Universal Monster Army

Chitter Chatter => General Discussion => Topic started by: Street Worm on July 22, 2011, 05:04:27 AM

Title: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Street Worm on July 22, 2011, 05:04:27 AM
Wasn't sure where to put this,
but I thought if I was ever going this find an answear, this board was the place...

Never saw one of these before & this week I saw it twice-

First in the Charlie Chan flick "The Shanghai Cobra" (1945) (http://charliechangallery.tripod.com/id42.html) there's a jukebox that you put your coin in and an operator at a remote location asks what you'd like to hear & if they have it, she plays it for you (there are no records in the box, itself)
The operator could also see you on her screen...  ???

(http://gallery.unrealspawnboard.com/albums/userpics/10006/cobgallery19b.jpg)

thought it was just made up for the movie until I saw "Behind the Mask" (1946) (http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17039/Behind-the-Mask/) tonight- a (not very good) Shadow flick where bets were taken through a jukebox operator (at a remote location)...

so, ever hear of such a thing?
did they have a special name?

I can't find any info~   :(
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Gillfan on July 22, 2011, 06:06:58 AM
Wall mounted jukeboxes (like at the booths in a diner) don't contain the record either, all the records are in another location (usually the basement). I wonder if the operator you describe predates the mechanism in the basement OR if it was a fancy way of doing it.
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Street Worm on July 22, 2011, 06:51:38 AM
I've been finding stuff this morning-
it's all pretty wild!

(http://gallery.unrealspawnboard.com/albums/userpics/10006/SwingHostess01.jpg)

Curiously, one gizmo-fad with feeble staying power made strong, quirky inroads to the Hollywood reality of the 1940s.  Telephone Music was a two-way jukebox system, relayed by phone, where juke customers spoke their requests to female DJs at a remote central library.  When introduced in 1940, the fad’s prospects looked bright:  H. L. Menken’s American Mercury magazine touted that Phone Music would give juke-listeners choices from a library of thousands of recordings instead of a “measly dozen or two” found on the usual machine.  Introduced and then unceremoniously sacked over the span of the 1940s, Phone Music’s existence might now be unknown except for its use as plot devices in films made over sixty years ago.  * (http://www.postmodernjoan.com/wp02/?p=6097)

Some more stuff here- Coin-Op Telephone Line Music (http://juke-box.dk/gert-telephone-music.htm)

(http://gallery.unrealspawnboard.com/albums/userpics/10006/multigirls.jpg) 

THE SHYVERS MULTIPHONE (http://www.dyz.com/phones/multiphone.html)

a 1941 'Jennings'

(http://gallery.unrealspawnboard.com/albums/userpics/10006/Jennings.bmp)

Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Monster Bob on July 22, 2011, 07:17:12 AM

Reminds me of a Scopitone-

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g107/backlotcharlie/scopitone.jpg)
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: general gruesome on July 22, 2011, 04:38:34 PM
I've been finding stuff this morning-
it's all pretty wild!

([url]http://gallery.unrealspawnboard.com/albums/userpics/10006/SwingHostess01.jpg[/url])

Curiously, one gizmo-fad with feeble staying power made strong, quirky inroads to the Hollywood reality of the 1940s.  Telephone Music was a two-way jukebox system, relayed by phone, where juke customers spoke their requests to female DJs at a remote central library.  When introduced in 1940, the fad’s prospects looked bright:  H. L. Menken’s American Mercury magazine touted that Phone Music would give juke-listeners choices from a library of thousands of recordings instead of a “measly dozen or two” found on the usual machine.  Introduced and then unceremoniously sacked over the span of the 1940s, Phone Music’s existence might now be unknown except for its use as plot devices in films made over sixty years ago.  * ([url]http://www.postmodernjoan.com/wp02/?p=6097[/url])

Some more stuff here- Coin-Op Telephone Line Music ([url]http://juke-box.dk/gert-telephone-music.htm[/url])

([url]http://gallery.unrealspawnboard.com/albums/userpics/10006/multigirls.jpg[/url]) 

THE SHYVERS MULTIPHONE ([url]http://www.dyz.com/phones/multiphone.html[/url])

a 1941 'Jennings'

([url]http://gallery.unrealspawnboard.com/albums/userpics/10006/Jennings.bmp[/url])
wow This is cool! I really like the last picture!
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Scatter on July 22, 2011, 04:57:51 PM
Reminds me of a Scopitone-

([url]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g107/backlotcharlie/scopitone.jpg[/url])


Ah, the fun we used to have around the family Scopitone........... :o
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Flower on July 22, 2011, 06:44:11 PM
This is all new for me ... very interesting.
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Gillfan on July 22, 2011, 08:38:02 PM
Speaking of Scopitones...

http://flavorwire.com/196222/10-excellent-pre-mtv-music-videos/2#post_body (http://flavorwire.com/196222/10-excellent-pre-mtv-music-videos/2#post_body)

Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Hepcat on July 22, 2011, 09:54:07 PM
The operator could also see you on her screen...  ???

