Play that song again

We like requests. Greg, one of our friends at Flickr, is fascinated by female film stars playing musical instruments and asked us to post some fun postcards of them. We were surprised about what we found and would like to share it here. So, here are 20 film women playing musical instruments. For the fun of it.


Big German card by Ross Verlag. Photo: Paramount. From left to right the American chorus girls Dorothy Dayton (1908–1997), Harriett Haddon (1915–1999) and Virginia George (?-?). They all appeared - uncredited - in College Rhythm (Norman Tautog, 1934).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1226/3, 1927-1928. Photo: Atelier Balázs, Berlin.

German actress Hanni Weisse (1892-1967) belonged to the great film divas of the early German silent film. She was able to maintain her stardom till the 1920s.


Dutch postcard by I.F.P.A., no. 12.

American musical actress Barbara Ruick (1930-1974) was "A bundle of bright sunshine and unabashed energy", according to Gary Brumburgh at IMDb. Ruick delighted audiences for over two decades. The brown-eyed singer/actress who admittedly came up short in the dancing department nevertheless toyed with top musical stardom in mid-1950s films and almost nabbed it. Her most important film role was in Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic Carousel (1956), Brumburgh: "A vivacious beauty whose sparkling, fresh-faced appeal reminded one instantly of a Mitzi Gaynor or Vera-Ellen", Barbara's death at age 43 robbed Hollywood of a tried-and-true talent.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6219/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Greta Garbo and Lewis Stone in Romance (Clarence Brown, 1930).


Dutch postcard by Uitgeverij Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 4791.

Beautiful French actress Brigitte Bardot (1934) was the sex kitten of the European film industry. BB starred in 48 films, performed in numerous musical shows, and recorded 80 songs. After her retirement in 1973, she established herself as an animal rights activist and made vegetarianism sexy.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 572. Photo: Freulich /First National. The photo was specially posed for Motion Picture magazine in 1928.

American actress Colleen Moore (1899-1988) was a star of the silent screen who appeared in about 100 films beginning in 1917. During the 1920s, she put her stamp on American social history, creating in dozens of films the image of the wide-eyed, insouciant flapper with her bobbed hair and short skirts.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 75/2. Photo: A. Schmoll, Berlin / Henny-Porten-Film. Henny Porten in Meine Tante - deine Tante (Carl Froehlich, 1927).


Small German collectors card in the 'Der künstlerische Tanz' series by Eckstein-Halpaus, Dresden, group 12 (Tanz-Artistik), no. 252. Photo: Alex Binder.

Hungarian actress, dancer and singer Rose Barsony (1909-1977) appeared in 16 films from 1929 to 1938, and in one more in 1957. The soubrette was a popular star of the operettas by Paul Abraham.


French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. FK 3969. Photo: Camera Press / Ufa. Marilyn Monroe in River of No Return (Otto Preminger, 1954).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3223/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Phoebus Film.

German actress and singer Lotte Lorring (1893-1939) started as an operetta singer in provincial theatres. Between 1920 and 1935, she played both in support and leading roles in German silent and sound films. Incidentally, she appeared in international productions.


Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano,, no. 970. Photo: ENIC.

Italian diva Silvana Pampanini (1925-2016) gained enormous popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. In the early 1950s, before Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida reached stardom, Pampanini was one of the most well-known symbols of Italian beauty.


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 1000. Photo: Fox Film.

Marjorie Beebe (1908-1983) was an American film actress. The Fox comedy The Farmer's Daughter (Arthur Rosson, 1928) made her a star and in the early 1930s, she was the star in many Mack Sennett films.


German collectors card in the "Filmstars von Hollywood bis Tokio" series III.

Fujiko Yamamoto (1931) is a Japanese film and stage actress. She appeared in over 100 films between 1953 and 1963. She was one of the top actresses of the Daei studio.


Swiss postcard by Collection Cinémathéque Suisse, Lausanne / News Productions, Baulmes, no. 56518. Photo: Ponti - De Laurentis. Giulietta Masina as Gelsomina in La Strada (Federico Fellini, 1954).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5255/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Ondra-Lamac-Film. Anny Ondra in Die vom Rummelplatz/Those of the Sideshow (Karel Lamac, 1930).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 2024/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Paramount / Fanamet.
Elegant French actress Arlette Marchal (1902-1984) started out as a fashion model. Between 1922 and 1951 she starred in 41 European and American films. From the 1950s onwards, she dedicated herself mostly to her fashion enterprise.

German Postcard by Krüger, no. 900/272.

Film and TV actress Barbara Valentin (1940-2002) was dubbed the 'German Jayne Mansfield' and a 'Scandal Magnet'. Her résumé includes sexploitation but also art films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Her private life was fodder for the tabloids. Pop star Freddie Mercury was ‘the love of her life’.

For Greg! Check out our Flickr album Let's make music.