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titles appearing backwards on the screen). Each film cost 10 cents to play, with no choice of song; the patron saw whatever film was next in the queue. Panorams could be found in public amusement centers, nightclubs, taverns, restaurants, and factory lounges, and the films were changed weekly. The completed
Soundies were generally made available within a few weeks of their filming, by the Soundies Distributing Corporation of America.
670:. Similar to Soundies, Scopitones are short musical films designed to be played on a specially designed coin-operated jukebox, but with new technical improvements - color and high-fidelity sound. Scopitones were printed on color 16mm film with magnetic sound, instead of Soundies' black-and-white film with optical sound. By the mid-1960s, Scopitone jukeboxes had spread across England and the United States.
20:
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During their first year, the
Soundies made millions of dollars (in dimes). However, in late 1941, the federal government restricted the use of rubber and precious metals, prioritizing these resources for military use during wartime. This meant that Mills Novelty could no longer build and sell Panoram
207:
film projector, with eight
Soundies films threaded in an endless-loop arrangement. A system of mirrors flashed the image from the lower half of the cabinet onto a front-facing screen in the top half. Because of the mirror arrangement, the films had to be printed with the image "flipped" (with the
506:
The
Soundies Distributing Corporation of America remained active until 1947. With commercial television developing rapidly, the Soundies machines and films became obsolete. Almost all of the Panoram jukeboxes were either junked or modified into self-service "peepshow" machines. Most remaining
215:'s Globe Productions (1940–41), Cinemasters (1940–41), Minoco Productions (owned by Mills Novelty, 1941–43), RCM Productions (1941–46), LOL Productions (1943), Glamourettes (1943), Filmcraft Productions (1943–46), and Alexander Productions (1946) led by
663:." Snader hired dozens of pop-music acts and vaudeville performers, many of whom had already appeared in Soundies, to star in his new films. Snader Telescriptions are often confused with Soundies because of their similarity in length and personnel.
528:
reported in
February 1951 that Official Films had spent $ 300,000 preparing the Soundies film library for television syndication, under the series title "Music Hall Varieties"; Official earned more than $ 700,000 from local TV stations.
482:
More than 1,800 Soundies minimusicals were made, many of which have been released on home video. The
Soundies films were regularly described and reviewed in the entertainment and music trade publications, such as
235:
appears in a couple of the
Featurettes as "Gwen Verdun"). As Soundies quickly gained most of the market for jukebox films, the other companies disbanded, and some sold their films to the Soundies concern.
549:. Dewey Russell compiled an hourlong, direct-to-video history, "Soundies: Music Video from the '40s" in 1987, narrated by Michael Sollazzo. Chris Lamson produced "Soundies: A Musical History," hosted by
448:. Most of these films were nonmusical, and were not as well received as the musical Soundies. Soundies abandoned the comedy-sketch idea, but continued to produce filmed versions of comic novelty songs.
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machines, and had to confine its activities to keeping the existing projectors supplied with films. Soundies became strictly a production company, dedicated to making its own musical shorts.
227:
The movie-jukebox idea developed several imitations and variations of the technical design; the most successful of these imitators were the
Techniprocess company (managed by
451:
Some bandleaders recognized the promotional value of
Soundies. Will Bradley, Vincent Lopez, and Ray Kinney were the first, as has been mentioned, and
868:
332:
were some of the leading
Soundies performers. Many stars of the future made appearances in Soundies at the beginning of their careers, including
164:". Soundies exhibited a variety of musical genres in an effort to draw a broad audience. The shorts were originally viewed in public places on "
168:": coin-operated, 16mm rear projection machines. Panorams were typically located in businesses like nightclubs, bars, and restaurants. Due to
942:
925:
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139:
659:. Radio stations relied on transcriptions—recorded musical performances. Snader brought the idea to television with films, which he called "
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Soundies emphasized variety from their beginning; the first three bandleaders who contracted for Soundies were boogie-woogie specialist
376:
160:
musical film displaying a performance. Soundies were produced between 1940 and 1946 and have been referred to as "precursors to
256:. Soundies displayed all genres of music, from classical to big-band swing, and from hillbilly novelties to patriotic songs.
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of the musicians' union, Soundies resorted to filming nonmusical vaudeville acts, featuring exotic dancers
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231:) and the Featurettes company, which used original novelty songs and usually unknown talent (17-year-old
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176:. Hollywood films were censored but Soundies weren't, so the films occasionally had daring content like
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192:, like theatrical motion pictures, they were printed on the more portable and economical 16 mm film.
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Beginning in 1941, Soundies experimented with expanding its format, and filmed comedy Soundies with
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The library of approximately 1,800 Soundies films was made available first to home-movie companies
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Several production companies filmed the Soundies shorts in New York City, Hollywood, and Chicago:
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For today's filmmakers and archivists, Soundies are known for preserving rare performances of
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518:, then to television via Official's TV division, and ultimately to home video (via England's
219:). The performers recorded the music in advance, and mimed to the soundtrack during filming.
