Natan Tannenzaft was born in Jassy, Romania in 1886. He directed at least one hardcore pornographic film in Romania. He moved to France after World War I and became a French citizen in 1921, changing his name to Bernard Natan.

In France he made his mark as a producer, writer, director and actor in adult film. He produced and acted in at least 20 hardcore heterosexual and bisexual hardcore pornographic films between 1920 and 1927, and established his own studio (Rapid Film) to develop and process the films he shot.

Nearly all French pornographic films from this period which include bisexual and homosexual content were produced by Natan. Natan himself was bisexual, and engaged in intercourse on screen in a number of films, notably Le Menage Moderne Du Madame Butterfly (1920) and La Maîtresse du Capitaine de Meydeux (1924). Natan is also known for having introduced masochism into French pornographic film.

Natan worked as a publicity stringer for Paramount Pictures during the early 1920s. But by 1929, Natan’s Rapid Film had become a major film producer and distributor. His reputation was such that in 1924 Natan became a member of the executive committee of the Cinematographic Employers’ Federation. By 1926, his film laboratory was highly regarded, he had established a marketing firm, and he built two sound stages. Natan was also a film producer, helping finance and produce motion pictures at other studios.

In late February 1929, Bernard Natan acquired the production and exhibition businesses of Pathé, then the largest French motion picture company. He agreed to merge his own studio, Rapid Film (then worth 25 million francs), with Pathé in exchange for 50 million francs in shares. The remaining shares were purchased with funding from a consortium of banks, bonds (to be paid with income from Pathé), and a 10 percent ownership in Pathé by the banks. After the merger, Natan renamed the company Pathé-Natan (sometimes also credited as Pathé-Cinéma).

Natan acquired another film studio, Sociètè des Cinéromans, from Arthur Bernède and Gaston Leroux, which enabled Pathé to expand into projector and electronics manufacturing. He also bought the Fornier chain of motion picture theaters and rapidly expanded the chain’s nationwide presence.

Pathé-Natan did well under Natan’s guidance. Between 1930 and 1935, despite the world economic crisis, the company made 100 million 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.

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 his particular brand of cinema.

Under Natan, Pathé also funded the research of Henri Chrétien, who developed the anamorphic lens (a technology which later led to the creation of CinemaScope and other widescreen film formats common today).

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.

In 1935, Pathé went bankrupt.

In order to finance the company’s continued expansion, Pathé’s board of directors (which still included Charles Pathé) voted in 1930 to issue shares worth 105 million francs. But with the depression deepening, only 50 percent of the shares were purchased. One of the investor banks collapsed, and Pathé was forced to follow through with the purchase of several movie theater chains it no longer could afford to buy. Although the company continued to make a profit, it soon began to lose more money than it could bring in.

In 1939, Natan was indicted on charges of fraud. In 1941, Natan was convicted of financing the purchase of the company without any collateral, of bilking investors by establishing fictitious shell corporations, and negligent financial mismanagement. He was also accused of hiding his Romanian and Jewish heritage by changing his name. He was released from jail in September 1942.

During the course of Natan’s trial and incarceration, France had gone to war against Germany, and had been defeated. After Natan’s release from prison, the French government handed him over to the occupying German authorities, and he was rather unfortunately sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp on September 25, 1942, where he died several weeks later.

This great Frenchman is today honored for revolutionizing pornographic film in France. He was one of the first, and certainly the most prominent, film-maker to include bisexuality and homosexuality in his films, and introduced masochism to French adult film entertainment.

Filmographie du Producteur Bernard NATAN

Le titre du film est suivi du nom du réalisateur, de la durée du film et de la date de la parution de la fiche signalétique dans la Cinématographie française qui correspond en général à la date de sortie en salle. Lorsque celle-ci n’est pas connue, l’année de sortie est indiquée entre parenthèses..

RNC = indique que le nom du réalisateur n’est pas connu. DNC que la durée ne l’est pas.

Les films produits et distribués par Natan ou Pathé Natan sont indiqués en caractères gras.

Les films où Bernard Natan apparait comme producteur ou comme apportant une participation (distribution et tournage à Joinville ou Francoeur) sont soulignés.

Les films tournés aux studios de la rue Francoeur ou de Joinville pour d’autres maisons de production, sans qu’une participation de Bernard Natan soit établie le sont en caractère romain.

Ne figurent pas cette filmographie les films étrangers doublés à Francoeur ou Joinville (comme M. le Maudit), ni les films distribués par Pathé consortium cinéma mais tournés dans d’autres studios, Ne figurent pas sauf exceptions les nombreux films documentaires ou d’actualité.

