As I have mentioned many times, one of the core principles of Soundies production and distribution was getting the most out of each-and-every dollar. In 1944 and 1945, the production team in Chicago tried something new, a curious experiment that just didn’t seem to work: They would return to previously issued Soundies and edit three or four together to form a medley.
Only four such medleys made it to the Panoram screen, all featuring African-American talent. Three, two featuring Louis Jordan and one with Cab Calloway, were issued in the “M series,” blackcast Soundies that had to be specially ordered.
“A Fats Waller Medley” was different. In the summer of 1945, releases alternated between a week of eight new films and a series called the “Victory Program” which consisted of seven re-releases and one new African-American Soundie.
“A Fats Waller Medley” returned to the screen four shorts, all in an edited manner, that were made in September 1941. Because they were well-received and presented songs that were familiar to jazz fans, they were re-issued often and are fairly well-known. This particular medley moves from one Soundie to another in a somewhat clumsy manner. Editing together songs that were only three minutes to begin with was not easy, and possibly was not a huge crowd-pleaser. Still, it was an interesting effort at saving money and is worth a screening here in the World of Soundies.
Fats and the group are all identified on screen, and sadly most of the solos did not make it to this release. However, on “Honeysuckle Rose” we hear a bit of Waller on piano that clearly shows why he was one of the most respected stride pianists of that (or any other) era.