Pathé Exchange, commonly known as Pathé, was an American film production and distribution company, largely of Hollywood's silent era. Known for its trailblazing newsreel and wide array of shorts, it grew out of the American division of the major French studio Pathé Frères, which began distributing films in the United States in 1904. Ten years later, it produced the enormously successful The Perils of Pauline, a twenty-episode serial that came to define the genre. The American operation was incorporated as Pathé Exchange toward the end of 1914 and spun off as an independent entity in 1921; the Merrill Lynch investment firm acquired a controlling stake. The following year, it released Robert J. Flaherty's groundbreaking documentary Nanook of the North. Other notable feature releases included the controversial drama Sex (1920) and director/producer Cecil B. DeMille's box-office-topping biblical epic The King of Kings (1927/28). During much of the 1920s, Pathé distributed the shorts of comedy pioneers Hal Roach and Mack Sennett and innovative animator Paul Terry. For Roach and then his own production company, acclaimed comedian Harold Lloyd starred in many feature and short releases from Pathé and the closely linked Associated Exhibitors, including the 1925 smash hit The Freshman.
Poster for the comedic short Bungalow Boobs (1924), with the genre brand "Pathécomedy" and global Pathé rooster logo at the bottom
Poster for the final episode of The Perils of Pauline (1914), the genre-defining serial
December 1930 Photoplay ad showing Pathé's top stars during the studio's final days
Flyer promoting RKO Pathé's 1939 releases—at this point, most of its shorts were one-reelers. Even within this single promotional item, a hyphen came and went in the brand name.
Pathé is a major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe.
The Pathé Brothers by Adrien Barrère
Headquarters of Associated British-Pathé at 142 Wardour Street in London
Pathé multiplex in Dietlikon, Switzerland