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In 1958, the original Soundies "jukebox" concept was revived by French company Cameca as
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Three documentaries have been produced about Soundies. Don McGlynn produced and edited
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artists who had fewer opportunities to perform in mainstream films. Such artists as
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all made Soundies (several of these were excerpted from longer theatrical films).
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followed. The most prolific Soundies bandleaders were Johnny Long (18 titles) and
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Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time.
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The Soundies Book: A Revised and Expanded Guide to the Music Videos of the 1940s.
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Panorams are in the hands of collectors and are occasionally offered for sale.
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Many nightclub and recording artists also made Soundies, including
172:, Soundies also featured patriotic messages and advertisements for
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Chicago & London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998 1-57958-056-4 p.191
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sung by Fats Waller in a 1941 Minoco Production Soundie (video)
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acts; these were produced to appeal to soldiers on leave.
838:
New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry
415:, animal acts, acrobats, impressionists, and jugglers.
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Louis Jordan and his Tympany Band: Films and Soundies
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The Soundies concept was revived in 1951 by producer
403:. In the mid-1940s, during a moratorium imposed by
724:The Soundies Book: A Revised and Expanded Guide
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8:
869:"Old Soundies, Costing 300G, Bring in 700G"
695:UCLA Library Film & Television Archive
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188:Filmed professionally on black-and-white
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203:of Chicago. Each Panoram housed a 16 mm
199:"movie jukebox" was manufactured by the
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545:; the film was broadcast nationally on
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685:
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248:, established popular music maestro
7:
778:MacGillivray and Okuda, pp. 382-384.
479:was almost as prolific (14 titles).
23:Soundies only appeared on the Mills
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962:is available for viewing at the
475:(17 titles); cowboy entertainer
893:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 398.
858:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 392.
849:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 379.
827:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 387.
787:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 393.
796:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 28.
1:
875:. February 3, 1951. p. 6
252:, and Hawaiian singer-leader
16:1940s US musical film shorts
726:, iUniverse, 2007; p. 385.
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762:(soundie with Fats Waller)
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377:Harry "The Hipster" Gibson
935:Indiana University Press
960:featuring Carolyn Grey
958:Cocktails and Oo-La-La
806:Caldonia, Louis Jordan
426:Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer
28:
661:Snader Telescriptions
647:Snader Telescriptions
583:Sister Rosetta Tharpe
201:Mills Novelty Company
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432:, dialect comedians
217:William D. Alexander
553:, in 2007 for PBS.
541:in 1986, hosted by
93:Audio-to-video sync
34:Development of the
907:Scott MacGillivray
760:Ain't Misbehavin'
747:"Honeysuckle Rose"
716:Scott MacGillivray
607:The Mills Brothers
156:is a three-minute
109:Video Concert Hall
29:
979:Short film series
943:978-0-253-05854-6
926:978-0-595-67969-0
732:978-0-595-67969-0
587:Dorothy Dandridge
551:Michael Feinstein
446:The Keystone Cops
428:, Broadway comic
342:Ricardo Montalbán
338:Dorothy Dandridge
290:Hoosier Hot Shots
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645:Main articles:
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627:Louis Armstrong
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461:Louis Armstrong
366:Marilyn Maxwell
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699:. Retrieved
694:
691:""Soundies""
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615:Cab Calloway
579:Louis Jordan
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543:Cab Calloway
539:The Soundies
538:
536:
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512:Castle Films
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469:Louis Jordan
457:Cab Calloway
453:Ozzie Nelson
450:
442:Snub Pollard
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385:Frances Faye
381:Benny Fields
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358:Cyd Charisse
326:Merle Travis
266:Louis Jordan
262:Jimmy Dorsey
246:Will Bradley
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170:World War II
162:music videos
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72:Musical film
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641:Later forms
603:Count Basie
571:Fats Waller
473:Stan Kenton
413:Faith Bacon
322:Jimmie Dodd
318:Anita O'Day
274:Stan Kenton
270:Spike Jones
233:Gwen Verdon
229:Rudy Vallee
223:Competition
190:35 mm stock
36:music video
984:Jazz films
973:Categories
879:August 10,
701:11 October
674:References
623:Lena Horne
595:Bob Howard
409:Sally Rand
334:Gale Storm
314:Gene Krupa
310:Nick Lucas
306:Sally Rand
254:Ray Kinney
184:Technology
918:iUniverse
911:Ted Okuda
873:Billboard
720:Ted Okuda
668:Scopitone
651:Scopitone
525:Billboard
486:Billboard
362:Alan Ladd
350:Doris Day
286:Les Brown
278:Kay Starr
178:burlesque
174:war bonds
55:Scopitone
937:, 2021,
920:, 2007,
421:Our Gang
346:Liberace
166:Panorams
158:American
502:Eclipse
401:Gus Van
197:Panoram
154:soundie
98:Lip dub
88:Literal
60:Cinebox
50:Soundie
27:jukebox
25:Panoram
941:
924:
730:
697:. UCLA
633:, and
557:Legacy
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