"Arabella and the Water Tank"

This view to the back of the auditorium at the Million Dollar Theatre is seen twice in the 3 minute Soundie titled "Arabella and the Water Tank" (Soundies Distributing Corporation, 1941). Note that at the time of this shot two of the skulls were still on the front of the balcony and that they had added banks of spotlights on either side of the booth. 

The Soundie features "Doodles" Weaver performing a piece written by James Copp III. Thanks to Mark Cantor for spotting the theatre and running this short as part of a presentation at Cinecon 58. He's the author of "The Soundies: A History and Catalog of Jukebox Film Shorts of the 1940s," available on Amazon. The short can be seen as a post from Mark on the Facebook page The World of Soundies. It's also on the site Jazz On Film. 

This 1918 vintage theatre at 3rd & Broadway was Sid Grauman's first Los Angeles operation. See the Million Dollar pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history and many, many photos.

"Hot Chocolate"

This view of Orpheum's marquee advertising Duke Ellington and his orchestra is seen at the beginning of the 3 minute Soundie titled "Hot Chocolate" (Soundies Distributing Corporation, 1941). This shot is followed by a look at a poster on display advertising the performers as being from the revue "Jump For Joy" that had played the Mayan. The band is playing "Cottontail."

It's on YouTube: post #1 | post # 2 | post #3 | post #4 | 

Thanks to Mark Cantor for spotting the theatre. He's the author of "The Soundies: A History and Catalog of Jukebox Film Shorts of the 1940s." It's on Amazon.

See the pages about the Orpheum Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the 1926 vintage vaudeville house. It's at 842 S. Broadway.   

 

A Mills Novelty Co. Panoram machine on display at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Museum for "Regeneration," their 2022-2023 exhibit about early Black cinema.  The soundies were usually shot on 35mm. 16mm reversed prints were sent out in reels of 8 with the shorts featuring Black entertainers near the end of the reel. Soundies were distributed between 1941 and 1947. Photo: Bill Counter

See a Wikipedia article about Panorams. There's a World of Soundies Facebook page.