Soundies

Genre: Soundie

Format: 16mm

Description:

All titles reversed left to right.

1. Heaven Help a Sailor- Featuring The Seven Sarongs; 1941

Two sailors get rejected by the girls they’re sitting with in a bar. A pal sailor saunters up and tells them a story about crashing on an island of beautiful girls. We see the old sailor covered in tattoos surrounded by beautiful island women.

2. Step Lively- The Lucky Girls; 1943

Opens on a pyramid of girls, we see them make different formations on a terrace with a fake city view behind them. They perform acrobatics & dance in silly short costumes.

3. I’m Coming, Virginia- Aileen Shirley; 1942

Girls on a stage in showgirl outfits mmic playing instruments. The bandleader girls starts to dance. Jump cuts make her costume change suddenly. A line of dancer girls in musical note covered costumes come out and dance.

4. Hula Lou - Bruce Raeburn, Jeanne Ivory; 1944

First we only see the pianist’s hands, but as the camera pulls out we see he’s in a tropical set or a tiki bar. Sailors and girls with flowers in their hair are in the background. A girl in a crazy sparkly hula skirt starts to dance in the middle of the floor.

5. There’ll Be Some Changes Made- Ginger Harmon; 1941

Opens with a girl opening her bath robe to reveal the production company’s name on her bathing suit chest. Then titles, then a band on a fake Miami beach with an audience at umbrella tables. The singer, though, is wearing antebellum southern belle type clothes. We cut to her near cutout changing booths/tents and her wearing a bathing suit. Other dancing girls come out from behind the cardboard cutouts and each time they go back behind, they come out in a more revealing costume.

6. Pin-ups on Parade- Lee Sullivan and the Dream Dolls; 1943

Opens with a GI pinning up pictures of pin ups.... Then an air force person starts to sing about pinups with a rotating wheel laden with pinups spinning behind him. Then we see the GI getting ready for bed with the pictures above him. As he goes to sleep, we see the girls he’s dreaming of.

7. Sailor with Navy-Blue Eyes- Kitty Kallen, Billy Bletcher; 1941

Opens with two girls in sun dresses setting up a picnic in a park. Cut to a sailor in the prow of a rowboat looking through a telescope comically. He and the sailor in the back spot the girls and land, making antics to amuse the women, who share their picnic. The telescope sailor tries to kiss one girl and ends up with two black eyes.

8. The Perfect Powers Girl- John Robert Powers; 1941

Opens on an executive office with a man singing about women’s fashion. We see various models advertising his products, and another man sings about how beautiful they all are.

9.The Dizzy Dance- The Capering Cuties; 1942

We see four women in very short playboy bunny-type dresses and gloves and feather hats against a white background, then a CU on each. Next, they dance solo in costumes. Then we see a team of synchronized swimmers, including a few underwater shots.

10. Priority Blue- The Merriel Abbott Dancers; 1941.

Satire of government priorities. Opens on a stage with a director introducing a group of dancers about priorities the goverment has on materials that are used in their costumes. They end up having to take off various parts of their costumes. Ends with them naked in barrels.

11. Take It Off- The Pretty Priorities; 1942

Informational film (PSA? not quite a PSA...) about government priorities. Four girls sing about materials the government needs for the war effort. they strip off parts of their costumes and put them into a barrel marked “V” eventually they go behind screens that show their silhouettes and they take off the rest. Two men come to collect their donations and take the screen too. The singers have a sign across themselves that reads “That’s All.”

12. Swing Cats Ball- Evelyn Purvis, Rusti Sanford; 1943

Solo African American woman on a stage sings to a small audience. She’s then replaced by a dancer in a more revealing outfit.

13. Jump Fever- Maids of Melody, Aileen Shirley; 1942

Opens with newspaper headline superimposed over beach scene: “Hot tunes of hot girl band cooled only by ocean breezes.” Cut to an all girl band playing in bathing suits. People in beach wear crowd around to hear. An old man in a “beach comber” shirt smoking a pipe is too short to see. he pulls out a measuring tape and measures the thigh of the girl in front of him, giving a leering look. Next we see people balancing on top of huge beach balls. The beach comber crawls under the chairs of women in the band and gets kicked in the head.

14. Musical Movie Memories- Bob Hope, Bing Crosby; 1943

Opens with an MC’s introduction, fades to young Bing singing to an aristocratic audience. Then the MC introduces a scene featuring Hope and a “Mexican” girl behind the counter of a store.

15. Swingeroo Circus- Joe Mole, the Keene Twins, the Harlan Co-Eds; 1943

Opens on a slightly creepy scene of people in clown costumes dancing around. Women in large polka dot costumes dance, but it’s just disturbing. We also see a rope dancer, a man with two unicycles, and acrobats.

