Cheap or economical does not mean unimportant. This post of Jolly Joe, a polka Soundie that at first may seem inconsequential, features three dance teams that appeared on stage for at least a decade each. It reflects a segment of popular entertainment that the Soundies head office needed to address … and the dance is actually quite entertaining, if a bit dated.
But first, a quick recap, since some of you might not be familiar with lowly L.O.L. Productions. More than fifty companies provided films that were released as Soundies. L.O.L. Productions is one of the more interesting, in part because, despite being the most budget-conscious, it still featured a handful of fascinating artists. On the other side of the coin, the Soundies home office eventually canceled L.O.L.’s contract due to both the shoddy production values and the racial stereotypes found within their shorts. A breach of contract case ended up in the New York Supreme Court, and L.O.L. Productions surprisingly won.
In this Soundie, the set consists of a curtain and three simple wooden ovals in which the dancers await their turn to perform. The soundtrack is merely a pre-recorded piece purchased from Continental Records. And the photography? Two cameras catch the action, which looks like it was filmed in one long take.
Polka music and dance were very popular in 1940s America, especially in the Midwest, and it was an important demographic that Soundies producers wanted to serve. Close to sixty Soundies featured polka music, and this is one of my favorites, even though we do not know who recorded the music. It is the dance that makes the Soundie work.
It is important to remember that for professional ballroom dancers, polka dance would be but one part of their repertoire, and the featured artists in this Soundie were well-versed in many styles of ballroom dance. The first couple on screen, Jack and June Blair, appeared on the vaudeville stage for many years. They were first noted in the trades in 1934. They relocated to Manhattan, and the two were soon featured on film along with the variety stage. Jack and June spent 1938 in Australia, then returned to the States where they performed together until at least 1947. Versatility was the key to their success, and they performed all types of dance routines, not just polka.
In my Soundies book, I noted that I could not find anything about The Balators. This was, in part, because L.O.L. changed the name under which they were usually billed, that is, The Ballatores. As luck would have it, I recently heard from Lewis Ballatore’s son, Tom, and he filled me in on the team’s background. Lewis Ballatore was born in 1911, and throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, he performed on stage – in nightclubs, theaters, and dining establishments – working with his partner Ida “Lee” Boettcher. (Ms. Boettcher recalled that the team made another film appearance, but it has yet to be identified.) The two dancers were together until Lewis joined the army shortly after this Soundie was produced. They were based in Manhattan but traveled frequently, performing at such venues as the well-known Beverly Hills Country Club (Newport, Kentucky), Olympia Theater (Miami, Florida), and The Beacon (Winnipeg, Canada).
While I have found very little about the third dance team, Dorn and Delsa, bookings are noted in the trades, mostly along the East Coast.
Even if you are not a fan of polka music and dance, you owe it to yourself to spend three minutes exploring the type of Soundie. It was produced to bring in dimes from a specific part of the Panoram audience, and filling this type of need was, of course, what Soundies was largely about.