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== History<!--;Société Pathé Frères; and 'Pathé Frères' redirect here--> == [[File:Adrien Barrère13.jpg|220px|thumb|right|The Pathé Brothers by [[Adrien Barrère]]]] The company was founded as '''Société Pathé Frères'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> ({{IPA|fr|pate fʁɛʁ|lang}}; "Pathé Brothers Company") in [[Paris]], France on 28 September 1896, by the four brothers [[Charles Pathé|Charles]], Émile, Théophile and Jacques Pathé.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/SILNMAHTL_29067|title=Trade catalogs from Pathé Frères SA|website=[[National Museum of American History]]|access-date=29 August 2017|archive-date=29 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829163048/https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/SILNMAHTL_29067|url-status=live}}</ref> During the first part of the 20th century, Pathé became the largest film equipment and production company in the world,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bowrey |first=Kathy |title=Copyright, Creativity, Big Media and Cultural Value: Incorporating the Author |publisher=Routledge |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-429-57509-9 |location=Oxon |language=en}}</ref> as well as a major producer of [[phonograph records]]. [[File:Film House 142 Wardour Street London Redvers.jpg|220px|thumb|right|Headquarters of Associated British-Pathé at 142 Wardour Street in London]] === Pathé Records === {{main|Pathé Records}} The driving force behind the film operation and phonograph business was [[Charles Pathé]], who had helped open a [[phonograph]]<!-- cylinder records and machines only until 1906 --> shop in 1894 and established a phonograph factory at [[Chatou]] on the western outskirts of Paris. The Pathé brothers began selling Edison and Columbia phonographs and accompanying [[cylinder record]]s and later, the brothers designed and sold their own phonographs that incorporated elements of other brands.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hoffmann|first=Frank|author2=Howard Ferstler|title=The Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound|publisher=CRC Press|year=2005|isbn=0-415-93835-X}}</ref> Soon after, they also started marketing pre-recorded cylinder records. By 1896 the Pathé brothers had offices and [[recording studio]]s not only in Paris, but also in [[London]], [[Milan]], and [[St. Petersburg]]. Pathé manufactured cylinder records until approximately 1914. In 1905,<ref name="PatheInAmerica">{{cite book|last=Copeland|first=George|author2=Ronald Dethlefson|title=Pathé Records and Phonographs in America, 1914-1922|publisher=Mulholland Press|location=Los Angeles, CA|year=1999|edition=1|oclc=44146208|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K6g4AQAAIAAJ|access-date=28 November 2020|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703215827/https://books.google.com/books?id=K6g4AQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> the Pathé brothers entered the growing field of [[Gramophone record|disc records]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://obsoletemedia.org/pathe-vertical-cut-record/|title=Pathé vertical-cut disc record (1905 – 1932) – Museum Of Obsolete Media|website=www.obsoletemedia.org|date=18 May 2015|language=en-GB|access-date=12 February 2018|archive-date=9 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209044402/https://obsoletemedia.org/pathe-vertical-cut-record/|url-status=live}}</ref> In France, Pathé became the largest and most successful distributor of cylinder records and phonographs. These, however, failed to make headway in foreign markets such as the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]] where other brands were already in widespread use.<ref name="discovering">{{cite book|last=Fabrizio|first=Timothy|author2=George Paul|title=Discovering Antique Phonographs|publisher=Sciffer Publishing Ltd.|location=Atglen PA|year=2000|isbn=0-7643-1048-8}}</ref> In December 1928, the French and British Pathé phonograph assets were sold to the British [[Columbia Graphophone Company]]. In July 1929, the assets of the American Pathé record company were merged into the newly formed [[American Record Corporation]].<ref name="PatheInAmerica" /> The Pathé and Pathé-Marconi labels and catalogue still survive, first as imprints of [[EMI]] and now currently EMI's successor [[Parlophone|Parlophone Records]]. In 1967 [[EMI Italiana]] took control of the entire catalog. In turn, the [[Universal Music Group]] acquired EMI Italiana in 2013. === Pathé films === As the phonograph business became successful, Pathé saw the opportunities offered by new means of entertainment and in particular by the fledgling [[motion picture]] industry. Having decided to expand the record business to include film equipment, the company expanded dramatically. To finance its growth, the company took the name '''Compagnie Générale des Établissements Pathé Frères Phonographes & Cinématographes''' (sometimes abbreviated as '''CGPC''') in 1897, and its shares were listed on the [[Paris Stock Exchange]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.victorian-cinema.net/pathe|title=Who's Who of Victorian Cinema|website=www.victorian-cinema.net|access-date=18 June 2020|archive-date=29 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629092110/https://www.victorian-cinema.net/pathe|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1896, [[Mitchell Mark]] of [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], [[New York (state)|New York]], became the first American to import Pathé films to the United States, where they were shown in the Vitascope Theater.