''Look-Out Sister'' is a 1949 film featuring

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

. Directed by

Bud Pollard Bud Pollard (born John Evelyn Godson; May 12, 1895 – December 17, 1952) was a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter, film producer and actor. Pollard is known for such films as '' It Happened in Harlem'', '' The Black King'', '' Tall, ...

, it is a satirical, Western-themed musical and "

horse opera A horse opera, hoss opera, oat opera or oater is a Western movie or television series that is clichéd or formulaic, in the manner of a soap opera. The term, which was originally coined by silent film-era Western star William S. Hart, is used va ...

". The film was produced by

Astor Pictures Astor Pictures was a motion picture distribution company in the United States from 1930 to 1963. It was founded by Robert M. Savini (29 August 1886 – 29 April 1956). Astor specialized in film re-releases. It later released independently m ...

. John E. Gordon wrote the story. The film remains in existence and is available online. Jordan performs numerous songs in the film. The plot features Louis Jordan as a burnt out musician who heads to a sanitorium to recover and the dreams of going out west to a dude ranch. A poster for the film advertises it as including 11 great song hits and features the tagline "when he's not singin' he's shootin, when he's not shootin" he's lovin'.

Louise Franklin Louise Franklin, nicknamed Beau and Bo, was a dancer and actress in the United States during the 1930s through 50s. From childhood, she was interested in various forms of dance and also practiced as an actress before starring in vaudeville roles wi ...

plays a featured role in the film. The film was directed by

and Louis Jordan. Excerpts from this film and his others, Beware (1946) and

Reet, Petite and Gone ''Reet, Petite, and Gone'' is a 1947 American musical race film produced and released by Astor Pictures. It was the first feature film directed by short-subject director William Forest Crouch and stars Louis Jordan and June Richmond. Plot ...

(1947), as well as

soundies Soundies are three-minute American musical films, and each short displays a performance. The shorts were produced between 1940 and 1946 and have been referred to as "precursors to music videos" by UCLA. Soundies exhibited a variety of musical gen ...

were released as ''Louis Jordan: films and soundies The Jazz Society of Chicago and Chicago Film Society scheduled a showing of the film in 2019 calling it a "joyously ingratiating, loose-limbed musical that packs 11 songs into an hour.

Production

The film, called ''Lookout'' while in production, was budgeted at $60,000. It was named after Jordan's original song, "Look Out". Louis Jordan was one of the investors for the film. Some of the "swim and western atmosphere shots" were taken in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

. During filming,

Maceo Sheffield Maceo Bruce Sheffield (September 8, 1897 – August 20, 1959) was a police detective and an actor in American films. He worked in Los Angeles as a policeman before acting and assisting in the production of films with African American casts. He was ...

was injured after falling off of a horse in a scene where he was "in pursuit of an outlaw band".

Cast

Suzette Harbin Suzette Harbin (July 4, 1915 – September 5, 1994) was an American actress and dancer. Early life Harbin was from Ledbetter, Texas. Harbin was raised in California, first in Pacific Grove, California, and then in Los Angeles. Harbin graduated f ...

Monte Hawley Monte Hawley (? - November 30, 1950) was an American actor from Chicago, Illinois. Biography He began his entertainment career as one of the original Lafayette Players. He studied under Richard B. Harrison and, after moving to New York City, act ...

*Glenn Allen * Tommy Southern

References

{{Reflist 1947 Western (genre) films 1947 musical films Astor Pictures films