Scopitone
Encyclopedia
Scopitone is a type of jukebox
featuring a 16 mm film
component. Scopitone films were a forerunner of music video
s. The Italian Cinebox
/Colorama and Color-Sonics were competing, lesser-known technologies of the time.
Based on technology developed during World War II, color 16 mm film
clips with a magnetic soundtrack
were designed to be shown in a specially designed jukebox. The first Scopitones were made in France, by a company called Cameca on Blvd Saint Denis in Courbevoie near Paris, among them Serge Gainsbourg
's Le poinçonneur des Lilas (filmed in 1958 in the Porte des Lilas Métro station
), Johnny Hallyday
's "Noir c'est noir" (a cover of Los Bravos
' "Black Is Black
") and the "Hully Gully
" showing a dance around the edge of a French swimming pool.
Scopitones spread to West Germany
, where the Kessler Sisters
burst out of twin steamer trunks to sing "Quando Quando" on the dim screen that surmounted the jukebox. Scopitone went on to appear in bars in England
, including a coffee bar in Swanage
where Telstar
was a favourite. By 1964, approximately 500 machines were installed in the USA.
The biggest musical stars of the 1960s were never released on the Scopitone. Several well-known acts of the 1960s appear in Scopitone films, however, ranging from the earlier part of the decade The Exciters
("Tell Him") and Neil Sedaka
("Calendar Girl") to Procol Harum
("A Whiter Shade of Pale
") later on. In one Scopitone recording, Dionne Warwick
lay on a white shag rug with an offstage fan urging her to sing "Walk On By". Another had Nancy Sinatra
and a troupe of go-go girls shimmy to "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
". Inspired by burlesque
, blonde bombshell Joi Lansing
performed "Web of Love" and "The Silencer", and Julie London
sang "Daddy" against a backdrop of strippers. The artifice of such scenes led Susan Sontag
to identify Scopitone films as "part of the canon of Camp
" in her 1964 essay "Notes on 'Camp'."
By the end of the 1960s, the popularity of the Scopitone had faded. The last film for a Scopitone was made at the end of 1978. However, in 2006 the French singer Mareva Galanter
released several videos which mimic the Scopitone style. Galenta's album Ukuyéyé features several songs in the French Yé-yé
style. She also recently hosted a weekly French television program called "Do you do you Scopitone" on the Paris Première
channel.
As of the mid-2000s, one of the few Scopitones not in a museum or private collection in the United States was located at the Belcourt Theatre
in Nashville, Tennessee
. Many Scopitone films have been released on DVD or made available on the internet.
Jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media...
featuring a 16 mm film
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
component. Scopitone films were a forerunner of music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s. The Italian Cinebox
Cinebox
The Cinebox was a coin operated Italian 16mm film projector juke box type machine invented in 1959 that appared in Europe to rival the French made Scopitone that appeared in 1960.The Cinebox was manufactured in Rome by Ottico Meccanica Italiana....
/Colorama and Color-Sonics were competing, lesser-known technologies of the time.
Based on technology developed during World War II, color 16 mm film
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
clips with a magnetic soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
were designed to be shown in a specially designed jukebox. The first Scopitones were made in France, by a company called Cameca on Blvd Saint Denis in Courbevoie near Paris, among them Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
's Le poinçonneur des Lilas (filmed in 1958 in the Porte des Lilas Métro station
Porte des Lilas (Paris Metro)
Porte des Lilas is a station of the Paris Métro. It serves Line 11 and is the northern terminus of Line 3bis.The station was opened on 27 November 1921 when Line 3 was extended from Gambetta to Porte des Lilas. The line 11 platforms opened as part of the original section of the line from Châtelet...
), Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday is a French singer and actor. An icon in the French-speaking world since the beginning of his career, he was considered by some to have been the French Elvis Presley. He was married for 15 years to one of the most popular French female singers: Sylvie Vartan...
's "Noir c'est noir" (a cover of Los Bravos
Los Bravos
Los Bravos were a Spanish beat group, formed in 1965, and based in Madrid. Their single "Black Is Black" reached #2 in the United Kingdom in July 1966, and #4 in the United States selling over a million records.-Biography:...
' "Black Is Black
Black Is Black
"Black Is Black" is a song by rock band Los Bravos, released in 1966 as the group's debut single for Decca Records. Produced by Ivor Raymonde, the song reached number two in the UK,number four in the U.S.,and number one in Canada....