<ref>Abel 1999, pp. 23–24.</ref> In 1907, Pathé acquired the [[Auguste and Louis Lumière|Lumière brothers]]' patents and then set about to design an improved studio camera and to make their own film stock. Their technologically advanced equipment, new processing facilities built at [[Vincennes]], and aggressive merchandising combined with efficient distribution systems allowed them to capture a huge share of the international market. They first expanded to [[London]] in 1902 where they set up production facilities and a chain of cinemas.<ref name="Abel 1999, p. 25">Abel 1999, p. 25.</ref> By 1909, Pathé had built more than 200 cinemas in France and Belgium and by the following year they had facilities in [[Madrid]], [[Moscow]], [[Rome]] and [[New York City]] plus Australia and Japan. Slightly later, they opened a film exchange in [[Buffalo, New York]].<ref name="Abel 1999, p. 25"/> Through its [[Pathé Exchange|American subsidiary]], it was part of the [[Motion Picture Patents Company|MPPC]] cartel of production in the United States. It participated in the [[Paris Film Congress]] in February 1909 as part of a plan to create a similar European organisation. The company withdrew from the project in a second meeting in April which fatally undermined the proposal. In 1906, Pathé Frères had pioneered the luxury cinema with the opening of the Omnia Cinéma-Pathé in Paris.<ref>{{cite web|title=Arcades|work=Cinema Treasures|url=https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/34353|accessdate=1 December 2023}}</ref> Prior to the outbreak of [[World War I]], Pathé dominated Europe's market in motion picture cameras and projectors. It has been estimated<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.electrolux.co.uk/innovation/campaigns/temp-cannes/le-menu-de-cannes/articles/how-to-get-the-cannes1/|title=Film and Electrolux through the ages|publisher=[[Electrolux]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201163940/http://www.electrolux.co.uk/Innovation/Campaigns/Temp-Cannes/Le-menu-de-Cannes/Articles/How-to-get-the-Cannes1/|archive-date=1 February 2014|access-date=13 January 2013}}</ref> that at one time, 60 percent of all films were shot with Pathé equipment. In 1908, Pathé distributed ''[[Excursion to the Moon]]'' by Segundo de Chomón, an imitation of [[Georges Méliès]]'s ''[[A Trip to the Moon]]''. Pathé and Méliès worked together in 1911.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harison |first=Casey |title=Paris in Modern Times: From the Old Regime to the Present Day |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-350-00553-2 |location=London |pages=208 |language=en}}</ref> Méliès made a film ''[[Baron Munchausen's Dream]]'', his first film to be distributed by Pathé. Pathé's relationship with Méliès soured, and after he went bankrupt in 1913, his last film was never released by Pathé.<ref>Abel 1999, p. 26.</ref> After World War I, Charles Pathé started divesting himself from various film interests, believing that the French film industry would never recover after 1918.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ward |first=Richard Lewis |title=A History of the Hal Roach Studios |publisher=SIU Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-8093-2637-X |location=Carbondale |pages=34 |language=en}}</ref> The company's subsequent decline relegated Pathé primarily as a distributor of short subjects and it became a minor player in the mainstream film industry.<ref name=":0" /> === Innovations === Worldwide, the company emphasised research, investing in such experiments as hand-coloured film and the synchronisation of film and gramophone recordings. In 1908, Pathé invented the [[newsreel]] that was shown in theatres prior to the feature film. The news clips featured the Pathé logo of a crowing rooster at the beginning of each reel. {{anchor|Pathescope}}In 1912, it introduced [[28 mm film|28 mm non-flammable film]] and equipment under the brand name Pathescope. [[Pathé News]] produced cinema newsreels from 1910, up until the 1970s when production ceased as a result of mass television ownership.<ref name="researcher'sguide">''Researcher's Guide to British Newsreels'' 1993, p. 80.</ref> In the United States, beginning in 1914, the company built film production studios in [[Fort Lee, New Jersey|Fort Lee]] and Jersey City, New Jersey, where their building still stands. [[The Heights, Jersey City]] produced the extremely successful serialised episodes called ''[[The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial)|The Perils of Pauline]]''. By 1918 Pathé had grown to the point where it was necessary to separate operations into two distinct divisions. With Emile Pathé as chief executive, [[Pathé Records]] dealt exclusively with phonographs and recordings. Brother Charles managed ''Pathé-Cinéma'', which was responsible for film production, distribution, and exhibition.