Bleeke Bet (1934)

The tragi-comedy Bleeke Bet/Pale Betty (Richard Oswald, Alex Benno, 1934) was one of the first Dutch sound films. The distributor Monopole Film ordered a series of postcards with pictures by photographer Dick van Maarseveen to promote the film. The film was a success in the Dutch cinemas.


Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Monopole Film. Aaf Bouber in Bleeke Bet (Alex Benno, Richard Oswald, 1934). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.


Dutch postcard by Monopole Film, Rotterdam. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen. Jopie Koopman in Bleeke Bet (Alex Benno, Richard Oswald, 1934). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.


Dutch postcard by Monopole Film, Rotterdam. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen. Fien de la Mar and Jopie Koopman in Bleeke Bet (Alex Benno, Richard Oswald, 1934).


Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Monopole Film / Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag. Fien(tje) de la Mar in Bleeke Bet (Alex Benno, Richard Oswald, 1934).


Dutch postcard by Monopole Film, Amsterdam. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag. Sylvain Poons and Johan Heesters in Bleeke Bet (Richard Oswald, Alex Benno, 1934). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.

A greengrocer in the Jordaan

The directors of Bleeke Bet/Pale Betty (1934) were Alex Benno, who had already directed several silent Dutch films and the Austrian director, producer, and screenwriter Richard Oswald.

From 1914 on, Oswald made dozens of films in Weimar Germany, including the comedy Der Hauptmann von Köpenick/The Captain from Köpenick (1931) and the horror-comedy Unheimliche Geschichten/Uncanny Stories (1932) starring Paul Wegener. Being Jewish, Oswald was forced to flee Nazi Germany, first for occupied France and later emigrating to the United States.

Alex Benno had also written the screenplay for Bleeke Bet. It was based on a popular stage melodrama, written by Herman Bouber in 1917. Benno and Bouber made a silent version of Bleeke Bet in 1923 with Alida van Gijtenbeek as Bet. After the amazing box office success of the sound film De Jantjes/The Tars (Jaap Speyer, 1933), also based on a play by Bouber, Benno got the green light for a sound version of Bleeke Bet.

In the new sound version, Bouber's wife, Aaf Bouber, played the title role of Bleeke Bet, a greengrocer in the Jordaan, the old neighbourhood in the heart of Amsterdam. Bet wants her daughter Jans (Jopie Koopman) to marry the son of a dodgy businessman, but Jans loves sailor Ko (the young Johannes Heesters).

Bet's attempts to drive them apart come to nothing but when Ko is reported lost at sea, a desperate Jans gives in to her mother's wishes. On the wedding day, Ko turns out to be alive and just in time to take his rightful place at the altar next to Jans. The still on the last postcard of this post shows the happy ending with Fien de la Mar as Ka in the centre.


Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Monopole Film. Fien(tje) de la Mar in Bleeke Bet (1934, Alex Benno, Richard Oswald). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.


Dutch postcard by M. B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Monopole Film, Rotterdam / Maarseveen, Den Haag. Johan(nes) Heesters in Bleeke Bet (1934).


Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Monopole Film / Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag. Corrie Vonk in Bleeke Bet (Alex Benno, Richard Oswald, 1934).


Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Monopole Film. Johan Elsensohn in Bleeke Bet (1934). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.


Dutch Postcard by Monopole Film, Rotterdam. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag. Fien de la Mar in Bleeke Bet (1934).


Dutch postcard by Monopole Film, Rotterdam. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag. Sylvain Poons in Bleeke Bet (1934).

Nazi censors

Bleeke Bet was a commercial success and would be re-issued in 1941 and 1961. In 1941 Jewish actors like Sylvain Poons were cut out of the picture by the Nazi censors.

Poons as the ice cream salesman Sally sings an evergreen in the film, 'IJslied' (Ice cream Song). The music was composed by emigrant Hans May and the lyrics were written by the later collaborator, Jacques van Tol.

The film has more wonderful songs, including Fien de la Mar's torch song 'Ik wil gelukkig zijn' (I want to be happy).

Fien de la Mar, Sylvain Poons and Johan Elsensohn as Bet's husband got positive reviews in the Dutch newspapers for their performances. The voice of Johannes Heesters was also complimented.

However, the film's reviews were mixed, but it did not matter to the producer: the public loved it.


Dutch postcard by Monopole Film, Rotterdam. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen. Still of a set built for Bleeke Bet (Alex Benno, Richard Oswald, 1934), a street in the old neighbourhood De Jordaan in Amsterdam. Set designer was Hans Ledersteger. The set would be used again for several other films.


