Pathé Exchange

Article summary

Pathé Exchange was the American branch of the major French film production and distribution studio Pathé. The branch emerged during the silent era in Hollywood. At its peak, it held nearly 50% of the American film production and distribution market. 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 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.…

Key claims

1. date of establishment: 1944 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of establishment: 1946 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of foundation: 1896 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. release date: 1920 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. release date: 1921 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. release date: 1943 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
7. release date: 1950 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
8. release date: 1961 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of establishment is "1944". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of establishment is "1946". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of foundation is "1896". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the release date is "1920". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the release date is "1921". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the release date is "1943". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. The record states that the release date is "1950". What evidence would count against this claim?
9. The record states that the release date is "1961". What evidence would count against this claim?
10. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
11. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1366169625