<ref name="Abel 1999, pp. 32–35">Abel 1999, pp. 32–35.</ref> In 1922 they introduced the ''Pathé Baby'' home film system using a new [[9.5 mm film|9.5 mm film stock]], which became popular during the next few decades. In 1921, Pathé sold off its United States motion picture production arm. It was renamed "[[Pathé Exchange]]" and later merged into [[RKO Pictures]], disappearing as an independent brand in 1931. Pathé sold its British film studios to [[Eastman Kodak]] in 1927, while maintaining the theatre and distribution arm.<ref name="Abel 1999, pp. 32–35"/> [[File:La Cité foudroyée (1924).webm|220px|thumb|Pathé-Baby [[9.5 mm film]] version of ''La Cité foudroyée'' (1924)]] === Natan to Parretti<!--'Pathé Communications' redirects here--> === Pathé was already in substantial financial trouble when [[Bernard Natan]] took control of the company in 1929. Studio founder [[Charles Pathé]] had been selling assets for several years to boost investor value and keep the studio's cash flow healthy. The company's founder had even sold Pathé's name and "rooster" trademark to other companies in return for a mere two percent of revenues. Natan had the bad luck to take charge of the studio just as the [[Great Depression]] convulsed the French economy.<ref name="History">Willems, Gilles "Les origines de Pathé-Natan" In ''Une Histoire Économique du Cinéma Français (1895–1995), Regards Croisés Franco-Américains'', Pierre-Jean Benghozi and Christian Delage, eds. Paris: Harmattan, Collection Champs Visuels, 1997. English translation: [https://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/classics/rr1199/gwrr8b.htm "The origins of Pathé-Natan."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109223643/http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/classics/rr1199/gwrr8b.htm |date=9 January 2008 }} ''La Trobe University''. Retrieved: 1 January 2017.</ref><ref name="FirstWave">Abel, Richard. ''French Cinema: The First Wave 1915–1929'' Paperback ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987, {{ISBN|0-691-00813-2}}.</ref> Natan attempted to steady Pathé's finances and implement modern film industry practices at the studio. He acquired another film studio, [[Société des Cinéromans]], from [[Arthur Bernède]] and [[Gaston Leroux]], which let Pathé expand into projector and electronics manufacturing. He also bought the Fornier chain of motion picture theatres and rapidly expanded the chain's nationwide presence.<ref name="History"/><ref name="FirstWave"/><ref name="Origins">{{cite journal |last=Willems |first=Gilles |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/xxs_0294-1759_1995_num_46_1_3157 |title=Les Origines du Groupe Pathé-Natan et le Modele Americain |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214182303/https://www.persee.fr/doc/xxs_0294-1759_1995_num_46_1_3157 |archive-date=14 December 2019 |journal=Vingtième Siècle |volume=46 |date=April–June 1995 |pages=98–106 |doi=10.3406/xxs.1995.3157 |lang=fr}}</ref> The French press, however, attacked Natan mercilessly for his stewardship of Pathé. Many of these attacks were [[antisemitism|antisemitic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/dec/14/bernard-natan-pathe-cinema-holocaust-victim-france-film-industry|title=In need of rehabilitation: Bernard Natan, the Holocaust victim who saved France's film industry|last1=Hutchinson|first1=Pamela|date=14 December 2015|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=22 November 2017|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031145/https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/dec/14/bernard-natan-pathe-cinema-holocaust-victim-france-film-industry|url-status=live}}</ref> Pathé-Natan did well under Natan's guidance. Between 1930 and 1935, despite the world economic crisis, the company made 100 million [[French franc|francs]] in profits, and produced and released more than 60 feature films (just as many films as major American studios produced at the time). He resumed production of the newsreel [[Pathé News]], which had not been produced since 1927.<ref name="History"/> Natan also invested heavily into research and development to expand Pathé's film business. In 1929, he pushed Pathé into [[sound film]]. In September, the studio produced its first sound feature film, and its first sound newsreel a month later. Natan also launched two new cinema-related magazines, ''Pathé-Revue'' and ''Actualités Féminines'', to help market Pathé's films and build consumer demand for cinema. Under Natan, Pathé also funded the research of [[Henri Chrétien]], who developed the [[Anamorphic format|anamorphic lens]] (leading to the creation of [[CinemaScope]] and other [[widescreen]] film formats common today).<ref name="FirstWave"/><ref name="Origins"/> Natan expanded Pathé's business interests into communications industries other than film. In November 1929, Natan established France's first [[television]] company, [[Télévision-Baird-Natan]]. A year later, he purchased a [[radio]] station in [[Paris]] and formed a holding company (Radio-Natan-Vitus) to run what would become a burgeoning radio empire.