This reel compiles 4 distinctly different short musical featurettes which touch variously on anti-fascism, racist minstrelsy, and underrepresented black performers of the 1940s (TRT: 20:00):
1) “Schichlegruber – Doing the Lambeth Walk, Assisted by the Gestapo Hep-Cats” a 1942 short propaganda film by Charles A. Ridley of the UK Ministry of Information. This parody, an early “found footage” re-edit of Leni Riefenstahl’s “Triumph of the Will” was re-mixed to make pompous Nazis appear foolish doing “The Lambeth Walk,” a contemporary dance craze reviled by the party as “Jewish mischief and animalistic hopping.” The title references the surname of Adolf Hitler’s grandmother Maria Schicklgruber. The film was released in the U.S. by Leslie Winik, known for his “Sportsbeams” newsreels. Adolf Hitler appears to strike up a marching band and officers, who march forward and back in reverse motion, timed to music from the 1937 musical, “Me and My Girl” (0:25). A boy whistles, adoring audience members appear to cheer on the mockery, and goose stepping is continuously undercut by comical editing. (0:08-2:34).
2) “Castle Films Presents The Music Album: Songs of the South.” This compilation of “soundies” was released by Castle Films, a newsreel company turned distribution service for consumer prints of one-reel films. Soundies were 3-minute shorts shot on 35mm film and originally distributed for the Panoram, a 16mm looping “movie jukebox.” Selections include “Showboat Melodies with the Marshalls,” a troubling look into a bygone era of entertainment. A sign reads: “Tonight, Showboat Plantation Melodies.” A steam whistle, a riverboat. White performers lip sync Stephen Foster’s “Oh Susanna,” “Swanee.” Women wear bonnets and ruffled, anachronistic costumes (2:45). As “Camptown Races” begins, we see a particularly egregious example of “blackface,” an offensive, racist tradition of theatrical makeup used by non-black performers to caricature black people (4:10). “Dear Old Southland sung by the Dixiars,” shows costumed white performers lip syncing “My Old Kentucky Home” (5:36). The minstrel song, “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers,” features cutaways to black performers in stereotypical vignettes that romanticise plantation life of the enslaved and grossly misrepresent conditions under slavery (6:00). Men and women of color mouth words sung by white vocalists and smile before a brisk rendition of “Dixie” concludes the medley. (2:34-8:07).
3) “Official Films Presents Stephen Foster Melodies,” a 1946 compilation of more 19th-century flavored soundies directed by William F. Crouch featuring The Elm City Four, Jeni Freeland, Tommy Morton, and Gretchen Houser. This sequence takes a “Gone With the Wind” inspired look at courtship in the antebellum south, complete with a full spectrum of racist African American stereotypes. “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” sees four white men singing to blonde Jeni Freeland, best remembered as the model for Blue Bonnet Butter’s mascot (8:48). Dance break. Twirling petticoats, banjo playing (10:47). “Beautiful Dreamer” cues the entrance of brunette dancer Gretchen Houser in a Victorian hat (11:44). The minstrel number “Old Black Joe,” sung by whites, is accompanied by a romanticized depiction of a nostalgic, elderly enslaved man with strained hearing (3:18). Another dance break outside a mock “carriage house” with a black man playing banjo for young girls, a broadly grinning man in livery uniform (14:28). “Camptown Races” and “Swanee” close the program. (8:10-17:17).
4) “Dinah starring Bob Howard,” Soundies are also remembered for preserving historic performances by African-American artists who were denied greater opportunities in feature films, as is the case with this cheerful short from 1944. Performer Bob Howard was a Massachusetts native who made a name for himself as a singer on swing records of the 1930s. Following a residency at New York’s Park Central Hotel, he was signed to Decca, where he provided vocals for “hot” sides that also featured luminaries Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Cozy Cole, and Artie Shaw. In this short directed by William F. Crouch, Howard lip syncs and mimes playing piano in a sheet music shop set decorated with musical notes while singing “Dinah,” by Harry Akst, Sam Lewis, and Joe Young (20:45). An uncredited woman dancer makes a memorable appearance (21:40). Actors of color are depicted distractedly shopping for music among the excitement. (20:38-23:13).
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
