Pathé Exchange, commonly known as Pathé, was an American film production and distribution company, largely of Hollywood's silent era. Known for its groundbreaking 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 following year, it released Robert J. Flaherty's influential documentary Nanook of the North. Other notable feature releases included the controversial drama Sex (1920) and director/producer Cecil B. DeMille's smash-hit biblical epic The King of Kings (1927). For much of the 1920s, Pathé distributed the shorts of comedy pioneers Hal Roach and Mack Sennett and innovative animator Paul Terry. Famed comedian Harold Lloyd starred under the Pathé banner in both shorts and features for Roach and then in three features for his own production company.
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In late 1926, investment banker Elisha Walker acquired control of the studio through his Blair & Co. firm, subsequently bringing in financier and Hollywood maestro Joseph P. Kennedy as a co-owner and managing director. Finally, in January 1931, most of its assets, including its motion picture production facilities, employee contracts, and distribution exchanges, were acquired by the major RKO Pictures studio, which established a semiautonomous, short-lived RKO Pathé division. (Three films completed by Pathé Exchange, two already in release, also became RKO properties.) While Pathé Exchange continued to exist as a holding company for minor assets not included in the sale, it was no longer a film production or distribution company.
Filmography
edit1910s
edit1920s
edit| Title | Status |
|---|---|
| My Husband's Other Wife (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Web of Deceit (1920) | Extant |
| Sex (1920) | Extant |
| Live Sparks (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Sagebrusher (1920) | Lost Film |
| Other Men's Shoes (1920) | Extant |
| Daredevil Jack (1920) | Incomplete |
| Respectable by Proxy (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Valley of Tomorrow (1920) | Lost Film |
| Smoldering Embers (1920) | Lost Film |
| In Walked Mary (1920) | Extant |
| The Dangerous Talent (1920) | Lost Film |
| Tarnished Reputations (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Deadlier Sex (1920) | Extant |
| Lifting Shadows (1920) | Extant |
| Trailed by Three (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Blood Barrier (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Harvest Moon (1920) | Lost Film |
| Rio Grande (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Honey Bee (1920) | Lost Film |
| Riders of the Dawn (1920) | Lost Film |
| Dollar for Dollar (1920) | Extant |
| The Thirtieth Piece of Silver (1920) | Lost Film |
| Simple Souls (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Third Eye (1920) | Lost Film |
| Number 99 (1920) | Lost Film |
| The House of Toys (1920) | Lost Film |
| Passers By (1920) | Extant |
| A Broadway Cowboy (1920) | Extant |
| One Hour Before Dawn (1920) | Extant |
| The Green Flame (1920) | Lost Film |
| Man and His Woman (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Silent Barrier (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Week-End (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Girl in the Web (1920) | Lost Film |
| Lahoma (1920) | Lost Film |
| Pirate Gold (1920) | Lost Film |
| Love Madness (1920) | Extant |
| Ruth of the Rockies (1920) | Incomplete |
| The House of the Tolling Bell (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Dwelling Place of Light (1920) | Lost Film |
| Felix O'Day (1920) | Lost Film |
| Help Wanted - Male (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Kentucky Colonel (1920) | Lost Film |
| A Light Woman (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Riddle: Woman (1920) | Lost Film |
| $30,000 (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Forbidden Valley (1920) | Lost Film |
| Half a Chance (1920) | Lost Film |
| The House of Whispers (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Money Changers (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Blue Moon (1920) | Lost Film |
| Her Unwilling Husband (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Devil to Pay (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Brute Master (1920) | Extant |
| The U.P. Trail (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Tiger's Coat (1920) | Extant |
| The Gamesters (1920) | Lost Film |
| Dice of Destiny (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Empire of Diamonds (1920) | Lost Film |