Complete Record: All titles reversed left to right. 1. Heaven Help a Sailor- Featuring The Seven Sarongs; 1941 Two sailors get rejected by the girls they’re sitting with in a bar. A pal sailor saunters up and tells them a story about crashing on an island of beautiful girls. We see the old sailor covered in tattoos surrounded by beautiful island women. 2. Step Lively- The Lucky Girls; 1943 Opens on a pyramid of girls, we see them make different formations on a terrace with a fake city view behind them. They perform acrobatics & dance in silly short costumes. 3. I’m Coming, Virginia- Aileen Shirley; 1942 Girls on a stage in showgirl outfits mmic playing instruments. The bandleader girls starts to dance. Jump cuts make her costume change suddenly. A line of dancer girls in musical note covered costumes come out and dance. 4. Hula Lou - Bruce Raeburn, Jeanne Ivory; 1944 First we only see the pianist’s hands, but as the camera pulls out we see he’s in a tropical set or a tiki bar. Sailors and girls with flowers in their hair are in the background. A girl in a crazy sparkly hula skirt starts to dance in the middle of the floor. 5. There’ll Be Some Changes Made- Ginger Harmon; 1941 Opens with a girl opening her bath robe to reveal the production company’s name on her bathing suit chest. Then titles, then a band on a fake Miami beach with an audience at umbrella tables. The singer, though, is wearing antebellum southern belle type clothes. We cut to her near cutout changing booths/tents and her wearing a bathing suit. Other dancing girls come out from behind the cardboard cutouts and each time they go back behind, they come out in a more revealing costume. 6. Pin-ups on Parade- Lee Sullivan and the Dream Dolls; 1943 Opens with a GI pinning up pictures of pin ups.... Then an air force person starts to sing about pinups with a rotating wheel laden with pinups spinning behind him. Then we see the GI getting ready for bed with the pictures above him. As he goes to sleep, we see the girls he’s dreaming of. 7. Sailor with Navy-Blue Eyes- Kitty Kallen, Billy Bletcher; 1941 Opens with two girls in sun dresses setting up a picnic in a park. Cut to a sailor in the prow of a rowboat looking through a telescope comically. He and the sailor in the back spot the girls and land, making antics to amuse the women, who share their picnic. The telescope sailor tries to kiss one girl and ends up with two black eyes. 8. The Perfect Powers Girl- John Robert Powers; 1941 Opens on an executive office with a man singing about women’s fashion. We see various models advertising his products, and another man sings about how beautiful they all are. 9.The Dizzy Dance- The Capering Cuties; 1942 We see four women in very short playboy bunny-type dresses and gloves and feather hats against a white background, then a CU on each. Next, they dance solo in costumes. Then we see a team of synchronized swimmers, including a few underwater shots. 10. Priority Blue- The Merriel Abbott Dancers; 1941. Satire of government priorities. Opens on a stage with a director introducing a group of dancers about priorities the goverment has on materials that are used in their costumes. They end up having to take off various parts of their costumes. Ends with them naked in barrels. 11. Take It Off- The Pretty Priorities; 1942 Informational film (PSA? not quite a PSA...) about government priorities. Four girls sing about materials the government needs for the war effort. they strip off parts of their costumes and put them into a barrel marked “V” eventually they go behind screens that show their silhouettes and they take off the rest. Two men come to collect their donations and take the screen too. The singers have a sign across themselves that reads “That’s All.” 12. Swing Cats Ball- Evelyn Purvis, Rusti Sanford; 1943 Solo African American woman on a stage sings to a small audience. She’s then replaced by a dancer in a more revealing outfit. 13. Jump Fever- Maids of Melody, Aileen Shirley; 1942 Opens with newspaper headline superimposed over beach scene: “Hot tunes of hot girl band cooled only by ocean breezes.” Cut to an all girl band playing in bathing suits. People in beach wear crowd around to hear. An old man in a “beach comber” shirt smoking a pipe is too short to see. he pulls out a measuring tape and measures the thigh of the girl in front of him, giving a leering look. Next we see people balancing on top of huge beach balls. The beach comber crawls under the chairs of women in the band and gets kicked in the head. 14. Musical Movie Memories- Bob Hope, Bing Crosby; 1943 Opens with an MC’s introduction, fades to young Bing singing to an aristocratic audience. Then the MC introduces a scene featuring Hope and a “Mexican” girl behind the counter of a store. 15. Swingeroo Circus- Joe Mole, the Keene Twins, the Harlan Co-Eds; 1943 Opens on a slightly creepy scene of people in clown costumes dancing around. Women in large polka dot costumes dance, but it’s just disturbing. We also see a rope dancer, a man with two unicycles, and acrobats.