had to do one in a recording studio and than the take we see as a live performance. From what I understand, they were a great performing orchestra.

[harryoakley]

Still it looks as if several of these girls seem very unfamiliar with their instrument and barely know how to hold it. I know that Rita Rio's was a genuine All-Girl band but it looks as if for this film a number of stand-ins were hired.

[monroe62]

That I will give you. Just don't want to shortchange the few all legitimate all female bands.

[harryoakley]

Still, several of these girls hold their instruments as if they were shown how to do it five minutes before....

[mostliketa]

I had never heard Alan Ladd sing before. I always learn something new on you tube. He's a good singer, too..

[Lengo67]

Is that Shirley Temple leading the band? It sure looks like her.

[gjohnsoningary]

@mostliketa Alan Laddmissed his second calling!

[rcbpiccolo]

Is that really him singing?!? I just fell in love all over again.

[quigleybrown]

Golly, I wonder her height if he's taller than her?

[cushtichavi]

I read she was really involved with a serious gangster when she was very young . quite wild .

[fiftiesflashback1953]

This is a Vitagraph short from director Roy Mack.