The unique 1935 sound film of the Amsterdam’s Great Synagogue Choir (1,2,3) was made by the popular Polygoon journalist Jo Levi.

Wondering who Jo Levi was , I searched online, and found this picture below (20241107_1) with Jo Levi.
Jo Levi is the second man from the left in this postwar photo of Polygoon men, posted by former Polygoon editor Fredo Krooshof at Cinecentrum Hilversum (4).

Jo Levi together with Philip Bloemendal directed the Dutch cinema news for Polygoon. Philip Bloemendal , nicknamed “The voice of the Netherlands” , was for 40 years (from 1946 to 1986) the Dutch cinema newsreel announcer, voice-over, and editor . His voice-overs are The Voice of the postwar Dutch Polygoon news reels.

“Where they are not, nothing is happening” was the motto (5) of the cameramen of the Polygoon newsreel company in Holland.

May 1931 , two dutch newsreel companies, Polygoon in the city of Haarlem, and Profilti in The Hague, were competing to have the premiere of the first Dutch cinema newsreel with sound.
Below a May 17, 1931 Polygoon interview (6) with former cyclist and sportsman W.W. van der Vet on the occasion of his 85th birthday (20241107_2).

Polygoon News Reel May 17, 1931 • Miracles•Media • 20241107_2 • TakeNode 1967b92c-e090-40b3-84fb-d713aebddcc2

The interviewer, most likely Jo Levi, looks at the camera for a moment , captured in this film still shown below ( 20241107_3).

Notes

1. Amsterdam’s Choir of the Great Synagogue 1935 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • 20190830 • URL https://michelvanderburg.com/2019/08/30/amsterdams-choir-of-the-great-synagogue-1935/

2. 1935 Sound Film Amsterdam’s Great Synagogue Choir • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • 20241025 • URL https://michelvanderburg.com/2024/10/25/1935-sound-film-amsterdams-great-synagogue-choir-20241025/

3. 1935 Sound Film Amsterdam’s Great Synagogue Choir • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • 20241025 • URL https://michelvanderburg.substack.com/p/1935-sound-film-amsterdams-great

4. Cinecentrum Hilversum. URL https://www.cinecentrum-hilversum.nl (Retrieved Oct. 25, 2024).

5. Polygoon (newsreel). Wikipedia (Retrieved 20241107). URL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygoon_(newsreel)

6. Opa Vet (sportopa) voor de microfoon. Published 17 May 1931. Polygoon Hollands Nieuws (producer) / Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid (Open Beelden archive)

Citation info : Polygoon Journalist Jo Levi • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • 20241107