Dutch postcard by Monopole Film. Photo: Maarseveen, Den Haag. Fien(tje) de la Mar and Jopie Koopman in Bleeke Bet (Alex Benno, Richard Oswald, 1934).


Dutch postcard by Monopole Film, Amsterdam. Photo: Maarseveen, Den Haag. Johan Elsensohn, Jopie Koopman, Clara Vischer-Blaaser, Corry Vonk, Fien de la Mar and Jan van Ees in Bleeke Bet (Richard Oswald, Alex Benno, 1934).


Dutch postcard by Monopole Film, Amsterdam. Photo: Maarseveen, Den Haag. Clara Vischer-Blaaser, Aaf Bouber, Sylvain Poons, Corry Vonk, Fien de la Mar and Jopie Koopman in Bleeke Bet (Richard Oswald, Alex Benno, 1934).


Dutch Postcard by Monopole Film, Rotterdam. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag (The Hague). Publicity still for Bleeke Bet (1934) with the main cast for the happy ending.


Dutch postcard by Monopole Film, Rotterdam. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag. Johan(nes) Heesters in Bleeke Bet (Richard Oswald, Alex Benno, 1934).

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.

De Jantjes (1934)

From this Friday on, EFSP will follow Cinefest, the 17th International Festival of German Film-Heritage in Hamburg. The theme of the festival is 'Cinema, War, and Tulips: German-Dutch Film Relations'. A landmark in the Dutch cinema is the musical drama De Jantjes/The Tars (Jaap Speyer, 1934). Before, director Jaap Speyer had a productive career in the silent German cinema of the 1920s. De Jantjes was the second Dutch sound film and a huge box office hit at the time. The film was based on a popular play by Herman Bouber and one of the leads was played by his wife, character actress Aaf Bouber.


Dutch postcard by Hollandia Film Prod. / Loet C. Barnstijn. Photo: Jan van Ees, Willy Castello, and Johan Kaart jr. in De Jantjes (1934).


Dutch postcard by Hollandia Film Prod. / Loet C. Barnstijn. Photo: Jan van Ees, Willy Castello, and Johan Kaart jr. in De Jantjes (1934).


Dutch postcard by M. Bonist & Zonen, Amsterdam, no. B 314. Photo: Loet C. Barnstijn / Hollandia Film Prod. Heintje Davids and Sylvain Poons in De Jantjes/The Tars (Jaap Speijer, 1934).

Jordaan Play

De Jantjes (the international title is The Tars) was based on a popular 'Jordaan play' (a play set in an old neighbourhood of Amsterdam, the Jordaan) by Herman Bouber.

The music of the songs was written by Louis Davids. The musical was performed for the first time in 1920 with Louis Davids and his wife Margie Morris in the principal parts. The musical is one of the classics of the Dutch entertainment world.

De Jantjes had already been adapted as a silent film in 1922 starring Louis Davids. In 1933 director Jaap Speyer, who had made many silent films in Germany, started to shoot a new sound version.

There was even a competition which film would be the first Dutch sound film in the cinema. The other competitor, Willem van Oranje/Willem of Orange (Jan Teunissen, 1934) won, but lost at the box office, and got the worst reviews.

De Jantjes/The Tars (Jaap Speyer, 1934) has nice camera work by Henk Alsem and Akos Farkas and a couple of classic Dutch songs. The cast is excellent including popular revue and film stars as Fien de la Mar, Cissy van Bennekom, Sylvain Poons, Heintje (Henriette) Davids and her brother Louis Davids, and Aaf Bouber, the wife of the author.

The title characters are three sailors, played by Jan van Ees, Willy Castello and Johan Kaart jr., who return from the Dutch Indies to their old neighbourhood. There they meet love and labour problems.


Dutch postcard by M. B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam) for Hollandia Film Prod. / Loet C. Barnstijn. Photo: Johan Kaart jr., Willy Castello, and Jan van Ees in De Jantjes (1934).


Dutch postcard by Hollandia Film Prod. / Loet C. Barnstijn. Photo:Joan Remmelts, Jan van Ees, Sylvain Poons, Johan Kaart jr., Henriëtte Davids, Willy Castello, Susie Klein in De Jantjes (1934).


Dutch postcard by Hollandia Film Prod. / Loet C. Barnstijn. Photo: Johan Kaart jr., Suzy Klein, Willy Castello, Heintje Davids, Jan van Ees and Sylvain Poons in De Jantjes (1934).

Aaf Bouber

Aaf Bouber (1885-1974), the wife of author Herman Bouber, played the central role of Aunt Piet in De Jantjes/The Tars (1934). She acted in several Dutch films from the 1910s into the 1950s.