") and the "Hully Gully
Hully Gully
The Hully Gully is a type of unstructured line dance often considered to have originated in the sixties, but is also mentioned some forty years earlier as a dance common in the black juke joints in the first part of the twentieth century. In its modern form it consisted of a series of "steps" that...
" showing a dance around the edge of a French swimming pool.
Scopitones spread to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, where the Kessler Sisters
Kessler Twins
Alice and Ellen Kessler are twins popular in Europe, especially Germany and Italy, from the 1950s and 1960s and until today for their singing, dancing and acting...
burst out of twin steamer trunks to sing "Quando Quando" on the dim screen that surmounted the jukebox. Scopitone went on to appear in bars in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, including a coffee bar in Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...
where Telstar
Telstar (song)
"Telstar" is a 1962 instrumental record performed by The Tornados. It was the first single by a British band to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and was also a number one hit in the UK. The record was named after the AT&T communications satellite Telstar, which went into orbit in...
was a favourite. By 1964, approximately 500 machines were installed in the USA.
The biggest musical stars of the 1960s were never released on the Scopitone. Several well-known acts of the 1960s appear in Scopitone films, however, ranging from the earlier part of the decade The Exciters
The Exciters
The Exciters were an American pop music group of the 1960s. They were originally a girl group, although a male member was added later. The group consisted of lead singer Brenda Reid, her husband Herb Rooney, Carolyn Johnson and Lillian Walker....
("Tell Him") and Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka is an American pop/rock singer, pianist, and composer. His career has spanned nearly 55 years, during which time he has sold millions of records as an artist and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard...
("Calendar Girl") to Procol Harum
Procol Harum
Procol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
("A Whiter Shade of Pale
A Whiter Shade of Pale
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut song by the British band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached #5 on the US charts, as well...
") later on. In one Scopitone recording, Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
lay on a white shag rug with an offstage fan urging her to sing "Walk On By". Another had Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....
and a troupe of go-go girls shimmy to "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
Jessica Simpson recorded her own version of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" for the soundtrack to the film The Dukes of Hazzard . Simpson's cover was co-produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and was released as the soundtrack's first single in 2005)...
". Inspired by burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
, blonde bombshell Joi Lansing
Joi Lansing
Joi Lansing was an American model, film and television actress, as well as a nightclub singer. She was most noted for her pin-up photos, and for her minor roles in B-movies...
performed "Web of Love" and "The Silencer", and Julie London
Julie London
Julie London was an American singer and actress. She was best known for her smoky, sensual voice. London was at her singing career's peak in the 1950s. Her acting career lasted more than 35 years...
sang "Daddy" against a backdrop of strippers. The artifice of such scenes led Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag was an American author, literary theorist, feminist and political activist whose works include On Photography and Against Interpretation.-Life:...
to identify Scopitone films as "part of the canon of Camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
" in her 1964 essay "Notes on 'Camp'."
By the end of the 1960s, the popularity of the Scopitone had faded. The last film for a Scopitone was made at the end of 1978. However, in 2006 the French singer Mareva Galanter
Mareva Galanter
Mareva Galanter is a French actress and former beauty queen.Galanter won the 1998 "Miss World of Islands" and then the 1998 "Miss Tahiti" beauty contest that allowed her to compete for the Miss France 1999 crown, which she won.Galanter expanded her work into music and singing, releasing Ukuyéyé,...
released several videos which mimic the Scopitone style. Galenta's album Ukuyéyé features several songs in the French Yé-yé
Yé-yé
Yé-yé was a style of pop music that emerged from France, Québec and Spain in the early 1960s. The term "yé-yé" derived from "yeah! yeah!" The style expanded worldwide, due to the success of figures such as the French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg....
style. She also recently hosted a weekly French television program called "Do you do you Scopitone" on the Paris Première
Paris Première
Paris Première is a French TV channel, available on cable, satellite and the digital terrestrial service, Télévision Numérique Terrestre. It was launched on December 15, 1986 and is now wholly owned by M6.-External links:*...
channel.
As of the mid-2000s, one of the few Scopitones not in a museum or private collection in the United States was located at the Belcourt Theatre
Belcourt Theatre
The Belcourt Theatre is a 2-cinema theater operating in Nashville's Hillsboro Village district. It is operating by a non-profit organization, and features independent films, as well as live performances.- History :...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Many Scopitone films have been released on DVD or made available on the internet.