The ‘Jordaan’ Film

Once the sound film had been introduced at the beginning of the 1930s, well-known revue stars such as Fien de la Mar, Sylvain Poons and Heintje & Louis Davids had the opportunity to sing in films. The ‘Jordaan’ films are good examples of this. These films took place in the lower-middle-class milieu of a working-class neighbourhood in Amsterdam called the Jordaan. In addition to the songs sung by well-known stars and the Jordaan as a familiar backdrop, the Jordaan films were also characterised by their farcical plots.

Although there had been other farces filmed in the same Amsterdam neighbourhood in as early as 1917, the first film that can truly be called a ‘Jordaan’ film was De Jantjes, made in 1934.

Herman Bouber´s plays

De Jantjes, based on a famous play by Herman Bouber, was a major hit in its time and played for weeks in the cinema, contrary to running for only one week, which was usual in those days. The national newspaper De Telegraaf called it ‘warm, captivating, and humorous’ and described it as a ‘Dutch film that speaks to the Dutch heart’.

After the successful De Jantjes, another of Bouber’s popular plays called ‘Bleeke Bet’ was made into a film. Just like ‘De Jantjes’, it had been performed for years on the stage. Made with the same ingredients as the previous Jordaan film, Bleeke Bet was panned by reviewers, but audiences loved it nevertheless. Audiences’ interest in these films even led to the filming of a third Jordaan play by Bouber called ‘Oranje Hein’, which was also a success.

In addition to De Jantjes, Bleeke Bet and Oranje Hein, there were several other films made in the 1930s which, even though they took place elsewhere, still resembled Jordaan films in their use of a familiar concept consisting of popular revue stars performing songs as part of a farcical story. However, these productions, such as Malle gevallen, De familie van mijn vrouw and Op stap, didn’t draw audiences like the aforementioned Jordaan films did. After a few years, viewers had had enough of this genre. The farcical Jordaan film would be replaced during the course of the 1930s with a series of light comedies by producer Rudolf Meyer, with the main characters played by Lily Bouwmeester.

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