As a child, she was already loving the stage and performed at parties and markets in her hometown Hoorn. When she was sixteen she left home for Amsterdam and was engaged for the variety show 'Amsterdam' starring Louisette and Chrétienne in grand theatre Carré.

In the following years, she worked with such Dutch stage legends as Willem Hart and Louis Bouwmeester. She also acted in silent films like Fatum (Theo Frenkel sr., 1914) with Louis Bouwmeester, the fisher drama Het wrak in de Noordzee (Theo Frenkel sr., 1915) and Genie tegen geweld (Theo Frenkel sr., 1916).

Then she met Herman Bouber, director of the Plantage Theatre. He helped her to develop into an incomparable character actress in his popular folk plays like 'De Jantjes', 'Bleeke Bet' and 'Oranje Hein' all situated in the old Amsterdam neighbourhood De Jordaan.

She also played in the silent films Cirque Hollandais/Dutch Circus (Theo Frenkel Sr., 1924) starring Louis Bouwmeester, Oranje Hein/Orange Hein (Alex Benno, 1925) and Klassenstrijd/Class Struggle (Willy Mullens, 1928).

In the many performances through the years of De Jantjes, Aaf Bouber (often billed as Aaf Bouber-ten Hoope) would play all the female roles. After the surprising success of the sound film version of De Jantjes (Jaap Speyer, 1934) she would play the title character in another film based on a play by her husband, Bleeke Bet/Pale Beth (Richard Oswald, Alex Benno, 1934), which also became a big hit.

Other films of the 1930s include the fisher drama Op hoop van Zegen (Alex Benno, Louis Saalborn, 1934), De Suikerfreule (Haro van Peski, 1935), another adaptation of Oranje Hein (Max Nosseck, 1936), Drie wensen/Three Wishes (Kurt Gerron, 1937), the Daddy Longlegs adaptation Vadertje Langbeen (Friedrich Zelnik a.k.a. Frederic Zelnik, 1938) and Ergens in Nederland/Somewhere in the Netherlands (Ludwig Berger, 1940). The latter film was just ready for release when the Netherlands was conquered by the Nazis, who forbade its exhibition.

During the war, she was seen in 7 maal 7/Seven Times Seven (Walter Smith a.o., 1942) and De laatste dagen van een eiland/The Final Days of an Island (Ernst Winar, 1942). After the war she made one more film, the comedy Sterren stralen overal/Stars Twinkle Everywhere (Gerard Rutten, 1953).

During her long career, she would also play hundreds of roles on the stage, radio and television. When Aaf Bouber was 85 she played her last role in the TV thriller Ritueel/Ritual (1970). She passed away in 1974.


Dutch postcard. Photo: Loet C. Barnstijn / Hollandia Film Prod. Aaf Bouber is seen on the left with at right Marie van Westerhoven as the gossip Betje in De Jantjes (1934).


Dutch postcard by Hollandia Film Prod. / Loet C. Barnstijn. Photo: Willy Castello, Suzie Klein, Johan Kaart jr., Marie van Westerhoven, and Jan van Ees in De Jantjes (1934).


Dutch postcard. Photo: Loet C. Barnstijn / Hollandia Film Prod. Heintje Davids and Sylvain Poons in De Jantjes (1934).

Sources: De Boubers (Dutch), Wikipedia (Dutch), and IMDb.

Aaf Bouber

Aaf Bouber (1885-1974) played the central role of Aunt Piet in the early Dutch sound film De Jantjes/The Tars (1934). Her husband, author-actor-director Herman Bouber wrote this milestone of Dutch cinema. From the 1910s into the 1950s, Aaf Bouber acted in several popular Dutch films.


Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Monopole Film. Aaf Bouber in Bleeke Bet (Alex Benno, Richard Oswald, 1934). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.


Dutch postcard by Loet C. Barnstijn / Hollandia Film Prod. On this postcard for De Jantjes (1934), Aaf Bouber is seen on the left with right actress Marie van Westerhoven as the gossip Betje.


Dutch postcard by Hollandia Film Prod. / Loet C. Barnstijn. Photo: Willy Costello, Suzie Klein, Johan Kaart jr., Marie van Westerhoven and Jan van Ees in De Jantjes (Jaap Speyer, 1934).

Incomparable character actress

Aaf Bouber was born as Aafje ten Hoope in Hoorn, the Netherlands in 1885. She was the daughter of goldsmith Cornelis ten Hoope and Antjen van der Woude. As a child, she was already loving the stage and performed at parties and markets in her hometown Hoorn.

