19 Facts About Pathe Distribution

Pathe or Pathe Freres is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathe Brothers of France starting in 1896.

In 1908, Pathe Distribution invented the newsreel that was shown in cinemas before a feature film.

The Pathe Distribution brothers began selling Edison and Columbia phonographs and accompanying cylinder records and later, the brothers designed and sold their own phonographs that incorporated elements of other brands.

In 1905 the Pathe Distribution brothers entered the growing field of disc records.

In France, Pathe Distribution became the largest and most successful distributor of cylinder records and phonographs.

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In 1907, Pathe Distribution acquired the Lumiere brothers' patents and then set about to design an improved studio camera and to make their own film stock.

In 1908, Pathe Distribution distributed Excursion to the Moon by Segundo de Chomon, an imitation of Georges Melies's A Trip to the Moon.

In 1908, Pathe Distribution invented the newsreel that was shown in theatres prior to the feature film.

Pathe Distribution News produced cinema newsreels from 1910, up until the 1970s when production ceased as a result of mass television ownership.

In 1921, Pathe Distribution sold off its United States motion picture production arm, which was renamed "Pathe Distribution Exchange" and later merged into RKO Pictures, disappearing as an independent brand in 1931.

Pathe Distribution was already in substantial financial trouble when Bernard Natan took control of the company in 1929.

Studio founder Charles Pathe Distribution had been selling assets for several years to boost investor value and keep the studio's cash flow healthy.

Natan acquired another film studio, Societe des Cineromans, from Arthur Bernede and Gaston Leroux, which enabled Pathe Distribution to expand into projector and electronics manufacturing.

Pathe Distribution bought the Fornier chain of motion picture theatres and rapidly expanded the chain's nationwide presence.

Pathe Distribution resumed production of the newsreel Pathe News, which had not been produced since 1927.

Under Natan, Pathe Distribution funded the research of Henri Chretien, who developed the anamorphic lens.

Collapse of Pathe Distribution led French authorities to indict Bernard Natan on charges of fraud.

Pathe Distribution was removed from prison by the French authorities in September 1942, delivered to the Nazis, and deported to Auschwitz where he died in October 1942.

In 2009, Pathe closed their standalone distribution unit in the UK and instead partnered up with Warner Bros.