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.

Jan van Ees

Jan van Ees (1896-1966) was a popular Dutch actor and author of several stage plays. He was one of the title characters of the film classic De Jantjes/The Tars (1934) and starred in four more Dutch films of the 1930s.


Dutch postcard by Uitgave Weenenk & Snel, Den Haag. Photo: Willem Coret.


Dutch postcard by Hollandia Film Prod. / Loet C. Barnstijn. Photo: publicity still for De Jantjes/The Tars (Jaap Speyer, 1934) with Jan van Ees, Willy Costello and Johan Kaart.


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

De Jantjes

Johannes Cornelis van Ees was born in Leiden, the Netherlands in 1896. His parents were Christiaan van Ees and Maria van Steenwijk. His siblings were actress Annie van Ees, Chris van Ees en Hendrik Lambertus van Ees.

Jan attended the HBS (Higher Civic School) in Leiden and had an office job in Amsterdam for some time. In 1914, he started his acting career in Rotterdam and he joined the company of Peter Diederick van Eysden, where he was taught by Louis Chrispijn and Alida Tartaud-Klein.

During his career, Jan van Ees worked for different stage companies and also wrote several plays, of which five were published in the stage journal Het Masker (The Mask) (1921-1922).

Together with Eduard Veterman, he published a 1922 monograph on brother-in-law Cor van der Lugt Melsert who had married Jan's sister Annie van Ees. Two years later he published the decadent novel, 'De hoornen van de maan' (The Horns of the Moon), for which Veterman made Aubrey Beardsley-like illustrations.

He made his film debut in the lead role of the silent melodrama Voorbeschikten/Predestined (Tonny Stevens, 1920). He also appeared in the silent production Nul uur nul/Zero Hour Zero (Simon Koster, Curt Oertel, 1928) with his sister Annie van Ees, but his film career went into a higher gear when sound film was introduced in the Netherlands.


Dutch postcard by Vereenigd Rotterdamsch Hofstadtooneel. Photo: Willem Coret, The Hague. Annie van Ees, Jan van Ees, Anton Roemer and Cor van der Lugt Melsert in the stage play 'Boefje' (1922). Caption: "Jan in the brother's house".


Dutch postcard by Hollandia Film Prod. / Loet C. Barnstijn. Photo: publicity still for De Jantjes/The Tars (Jaap Speyer, 1934) with Willy Costello, Jan van Ees and Johan Kaart.


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).

The love of his life

Together with Willy Costello and Johan Kaart, Jan van Ees played the three tars in the Jordaan musical De Jantjes/The Tars (Jaap Speyer, 1934). It was only the second Dutch sound film and a huge popular and critical success.

In the next three years, he made four more films. First, he appeared in another popular Jordaan musical, Bleeke Bet/Bleak Beth (Richard Oswald, Alex Benno, 1934), featuring Aaf Bouber.

Then he appeared with Esther de Boer-van Rijk and Frits van Dongen (aka Philip Dorn) in the fisher drama Op hoop van Zegen/Hoping For Blessing (Alex Benno, Louis Saalborn, 1935), based on the often filmed play by Herman Heijermans.

The other two films were the army comedy De Big van het regiment/The Regiment’s Mascot (Max Nosseck, Jan Teunissen, 1936), and the comedy Op een avond in mei/One evening in May (Jaap Speyer, 1936) starring Johan Elsensohn. The latter was a flop and Van Ees' film career halted.

In these films - and also on stage, Jan van Ees often co-starred with Fien de la Mar. Although he was married, she became the love of his life. After he broke up the affair, he made tours through the Dutch West and East Indies between 1936 and 1939.


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


Dutch postcard by Hollandia Film Prod. / Loet C. Barnstijn. Photo: publicity still for De Jantjes (Jaap Speyer, 1934).


Dutch postcard by Hollandia Film Prod. / Loet C. Barnstijn. Photo: publicity still for De Jantjes (Jaap Speyer, 1934).

Radio detective

Between 1940 and 1945, Jan van Ees was active as a playwright, lyricist, actor, and director. In the war, he worked together with Cor van der Lugt Melsert, first at the Dutch NV Tooneel. In 1942, Van Ees moved with a large part of the Dutch NV Tooneel over to the Municipal Theater Company Amsterdam, Het Netherlands Tooneel of which Cor van der Lugt was the intendant.

In 1945, after the war, he worked as a cabaret artist. Hij wrote texts for Floris Meslier, for whose Theater Plezier (Pleasure Theatre) he performed till 1952. Legendary Dutch cabaret artist Toon Hermans started his career here. Jan van Ees also appeared in the film Morgen komt Mummelman!/Tomorrow Arrives Mummelman! (Alan Penning, 1947).

From 1952 on he mainly worked for the radio and became famous for his portrayal of detective Paul Vlaanderen in a long series of radio plays based on the novels by Francis Durbridge. In 1954 Van Ees published his stage memories under the title 'Wat krijgen we nou?' (What the hell?). He also translated many plays from English to Dutch under the pseudonym Johan Bennik.

On Dutch television, he was seen in the TV dramas Arme Bitos/Poor Bitos (Joris Diels, 1962), based on a play by Jean Anouilh, and De kersentuin/The Cherry Garden (Willy van Hemert, 1963) an adaptation of the play by Anton Chekhov.

Jan van Ees died in 1966 in Hilversum. He was 70. He is interred at the Begraafplaats Westerveld in Driehuis. Jan van Ees was married four times. His wives were Elisabeth Verjans (before 1927), Cornelia Lamberta van Os (1927-1930), Leentje Gast (1940-1946) and finally actress Lucy van Ees. He was the father of radio play actress Annemarie (du Pon-) van Ees.


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


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. The set designer was Hans Ledersteger.


Dutch Postcard by Monopole Film, Rotterdam. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag (The Hague). The still from Bleeke Bet (Alex Benno, Richard Oswald, 1934) shows the happy ending within the centre Jan van Ees and Fien de la Mar as Ka.

Sources: De TheaterEncyclopedie (Dutch), Bekende Dode Nederlanders (Dutch), Film in Nederland (Dutch - now defunct), Wikipedia (Dutch) and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 9 February 2024.

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.