Nous n’avons pu établir la liste des films d’enseignement (une centaine) réalisés notamment par Jean Brérault

Films muets

Films produits sous l’enseigne Cine-Actualités en 1909 et 1910

A QUI LE POLE ? (PERRY OU COOK)
RNC 120mn
L’ADJUDANT GRINCHEPI
RNC 130mn
UNE SALE JOURNEE
RNC 120mn
PIEROT GENDARME
RNC 130 mn
UN DRAME EN AEROPLANE
120 mn
CINE-ACTUALITES
Actualités hebdomadaires. Nombre de Numéos non connus

Films produits par Rapid-films
CINEGAZETTE (Journal d’actualités)
à partir de 1913 nombre de Numéros non connus
FILMS DES JEUX OLYMPIQUES – PARIS ET CHAMONIX
(1924) Jean de Rovéra – 240mn
RETROSPECTIVE DES JEUX ANCIENS
(1924) Jean de Rovéra – DNC
Nombreux films documentaires et publicitaires non identifiés

Productions Natan et films tournés au studio Natan de la rue Francoeur
AIGLE DE LA SIERRA
(1928) L. de Carbonnat – DNC.
ARGENT (L’)
(1928) Marcel l’Herbier – 186mn
AVENTURE DE PARIS (UNE)
(1926) – Henri Lepage
BICCHY (premier titre : ILE d’AMOUR)
(1927) – Jean Durand – DNC
CAGLIOSTRO
(1928) – Richard Oswald (tourné aussi à Epinay)
LA CHATELAINE DU LIBAN
1926 – Marco de Gastyne 105mn
CHAUSSEE DES GEANTS
(1926) Robert Boudrioz et Jean Durand
COLLIER DE LA REINE (L’AFFAIRE DU)
(1929) – Gaston Ravel
EDUCATION DE PRINCE
(1927) – Henri Diamant-Berger – DNC
EN MARGE
(1929) – Jean Bertin et André Tinchant – DNC
EN PLONGEE
(1927) – RNC – DNC
LA FEMME NUE
1926 – Léonce Perret – DNC
GUERRE SANS ARMES
(1928) – Jean Choux – DNC
INVITATION AU VOYAGE
(1927) – Germaine Dulac – DNC
MADONE DES SLEEPINGS
(1927) – Henri Diamant-Berger – 96mn
MERVEILLEUSE VIE DE JEANNE D’ARC
(1929) – Marco de Gastyne -150mn
MON COEUR AU RALENTI
1927 Etievant et Nalpas – DNC
PALACES
(1927) Jean Dueand et Henri Diamant-Berger – DNC
PHI-PHI
(1926) – Dimitri Fixis – DNC
QUARTIER LATIN
(1929) – Augusto Genina – DNC
RUE DE LA PAIX
(1926) Henri Diamant-Berger – DNC
SECOND AMANT (LE)
(1928) – Grantham Hayes – DNC
SIRENE DES TROPIQUES
(1927) – Henri Etievant et Marius Nalpas – DNC
SYLVIA L’ENCHANTEE
(1929) – Ludovic de Gaigneron – DNC
TOURNEE FARIGOULE
(1926) – M. Manchez – DNC
TROIS JEUNES FILLES NUES
(1928) – Robert Boudrioz – DNC
UN SOIR AU COCKTAIL’S BAR
(1929) – Roger lion – 45mn
VIVRE (premier titre : LE CREATEUR)
(1928) – Robert Boudrioz – DNC

Films parlants tournés à Francoeur ou à Joinville

A
ACCUSEE LEVEZ-VOUS
6/9/1930 Maurice Tourneur – 110mn
ACROBATIES AERIENNES
3/6/1933 Lemoigne – DNC (reportage sur l’aviation)
AFFAIRE CLASSE (UNE)
25/3/1932 – Charles Vanel – 24mn
(le seul film réalisé par Charles Vanel sortira à nouveau en 1935 sous le titre Le coup de minuit)
AFFAIRE EST DANS LE SAC (L’)
(1932) – Pierre Prévert – 45m
UNE AFFAIRE GARANTIE
(1934) – Emil-Edwin Reinert – DNC
AGENCE SECURITY
(1936) – Edmond T. Greville – 35mn
AIGLON (L’)
(1931) – Victor Tourjanski – 109mn
ALCIDE PEPIE
(1934) – René Jayet- 25mn
AMANTS ET VOLEURS
23/11/1935 – Raymond Bernard – 109mn
AMI DE MONSIEUR
(1935) – Film en relief produit par Lumière et Bernard Natan Pierre de Cuvier -DNC
AMOK
15/9/1934 – Fedor Ozep -92mn
AMOUR ET BUSINESS
25/3/1932 – Robert Peguy – 33mn
ANE DE BURIDAN
31/12/1932 – Alexandre Ryder – 77mn
ANGELE
(1934) – Marcel pagnol – 150mn
Enregistrement studios de Joinville
ANNY CHAUFFEUR
26/12/1931 – RNC – 2100 m
version française d’un film allemand
A NOUS LE BUSINESS
25/3/1932 – Robert Péguy – 33mn
ANTONIA ROMANCE HONGROISE
(1934) – Max Neufeld – 87mn
APRES L’AMOUR
19/9/1931- Léonce Perret- 73mn
ARIANE JEUNE FILLE RUSSE
27/2/1932 – Aul Czinner- 85mn
ARLESIENNE (L’)
6/9/1930 – Jacques de Baroncelli – DNC
ARLETTE ET SES PAPAS
15/9/1934 – Henry Roussell – 85mn
ARTHUR
20/12/1930 – Léonce Perret – 71mn
ATOUT COEUR
27/6/1931 – Henry Roussell – 95mn
AU COIN PERDU
14/2/1931 – Robert Péguy – 24mn
AU NOM DE LA LOI
27/2/1932 – Maurice Tourneur – 77mn
AUTOMOBILE DE FRANCE
(1934) – Coproduction Pathé Natan et Usines Renault – Jean Loubignac
AVENTURES DU ROI PAUSOLE
16/12/1933 – Alexis de Granowsky – 75mn
AVENTURIER (L’)
12/1/1935 – Marcel L’Herbier – 92mn
AUTOUR DE L’ARGENT
(1930) – (Images du tournage du film L’Argent) Jean Dréville – DNC
AVEC LE SOURIRE
(1936) – Maurice Tourneur – 98’