| The Broken Gate (1920) | Lost Film |
| That Girl Montana (1921) | Extant |
| What Women Will Do (1921) | Lost Film |
| The Devil (1921) | Extant |
| The Killer (1921) | Lost Film |
| The Sage Hen (1921) | Lost Film |
| The Spenders (1921) | Lost Film |
| When We Were 21 (1921) | Lost Film |
| Sunset Jones (1921) | Lost Film |
| Payment Guaranteed (1921) | Lost Film |
| The Lure of Egypt (1921) | Lost Film |
| The Rider of the King Log (1921) | Lost Film |
| The Heart Line (1921) | Lost Film |
| The Butterfly Girl (1921) | Lost Film |
| Without Benefit of Clergy (1921) | Extant |
| The Yellow Arm (1921) | Lost Film |
| The Money Maniac (1921) | Lost Film |
| Their Mutual Child (1921) | Lost Film |
| The Power Within (1921) | Lost Film |
| The Honor of Rameriz (1921) (short) | Lost Film |
| The Spirit of the Lake (1921) (short) | Lost Film |
| The Heart of Doreon (1921) (short) | Incomplete |
| Nanook of the North (1922) | Extant |
| Lonesome Corners (1922) | Lost Film |
| Safety Last! (1923) | Extant |
| The Call of the Wild (1923) | Extant |
| The Extra Girl (1923) | Extant |
| The King of Wild Horses (1924) | Extant |
| Girl Shy (1924) | Extant |
| Battling Orioles (1924) | Extant |
| Dynamite Smith (1924) | Extant |
| Hot Water (1924) | Extant |
| The White Sheep (1924) | Extant |
| Battling Bunyan (1924) | Extant |
| Barriers Burned Away (1925) | Extant |
| Black Cyclone (1925) | Extant |
| Bad Company (1925) | Lost Film |
| Back to Life (1925) | Lost Film |
| Percy (1925) | Lost Film |
| Heir-Loons (1925) | Lost Film |
| The Freshman (1925) | Extant |
| North Star (1925) | Lost Film |
| Lover's Island (1925) | Lost Film |
| Stop, Look and Listen (1926) | Incomplete |
| Pirates of the Sky (1926) | Lost Film |
| Driftin' Thru (1926) | Extant |
| The Seventh Bandit (1926) | fragment |
| The Frontier Trail (1926) | Lost Film |
| The Little Firebrand (1926) | Lost Film |
| The High Hand (1926) | Lost Film |
| Atta Boy (1926) | Extant |
| Raggedy Rose (1926) | Extant |
| The Outlaw Express (1926) | Lost Film |
| The Trunk Mystery (1926) | Lost Film |
| The Devil Horse (1926) | Extant |
| Satan Town (1926) | Incomplete |
| The Long Loop on the Pecos (1926) | Lost Film |
| Snowed In (serial) (1926) | Lost Film |
| The Cyclone Cowboy (1927) | Extant |
| Play Safe (1927) | Extant |
| His First Flame (1927) | Extant |
| Between Dangers (1927) | Lost Film |
| The Galloping Gobs (1927) | Extant |
| The Man from Hard Pan (1927) | Lost Film |
| The Ridin' Rowdy (1927) | Lost Film |
| The Princess on Broadway (1927) | Incomplete |
| Tearin' Into Trouble (1927) | Lost Film |
| The Arizona Whirlwind (1927) | Extant |
| The Fightin' Comeback (1927) | Lost Film |
| Spuds (1927) | Extant |
| Horse Shoes (1927) | Extant |
| The King of Kings (1927) | Synchronized Score Technicolor Sequences Extant Pathe's First Sound Feature |
| No Man's Law (1927) | Extant |
| The Eyes of the Totem (1927) | Extant |
| The Heart of the Yukon (1927) | Lost Film |
| Don Desperado (1927) | Extant |
| Avenging Fangs (1927) | Lost Film |
| The Meddlin' Stranger (1927) | Lost Film |
| Code of the Cow Country (1927) | Lost Film |
| Pals in Peril (1927) | Lost Film |
| Two-Gun of the Tumbleweed (1927) | Extant |
| His Dog (1927) | Extant |
| Skedaddle Gold (1927) | Lost Film |
| Hidden Aces (1927) | Extant |
| White Pebbles (1927) | Lost Film |
| The Fighting Eagle (1927) | Extant |
| The Phantom Buster (1927) | Lost Film |
| Land of the Lawless (1927) | Incomplete |
| The Interferin' Gent (1927) | Lost Film |
| Roarin' Broncs (1927) | Lost Film |
| The Girl from Everywhere (1927) | Technicolor Sequences |
| The Country Doctor (1927) | Extant |
| Border Blackbirds (1927) | Incomplete |
| Born to Battle (1927) | Extant |
| The Soda Water Cowboy (1927) | Lost Film |
| The Angel of Broadway (1927) | Lost Film |
| Ride 'em High (1927) | Incomplete |
| A Harp in Hock (1927) | Lost Film |
| The Obligin' Buckaroo (1927) | Incomplete |
| Combat (1927) | Lost Film |
| The Wise Wife (1927) | Lost Film |
| Dress Parade (1927) | Extant |
| The Forbidden Woman (1927) | Extant |
| The Main Event (1927) | Extant |
| The Girl in the Pullman (1927) | Extant |
| The Wreck of the Hesperus (1927) | Lost Film |
| Turkish Delight (1927) | Extant |
| Hoof Marks (1927) | Extant |
| Burnt Fingers (1927) | Lost Film |
| Gold from Weepah (1927) | Lost Film |
| His Foreign Wife (1927) | Lost Film |
| Flying Luck (1927) | Extant |
| The Desert of the Lost (1927) | Extant |
