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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.
681:. 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.
31:
508:
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
218:
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
517:
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
226:'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
674:." 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.
539:
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.
493:
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
246:
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.
560:. 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
459:. 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.
509:
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.
238:
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
462:
Some bandleaders recognized the promotional value of
Soundies. Will Bradley, Vincent Lopez, and Ray Kinney were the first, as has been mentioned, and
879:
343:
were some of the leading
Soundies performers. Many stars of the future made appearances in Soundies at the beginning of their careers, including
175:". Soundies exhibited a variety of musical genres in an effort to draw a broad audience. The shorts were originally viewed in public places on "
179:": coin-operated, 16mm rear projection machines. Panorams were typically located in businesses like nightclubs, bars, and restaurants. Due to
953:
936:
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150:
670:. Radio stations relied on transcriptions—recorded musical performances. Snader brought the idea to television with films, which he called "
255:
Soundies emphasized variety from their beginning; the first three bandleaders who contracted for Soundies were boogie-woogie specialist
387:
171:
musical film displaying a performance. Soundies were produced between 1940 and 1946 and have been referred to as "precursors to
267:. 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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242:) and the Featurettes company, which used original novelty songs and usually unknown talent (17-year-old
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187:. Hollywood films were censored but Soundies weren't, so the films occasionally had daring content like
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203:, like theatrical motion pictures, they were printed on the more portable and economical 16 mm film.
136:
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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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348:
300:
529:, then to television via Official's TV division, and ultimately to home video (via England's
230:). 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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35:
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Many nightclub and recording artists also made Soundies, including
183:, Soundies also featured patriotic messages and advertisements for
29:
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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.
849:
New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry
426:, 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
414:. In the mid-1940s, during a moratorium imposed by
735:The Soundies Book: A Revised and Expanded Guide
144:
8:
880:"Old Soundies, Costing 300G, Bring in 700G"
706:UCLA Library Film & Television Archive
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199:Filmed professionally on black-and-white
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214:of Chicago. Each Panoram housed a 16 mm
210:"movie jukebox" was manufactured by the
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556:; the film was broadcast nationally on
44:
696:
694:
259:, established popular music maestro
7:
789:MacGillivray and Okuda, pp. 382-384.
490:was almost as prolific (14 titles).
34:Soundies only appeared on the Mills
25:
973:is available for viewing at the
486:(17 titles); cowboy entertainer
904:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 398.
869:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 392.
860:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 379.
838:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 387.
798:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 393.
807:MacGillivray and Okuda, p. 28.
1:
886:. February 3, 1951. p. 6
263:, and Hawaiian singer-leader
27:1940s US musical film shorts
737:, iUniverse, 2007; p. 385.
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773:(soundie with Fats Waller)
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388:Harry "The Hipster" Gibson
946:Indiana University Press
971:featuring Carolyn Grey
969:Cocktails and Oo-La-La
817:Caldonia, Louis Jordan
437:Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer
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672:Snader Telescriptions
658:Snader Telescriptions
594:Sister Rosetta Tharpe
212:Mills Novelty Company
33:
443:, dialect comedians
228:William D. Alexander
564:, in 2007 for PBS.
552:in 1986, hosted by
104:Audio-to-video sync
45:Development of the
918:Scott MacGillivray
771:Ain't Misbehavin'
758:"Honeysuckle Rose"
727:Scott MacGillivray
618:The Mills Brothers
167:is a three-minute
120:Video Concert Hall
40:
990:Short film series
954:978-0-253-05854-6
937:978-0-595-67969-0
743:978-0-595-67969-0
598:Dorothy Dandridge
562:Michael Feinstein
457:The Keystone Cops
439:, Broadway comic
353:Ricardo Montalbán
349:Dorothy Dandridge
301:Hoosier Hot Shots
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16:(Redirected from
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710:. Retrieved
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702:""Soundies""
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626:Cab Calloway
590:Louis Jordan
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554:Cab Calloway
550:The Soundies
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480:Louis Jordan
468:Cab Calloway
464:Ozzie Nelson
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453:Snub Pollard
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396:Frances Faye
392:Benny Fields
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369:Cyd Charisse
337:Merle Travis
277:Louis Jordan
273:Jimmy Dorsey
257:Will Bradley
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181:World War II
173:music videos
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83:Musical film
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652:Later forms
614:Count Basie
582:Fats Waller
484:Stan Kenton
424:Faith Bacon
333:Jimmie Dodd
329:Anita O'Day
285:Stan Kenton
281:Spike Jones
244:Gwen Verdon
240:Rudy Vallee
234:Competition
201:35 mm stock
47:music video
995:Jazz films
984:Categories
890:August 10,
712:11 October
685:References
634:Lena Horne
606:Bob Howard
420:Sally Rand
345:Gale Storm
325:Gene Krupa
321:Nick Lucas
317:Sally Rand
265:Ray Kinney
195:Technology
929:iUniverse
922:Ted Okuda
884:Billboard
731:Ted Okuda
679:Scopitone
662:Scopitone
536:Billboard
497:Billboard
373:Alan Ladd
361:Doris Day
297:Les Brown
289:Kay Starr
189:burlesque
185:war bonds
66:Scopitone
948:, 2021,
931:, 2007,
432:Our Gang
357:Liberace
177:Panorams
169:American
18:Soundies
513:Eclipse
412:Gus Van
208:Panoram
165:soundie
109:Lip dub
99:Literal
71:Cinebox
61:Soundie
38:jukebox
36:Panoram
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708:. UCLA
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568:Legacy
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