Dona Drake Trailers
Princess of the Nile TrailerDown Laredo Way TrailerSon of Belle Starr Trailer
Dona Drake (born Eunice Westmoreland on November 15, 1914) was an African-American singer, dancer, and film actress active in the 1930s and 1940s. Despite her heritage, she often identified as Mexican or of Latin descent to navigate Hollywood’s racial landscape. Over her career, she was frequently cast in ethnic roles, portraying Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and European characters.
She performed under various stage names, including Una Novella, Rita Novella, and Rita Rio. In the early 1940s, she led an all-girl orchestra and gained recognition for her musical and dance performances. She appeared in films such as Kansas City Confidential (1952), Louisiana Purchase (1941), and Road to Morocco (1942). Despite her talents, she remained a supporting actress rather than a leading star.
Dona Drake passed away on June 20, 1989, due to pneumonia and respiratory failure. Her ashes were scattered at sea near Point Fermin in California.
Most Popular Dona Drake Trailers
Total trailers found: 29
22 April 1944
Jimmy O'Brien (Robert Lowery)and Sammy Rubin (Sidney Miller), write jingle commercials for radio, and meet Mary Adams (Dona Drake), who wants to break into radio as a soloist for a band.
31 December 1941
A bumbling senator investigating graft in Louisiana is the target of a scheme involving a Viennese beauty.
27 August 1941
A young South Seas native boy is sent to the U.S. for his education and returns to his island after his father dies to try to stop a revolution.
30 September 1945
A girl is desperate to get to Washington D.C. to be with her lonesome brother, a wounded G.I. She persuades Bing Crosby to let her join his caravan.
27 February 1953
Siamese twins separated at birth retain a psychic link; each feels the other's pain and happiness.
08 March 1951
Italian immigrant Rudolph Valentino makes it big in silent Hollywood, but he ends up struggling between his career and the woman he loves.
26 June 1953
The son of the notorious female bandit Belle Starr wants to live an honest life, but finds himself getting drawn into his mother's old profession.
27 November 1946
Eight strangers meet in Shanghai to stake claims to the fortune of a late shipping magnate, then must evade a murderer in their midst.
11 November 1952
An ex-convict sets out to uncover who framed him for an armored car robbery.
16 February 1941
A Soundie featuring Rita Rio with Allan Baldwin and Theodore.
04 January 1938
Dona Drake (as Rita Rio) and her all-girl band work in a ritzy setting, and perform some hot melodies, with Rita singing and dancing.
17 March 1943
Press agent Jimmy Gates gets an idea while watching a New York parade, for a returned war hero Sergeant Buzz McAllister, with his chief client, singer Judy Ames; Dona Drake, leader of an all-girl orchestra; his photographer Foggy, and his secretary Myrt.
13 May 1946
Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train, she encounters Marines Rusty and Dink, who don't know she is the author of the famous book, and who don't think much of the ideas it proposes.
24 January 1936
Meek Eddie Pink becomes manager of an amusement park beset by mobsters.
01 June 1948
A small town man inherits a significant fortune and takes his family to New York City whereupon they are continually shocked at the alien culture of the Big Apple.
04 August 1943
A soldier stationed on an army base and his fiancé, who runs a women's "fat farm" nearby, want to get married but don't have enough money.
18 May 1948
This 'prequel' to The Little Foxes tells how the ruthless members of the old-South Hubbard family got that way.
27 May 1949
When the Daltons are killed at Coffeyville, gang member Bill Doolin, arriving late, escapes but kills a man.
19 May 1950
When he unwittingly sends some of his men into a trap, pirate Captain Peter Blood decides to rescue them.
10 November 1942
Two carefree castaways on a desert shore find an Arabian Nights city, where they compete for the luscious Princess Shalmar.
20 February 1941
Alan Ladd was discovered by Sue Carol for his incredible voice in radio. And then she married him. In I Look At You, he is sweet and graceful.
05 March 1942
Pop, a security guard at Paramount has told his son that he's the head of the studio. When his son arrives in Hollywood on shore leave with his buddies, Pop enlists the aid of the studio's dizzy switchboard operator in pulling off the charade.
25 January 1943
Dona Drake sings "Sticks and Stones".
16 July 1949
Glamour artist Bob Randolph is world famous for his paintings of a stunning beauty dubbed "The Randolph Girl".
21 October 1949
Rosa, the self-serving wife of a small-town doctor, gets a better offer when a wealthy big-city man insists she get a divorce and marry him instead.
01 January 1941
A Soundie with Dona Drake.
01 July 1954
Shalimar, an Egyptian princess, striving to rid her country of its Bedouin conquerors, forms an alliance with Prince Haidi, son of the Caliph of Bagdad.
05 August 1953
Rex Allen against diamond smugglers down Laredo way
01 July 1939
Her doctor thinks Rita Rio is crazy for loving music too much, but she proves him wrong by becoming a successful bandleader.