| My Friend from India (1927) | Extant |
| Chicago (1927) | Extant |
| Almost Human (1927) | Extant |
| A Blonde for a Night (1928) | fragment |
| Midnight Madness (1928) | Extant |
| Skyscraper (1928) | Extant |
| The Cop (1928) | Extant |
| Man-Made Women (1928) | Extant |
| Power (1928) | Extant |
| Hold 'Em Yale (1928) | Extant |
| The Godless Girl (1928) | Part-Talkie Extant |
| Captain Swagger (1928) | Synchronized Score Extant |
| Desperate Courage (1928) | Extant |
| Laddie Be Good (1928) | Lost Film |
| The Valley of Hunted Men (1928) | Extant |
| The Red Mark (1928) | Extant |
| The Bronc Stomper (1928) | Lost Film |
| Marlie the Killer (1928) | Extant |
| The Avenging Shadow (1928) | Extant |
| The Black Ace (1928) | Extant |
| The Flyin' Buckaroo (1928) | Lost Film |
| Fangs of Fate (1928) | Lost Film |
| Let 'Er Go Gallegher (1928) | Extant |
| Yellow Contraband (1928) | Lost Film |
| Marked Money (1928) | Synchronized Score Extant |
| Walking Back (1928) | Extant |
| The Law's Lash (1928) | Extant |
| Saddle Mates (1928) | Extant |
| The Boss of Rustler's Roost (1928) | Extant |
| The Apache Raider (1928) | Lost Film |
| The Bullet Mark (1928) | Lost Film |
| Stand and Deliver (1928) | Extant |
| The Ballyhoo Buster (1928) | Lost Film |
| The Border Patrol (1928) | Extant |
| Crashing Through (1928) | Lost Film |
| The Cowboy Cavalier (1928) | Lost Film |
| The Spieler (1928) | Part-Talkie Extant Soundtrack Lost Film |
| Ned McCobb's Daughter (1928) | Synchronized Score Lost Film Film |
| Celebrity (1928) | Extant |
| The Night Flyer (1928) | Extant |
| The Leopard Lady (1928) | Lost Film |
| Annapolis (1928) | Synchronized Score Extant |
| The Shady Lady (1928) | Part-Talkie Lost Film Film |
| Love Over Night (1928) | Extant |
| A Perfect Gentleman (1928) | Extant |
| Craig's Wife (1928) | Lost Film |
| Tenth Avenue (1928) | Lost Film |
| The Blue Danube (1928) | Extant |
| On to Reno (1928) | Extant |
| A Ship Comes In (1928) | Extant |
| The Bride of the Colorado (1928) | |
| What Price Beauty? (1928) | Lost Film |
| Show Folks (1928) | Part-Talkie Extant Pathe's First Feature With Dialogue |
| The Rush Hour (1928) | Extant |
| Sal of Singapore (1929) | Part-Talkie Extant |
| Sin Town (1929) | Lost Film |
| Geraldine (1929) | Part-Talkie Extant |
| Noisy Neighbors (1929) | Part-Talkie Lost Film Film |
| .45 Calibre War (1929) | Lost Film |
| The Leatherneck (1929) | Part-Talkie Extant |
| The Office Scandal (1929) | Part-Talkie Extant |
| Square Shoulders (1929) | Synchronized Score Extant |
| Hawk of the Hills (1929) | Synchronized Score Extant |
| Strange Cargo (1929) | All-Talking Extant Pathe's First All-Talkie Feature |
| Mother's Boy (1929) | All-Talking Extant |
| The Flying Fool (1929) | All-Talking Extant |
| High Voltage (1929) | All-Talking Extant |
| Paris Bound (1929) | All-Talking Extant |
| The Awful Truth (1929) | All-Talking Lost Film Film |
| Lucky in Love (1929) | All-Talking Lost Film Film |
| The Sophomore (1929) | All-Talking Silent Version Extant Soundtrack Discs Extant |
| Big News (1929) | All-Talking Extant |
| Sailor's Holiday (1929) | All-Talking Extant |
| Her Private Affair (1929) | All-Talking Extant |
| Oh, Yeah! (1929) | All-Talking Extant |
| The Racketeer (1929) | All-Talking Extant |
| Red Hot Rhythm (1929) | All-Talking Multicolor Sequences Color Sequence Extant |
| Rich People (1929) | All-Talking Extant |
| This Thing Called Love (1929) | All-Talking Multicolor Sequences Lost Film Film |
| His First Command (1929) | All-Talking Multicolor Sequences Extant |
1930s
edit(From this point all films were "All-Talking")
- The Grand Parade (1930) Lost Film
- Officer O'Brien (1930)
- Swing High (1930)
- Holiday (1930)
- Night Work (1930)
- Her Man (1930)
- Pardon My Gun (1930)
- Big Money (1930) Silent Version Extant
- Sin Takes a Holiday (1930) [Distribution shifted to RKO Pathé after sale][1]
- The Painted Desert (1931) [Distribution shifted to RKO Pathé after sale][2]
- Beyond Victory (1931) [Produced by Pathé Exchange; Distributed by RKO Pathé][3]
References
edit- ^ Jewell, Richard B. (1982). The RKO Story. New York: Arlington House/Crown. p. 32. ISBN 0-517-54656-6.
- ^ "The Painted Desert (1931)". AFI Catalog. American Film Institute. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ "Derr Urges Keeping Pace with Improving Tastes". Film Daily. January 2, 1931. p. 2. Retrieved December 30, 2022. Jewell, Richard B. (1982). The RKO Story. New York: Arlington House/Crown. p. 34. ISBN 0-517-54656-6.