When she was sixteen she left home for Amsterdam and was engaged for the variety show Amsterdam starring Louisette and Chrétienne in the royal theatre Carré. In the next years, she worked with such Dutch stage legends as Willem Hart and Louis Bouwmeester.

In 1907 she married Herman Bouber, director of the Plantage Theatre. He helped her to develop into an incomparable character actress in his popular folk plays like De Jantjes, Bleeke Bet, and Oranje Hein, all situated in the old Amsterdam neighbourhood de Jordaan.

She also acted in silent films like Fatum (Theo Frenkel sr., 1914) with Louis Bouwmeester, the fisher drama Het wrak van de Noordzee/The wreck of the North Sea (Theo Frenkel sr., 1915) and Genie tegen geweld/Genius against Violence (Theo Frenkel sr., 1916) with Chilean film star Adelqui Migliar, who was a star of the Dutch cinema in the 1910s.

During the 1920s, Bouber played in more silent films, including Cirque Hollandais/Dutch Circus (Theo Frenkel Sr., 1924) with Esther De Boer-van Rijk, Oranje Hein/Orange Hein (Alex Benno, 1925) as the wife of Johan Elsensohn, and Klassenstrijd/Class Struggle (Willy Mullens, 1928).


Dutch postcard by Monopole Film, Amsterdam. Photo: Maarseveen, Den Haag. Clara Vischer-Blaaser, Aaf Bouber, Sylvain Poons, Corry Vonk, Fien de la Mar and Jopie Koopman in the Dutch tragi-comedy Bleeke Bet (Richard Oswald, Alex Benno, 1934).


Dutch Postcard by Monopole Film, Rotterdam. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag (The Hague). Publicity still for Bleeke Bet (1934), with right in front, Aaf Bouber.

Classic fisher drama

Through the years Aaf Bouber (often billed as Aaf Bouber-ten Hoope) would play all the female roles in De Jantjes. After the surprising success of the sound film version, De Jantjes/The Tars (Jaap Speyer, 1934) in which she played Aunt Piet, she played the title character in another play by her husband, Bleeke Bet/Pale Betty (Richard Oswald, Alex Benno, 1934). It became another big hit.

Her other films of the 1930s include the fisher drama Op hoop van Zegen/The Good Hope (Alex Benno, Louis Saalborn, 1934) based on the classic play by Herman Heyermans, De Suikerfreule/The Sugar Lady (Haro van Peski, 1935), another adaptation of Oranje Hein/Orange Hein (Max Nosseck, 1936) with her husband in the title role, and De Drie wensen/The Three Wishes (Kurt Gerron, 1937) with Annie van Duyn.

She also appeared in Veertig jaren/Forty Years (Johan De Meester, Edmond T. Gréville, 1938), Vadertje Langbeen/Daddy Longlegs (Friedrich Zelnik aka Frederic Zelnik, 1938), Morgen gaat het beter/Tomorrow It Will Be Better (Friedrich Zelnik, 1939), and Ergens in Nederland/Somewhere in the Netherlands (Ludwig Berger, 1940), which all starred Lily Bouwmeester, the biggest Dutch film star of the 1930s.

Ergens in Nederland was just ready for release when the Netherlands was conquered by the Nazis, who forbade its release. During the war, Bouber was seen in 7 maal 7/7 x 7 (Walter Smith a.o., 1942) and De laatste dagen van een eiland/The last days of an island (Ernst Winar, 1938-1942).

After the war, she made one more film, the comedy Sterren stralen overal/Stars twinkle everywhere (Gerard Rutten, 1953) with the popular comic duo Willy Walden and Piet Muyselaar. During her long career, she would play hundreds of roles on stage, radio, and television. When she was 85 she played her last role in the TV thriller Ritueel/Ritual (1970). Aaf Bouber died in 1974 in Amsterdam, at the age of 88.


Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / M.H.D. Film. Esther de Boer van Rijk, Aaf Bouber, Cissy van Bennekom, Clara Visscher, and Annie Verhulst in Op Hoop van Zegen (Alex Benno, Louis Saalborn, 1934).


Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / M.H.D. Film. Esther de Boer-van Rijk and Aaf Bouber in Op Hoop van Zegen (Alex Benno, Louis Saalborn, 1934).


Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / M.H.D. Film. Aaf Bouber and Clara Visscher in Op Hoop van Zegen (Alex Benno, Louis Saalborn, 1934). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.

Sources: De Boubers (Bouber.nl - Dutch), Film in Nederland (Dutch - now defunct), Wikipedia (Dutch), and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 23 July 2023.