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Cast: Joe Pastor with Johnny Morris
Running Time: 3 mins.
Vault: SOUNDIE
See the Ratamacue! Soundies were a brand new form of entertainment conceived in early 1940, born in January 1941 and then suffered a lingering demise mid-way through 1947. They were three minute black and white films with an optical soundtrack designed to be shown on self-contained, coin-operated 16mm rear projection machines situated in bars, diners, nightclubs, roadhouses and other public places throughout the States and Canada. The most widely distributed of these projectors was the Panoram, a complicated device using a system of mirrors and with a screen mounted on top of a stylish cabinet. They were made by the Mills Novelty Company of Chicago, market leaders in the manufacture of juke boxes and coin-operated machines, at the cost of $600 (about $12,000 today). The range of Soundies catered for all tastes and included swing, big bands, jazz, blues, country and western, hillbilly, Gospel, Latin American, Hawaiian, dance, musical comedy, vaudeville and even swimmers, ice-skaters, knife throwers and gymnasts! One reel of eight Soundies was released each week, with more hitting the Panorams at holidays and other peak periods.
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