- published: 31 Mar 2016
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Pathé or Pathé Frères (French pronunciation: [pate fʁɛʁ], styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment and production company, as well as a major producer of phonograph records. In 1908, Pathé invented the newsreel that was shown in cinemas prior to a feature film.
Today, Pathé is a major film production and distribution company, owns a great number of cinema chains, across Europe but mainly in France, including 66% of the Les Cinémas Gaumont Pathé a joint venture between Pathé and the Gaumont Film Company, and several television networks across Europe. It is the second oldest still-operating film company in the world, predating Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures, second only to the French Gaumont Film Company studio.
The company was founded as Société Pathé Frères (Pathé Brothers Company) in Paris, France on 28 September 1896, by the four brothers Charles, Émile, Théophile and Jacques Pathé. During the first part of the 20th century, Pathé became the largest film equipment and production company in the world, as well as a major producer of phonograph records.
Laurel and Hardy were a comedy double act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema. The team was composed of thin Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and heavyset American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). They became well known during the late 1920s through the mid-1940s for their slapstick comedy with Laurel playing the clumsy and childlike friend of the pompous Hardy. The duo's signature tune, which is known variously as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku" or "The Dance of the Cuckoos", was played over the opening credits of their films and has become as emblematic of the duo as their bowler hats.
Prior to their being teamed up, both actors had well-established film careers. Laurel had appeared in over 50 films while Hardy had been in more than 250 productions. The two comedians had previously worked together as cast members on the film The Lucky Dog in 1921. However, they were not a comedy team at that time and it was not until 1926, when both separately signed contracts with the Hal Roach film studio, that they appeared in a movie short together. Laurel and Hardy officially became a team in 1927 when they appeared together in the silent short film Putting Pants on Philip. They remained with the Roach studio until 1940 and then appeared in eight "B" movie comedies for 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1941 to 1945. After finishing their movie commitments at the end of 1944 they concentrated on performing in stage shows and embarked on a music hall tour of England, Ireland and Scotland. In 1950, before retiring from the screen, they made their last film which was a French/Italian co-production called Atoll K.