Often referred to the music videos of the 1940’s, soundies were produced during 1940 to 1946 to be seen on self-contained, coin operated16mm rear projection machines called Panorams and only cost ten cents to use. They were in bars, restaurants and other public places. Soundies offered various musical styles from country and western to Russian folk music and everything in between. A source of optimism during World War II, they also exposed previously taboo issues such as race, sexuality and the roles of women in society.

Curated by Susan Delson, author of Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time, Kino Lorber has recently released Soundies: The Ultimate Collection a four Blu-ray disc set of 200 shorts. Newly restored from 35mm and 16mm materials preserved by the Library of Congress and other archives, it becomes quickly apparent that this also serves as an important document of black entertainers such as Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, Dorothy Dandridge, Duke Ellington among others, marking the first time many saw African Americans on screen.

Thematically organized in the following categories: Introducing Soundies, Starting from Swing, Powered by Dance, At the Piano, We’ll Drink to That, Outrageously Incorrect, Straight from the Panoram #1, Introduction, Going to War, The Homefront, On the Job, City Life, …And City Fashion, Straight from the Panoram #2, Musical Evolutions, Stirring Up the Melting Pot, Hillbilly to Country Western, Latin to Staten Island, Heading Toward Rock ‘n’ Roll, Latin Boogies and Other Hybrids, Straight from the Panoram #3,  Women, Sexuality, and Gender, Is It Love or Is It Conscription?, Anxieties, Bickering, Heartbreak, Loosening and Upending, Jumping into Gender Play, Dorothy Dandridge and Gale Storm and Straight from the Panoram #4, the collection includes everything from jazz, folk and the boogie woogie roots of  Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Also, worth noting, several shorts contain themes and language that may be considered offensive today. Even so, Soundies: The Ultimate Collection is a worthwhile endeavor for anyone interested in film and/or music history.

Divided into the twenty-nine subsections (“Programs”) listed above, the 1080p transfer has some noticeable damage—small speckles and scratches are readily apparent at times—from the source, but abundant grain provides a satisfactory viewing experience, considering the age of the material.

Kino has included a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track in the original English language. There are frequent sync issues during musical performances and audio is rough at times. Nonetheless, the music is fun and will have you humming along. Despite its flaws, Soundies: The Ultimate Collection is a historical document worth owning.

English subtitles are available.

The following extras are included in HD:

  • Filmed introductions by series curator Susan Delson, with Ina Archer, Media Conservationist, National Museum of African American History and Culture. On all discs.

Disc One:

  • Birth of the Soundies – interview with Mark Cantor (14:14)
  • From the Vault – Matt Barton (Curator of Recording Sound at the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center at the Library of Congress) and Mike Mashon (Head of the Moving Image Section of the Library of Congress) (8:05)

Disc Two:

  • “Inside the Panoram,” a filmed interview with Mark Cantor, author of The Soundies: A History and Catalog of Jukebox Film Shorts of the 1940 (3:45)

Disc Three:

  • The Modes of Production (6:39)

Disc Four:

  • Epilogue (7:26)
  • Explaining the Chorus Line (21:41)

An Illustrated 44-page booklet with essays by Susan Delson, Ellen C. Scott, and Mark Cantor