<ref name="History"/><ref name="FirstWave"/><ref name="Origins"/> In order to finance the company's continued expansion, Pathé's board of directors (which still included Charles Pathé) had voted in 1930 to issue shares worth 105 million francs. Then the [[Great Depression in France|Great Depression]] hit France in 1931, and only 50 percent of the shares were purchased. One of the investor banks collapsed due to financial difficulties unrelated to Pathé's problems, and Pathé was forced to follow through with the purchase of several cinema chains it no longer could afford to buy. Although the company continued to make a profit, it lost more money thanks to these acquisitions than it could bring in.<ref name="FirstWave"/><ref name="Origins"/> In 1935, a commercial court began examining Pathé's accounts, and by 1936 it was declared bankrupt and Natan was dismissed.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The Regained Dignity of Filmmaker Bernard Natan - Nonfiction.fr le portail des livres et des idées |url=https://www.nonfiction.fr/article-11901-the-regained-dignity-of-filmmaker-bernard-natan.htm |access-date=10 January 2024 |website=www.nonfiction.fr |language=fr}}</ref> The studios were not doing badly and continued to make films,<ref name=":1" /> but his companies went into receivership and were claimed by the state. French authorities pursued charges of [[fraud]] against Natan, including financing the purchase of the company without any collateral, of bilking investors by establishing fictitious [[shell corporation]]s, and financial mismanagement. He was also accused of hiding his Romanian and Jewish heritage by changing his name. In 1938, Natan was arrested and imprisoned, never to regain his freedom. In 1939 he was [[indictment|indicted]] and sentenced to four years in jail.<ref name=":1" /> As a result, he was in prison when France fell to the Nazis, a time when other Jewish filmmakers fled or went into hiding. On his release from prison in 1942, he was delivered to the Nazis, and by September 1942 had been deported to [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]], where he was murdered.<ref name="History"/><ref name="FirstWave"/><ref name="Origins"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Neshitov |first=Tim |date=15 August 2016 |title=Ein vergessenes Leben |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/arte-ein-vergessenes-leben-1.3121289 |access-date=10 January 2024 |website=Süddeutsche.de |language=de}}</ref> In 1943, the company was forced to undergo a restructuring, and was acquired by Adrien Ramauge, changing its name to Société Nouvelle Pathé Cinema.<ref>Gant [https://books.google.com/books?id=EAO7AAAAIAAJ&q=Adrien+Ramauge,+Path%C3%A9 1999, p. 370.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703215836/https://books.google.com/books?id=EAO7AAAAIAAJ&q=Adrien+Ramauge,+Path%C3%A9 |date=3 July 2023 }}</ref> Over the years, the business underwent a number of changes including diversification into producing programmes for the burgeoning television industry. During the 1970s, operating theatres overtook film production as Pathé's primary source of revenue. In the late 1980s, Italian financier [[Giancarlo Parretti]] tried to make a bid for Pathé, even taking over [[The Cannon Group, Inc.|Cannon]] and renaming it '''Pathé Communications'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> in anticipation of owning the storied studio. Parretti's shady past, however, raised enough eyebrows in the French government that the deal fell through. It turned out to be a fortunate decision, as Parretti later took over [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], and merged it with his Pathé Communications Group to create [[MGM-Pathé Communications]] in 1990, only to lose it in bankruptcy in late 1991. === Jérôme Seydoux === In 1990 [[Chargeurs]], a French conglomerate led by Jérôme Seydoux, took control of the company.<ref>[https://www.ketupa.net/pathe.htm "Pathé, Gaumont and Seydoux: Pathe."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924031006/http://ketupa.net/pathe.htm |date=24 September 2010 }} ''Ketupa.net''. Retrieved: 19 October 2010.</ref> As a result of the deregulation of the French telecommunications market, in June 1999 Pathé merged with [[Vivendi]], with the exchange ratio for the merger fixed at three Vivendi shares for every two Pathé shares. ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' estimated the value of the deal at US$2.59 billion. Following the completion of the merger, Vivendi retained Pathé's interests in [[British Sky Broadcasting]] and [[CanalSatellite]], a French broadcasting corporation,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/1999/biz/news/vivendi-nabs-sat-stakes-for-pathe-merger-1117502860/|title=Vivendi nabs sat stakes for Pathe merger|last=Williams|first=Michael|date=8 June 1999|work=Variety|access-date=29 August 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=29 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829171645/http://variety.com/1999/biz/news/vivendi-nabs-sat-stakes-for-pathe-merger-1117502860/|url-status=live}}</ref> but then sold all remaining assets to Jérôme Seydoux's family-owned corporation, Fornier SA, which changed its name to Pathé.
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