Panoram

It was conceived and produced by the Mills Novelty Company under several patents, including 123,473 and 2,286,200,[1][2] which involve the cabinet design and endless reel workings.

The successful launch of the Panoram allowed for the largest single order of these RCA products up to that time.

Costing $1,000 to end-use locations (or $695 to regional distributors),[3] the popular machines found their way into countless soda shops, taverns, bus and train stations, and other public places across America.

Called Soundies,[7] these films featured many of the great musical stars of the period, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Cab Calloway.

Most of the approximately 1800 Soundies films survive and are considered a priceless archive of 1940s popular music and performers.

The Soundies films were printed backwards (mirror image) so that they would appear in a correct orientation when played in a Panoram machine.