Are you sure of this? That would require closed circuit television technology.

 ???
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Monster Bob on July 22, 2011, 10:53:13 PM
Reminds me of a Scopitone-

([url]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g107/backlotcharlie/scopitone.jpg[/url])


Here are some cool 'n sexy 1960s 16mm "music videos" made just for the Scopitone...


Sonny King - "I Cried For You" (Scopitone S-1033) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUjN-VNODfQ#)

Vince Taylor "Twenty Flight Rock" (Scopitone) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIP21VjEyDw#)

Neil Sedaka "Calendar Girl" (Scopitone) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V03f74P4_o#)

Scopitone! The Tornados - The Robot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO63v7jC2FU#ws)
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Street Worm on July 23, 2011, 04:21:13 AM
Are you sure of this? That would require closed circuit television technology.

 ???


After looking around yesterday, I'm pretty sure that part was just a bit of hollywood magic
added to the Charlie Chan flick...

Still, I'm amazed by the whole thing-
Love the pic of the 'operators' ! Wonder what happened to all this stuff(?)  8)

one more pic of these oddities-
2 by Rock-Ola & another Jennings- this time with a telephone attachment~

(http://gallery.unrealspawnboard.com/albums/userpics/10006/rock2.bmp)
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Hepcat on July 23, 2011, 09:49:22 AM
Reminds me of a Scopitone-

([url]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g107/backlotcharlie/scopitone.jpg[/url])


That was an entirely different technology from the Coin-Op Telephone Music systems/jukeboxes though.

The Scopitones were straight coin operated jukeboxes that also played a video. There was a resurgence in bars of similar devices in the early seventies. No phone lines or operators were required.

 C:)

Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: MDG on July 23, 2011, 10:49:55 AM
The Scopitones were straight coin operated jukeboxes that also played a video. There was a resurgence in bars of similar devices in the early. No phone lines or operators were required.
"Video" in the sense of 16mm film. Tons of these on YouTube. Euro ones well into the 60s.
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Hepcat on July 23, 2011, 12:57:50 PM
Both the York Hotel and the Oxford House in London, Ontario had one in the men's beverage room in 1972-73. Striptease clips set to music were the most popular selections.

 8)
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: keithdouglas on March 31, 2014, 10:01:21 AM
Also see this movie,

"The Crime Doctor's Diary" (1949)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041267/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041267/)

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/71785/The-Crime-Doctor-s-Diary/ (http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/71785/The-Crime-Doctor-s-Diary/)

Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Hepcat on March 31, 2014, 10:07:28 AM
Quote from: Street Worm
So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?

Well I know they're very cool!

 8)

And unfortunately also very space intensive.

 :(
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Hepcat on March 31, 2014, 10:36:20 AM
Also see this movie,

"The Crime Doctor's Diary" (1949)

[url]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041267/[/url] ([url]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041267/[/url])

[url]http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/71785/The-Crime-Doctor-s-Diary/[/url] ([url]http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/71785/The-Crime-Doctor-s-Diary/[/url])


Why? Was a jukebox central to the plot or was it Telephone Music?

 ???
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Street Worm on April 04, 2014, 12:35:00 PM
Why? Was a jukebox central to the plot or was it Telephone Music?

 ???

One of the (very minor) sub-plots of the story is a rivalry between a jukebox company and the phone music system-
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Scatter on April 10, 2014, 07:03:05 PM
 Need an old jukebox, pinball machine, and full size cigarette vending machine.
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Hepcat on April 11, 2014, 08:14:29 AM
You should be able to obtain a cigarette machine in really good condition for a very reasonable price. Compared to jukeboxes and pinball machines, they were mechanically simple with very few moving parts. Moreover demand for these is low relative to other kinds of coin-ops so you should be able to find one cheap. There have to be vending machine wholesalers in your town you could contact. If they ask for too high a price, just remind them that they'll never find another customer for the thing.

 :)
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Hepcat on May 27, 2019, 01:10:32 PM
This is the type of cigarette vending machine that I remember being common in the sixties and seventies:

(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/20/b7/44/20b744f221c567c45fb5b8998d3f8fe7.jpg)

 :)
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Hepcat on September 20, 2019, 12:36:27 PM
You know even though I don't smoke, I find the idea of cigarette vending devices in both cinemas and home theatres somehow appealing:

(https://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/cigarette%20girl_zps1ulk0nxf.jpg)

But with a few easy to make adjustments, I see that they can be modified to vend Cracker Jack, Cherry Blasters, Licorice Goodies and M&M's. That would work for me, especially since I really like the idea of the "Surprise Inside!"

 :)
Title: Re: So...Know Anything About Mid-'40s Jukeboxes?
Post by: Mike Scott on September 20, 2019, 12:43:18 PM
That would work for me, especially since I really like the idea of the "Surprise Inside!"

You can get those in packs of cigarettes, too! Like cancer.