B
LA BANDERA
21/9/1935 – Julien Duvivier – 100m
BATAILLE (LA)
(1933) – Nicolas Farkas et Marcel L’Herbier – 90mn
UNE BELLE OPERATION
14/12/1935 – RNC – DNC
LES BEAUX JOURS
5/10/1935 – Marc Allegret – 80mn
BETE ERRANTE (LA)
27/9/1931 Marco de Gastyne – 84mn
BODEGA (LA)
(1930) – Bio Perojo – DNC
BONHEUR (LE)
16/2/1935 – Marcel L’Herbier – 100mn
UNE BONNE AFFAIRE
(1935) – Victor de Fast – 38mn
BONSOIR M’SIEURS DAMES
18/10/1936 Sketch Dranem et Roland Toutain tourné par Jean Choux – DNC
BROUSSE ANNAMITE (DANS LA )
21/7/1934 – André Sauvage – 25mn
(documentaire extrait de la Croisère Citröen)

C
CES MESSIEURS DE LA SANTE
24/3/1934 – Pierre Colombier – 115mn
CETTE NUIT LA
30/12/1933 – Marc Sorkin – 80mn
C’ETAIT UN MUSICIEN
15/9/1934 – Fred Zelnik et maurice Gleize – 60mn
CETTE VIEILLE CANAILLE
11/11/1933 – Anatole Litvak – 99mn
CHACUN SA CHANCE
3/1/1931 – Hans Steinhoff et R. Pujol – 76mn
CHANTEUR INCONNU (LE)
(1931) Tourjanski – 95mn
CHARLEMAGNE
30/9/1933 – Pierre Colombier – 92mn
CHATELAINE DU LIBAN (LA)
(1933) – Jean Epstein – 95mn
CHAUVE – SOURIS (LA)
2/4/1932 – Carl Lamac et Pierre Billon – 80mn
(Version française d’un film allemand)
CHIQUE
(1930) Pierre Colombier – 29mn
CHIMPANZE (LE)
9/4/1932 – Marco de Gastyne – 37mn
CHOTARD ET COMPAGNIE
18/2/1933 – Jean Renoir – 77mn
COEURS JOYEUX
(1931) Hans Schwarz et max de Vaucorbeil – 77mn
CIBOULETTE
11/11/1933 – Claude Autant Lara – 75mn
CIRCULEZ
17/10/1931 – Jean de Limur – 102mn
CLAUDIE DOMPTEUSE
8/10/1932 – Marco de Gastyne – 38mn
CLOWN BUX
25/5/1935 – Jacques Natanson – 38mn
COLLIER DE LA REINE (L’AFFAIRE DU)
21/12/1929 Gaston Ravel et Tony Lekain – DNC – commencé en muet, terminé en parlant
ODEUR DE LILAS
20/2/1932 – Anatole Litvak – 90mn
COMME UNE CARPE
(1933) Claude Heymann – 13mn
COMMISSAIRE EST BON ENFANT (LE)
(1935) – Jacques Becker et Pierre Prévert – 40mn
CONTE CRUEL
14/6/1930 Gaston Modot – 28mn
CONQUETE DU CIEL
25/1/1930 – RNC – 1200 m
COSTAUD DES PTT
17/10/1931 – Jean Bertin et Robert Maté – 80mn
COUP MANQUE
9/4/1932 – Marco de Gastyne – 1200 m (sketch)
CROISIERE JAUNE ( LA)
24/3/1934 André Sauvage – mais monté malgré les protestations du réalisateur par Léon Poirier.
A l’origine co-production Natan et Citroën – cession droits à Citröen – DNC
CROIX DE BOIS (LES)
19/819/32 – Raymond Bernard – 110mn
CROIX DU SUD (LA)
16/4/1932 – André Huson – 66mn

D
DACTYLO
18/4/1931 – Wilhelm Thiele – 77mn
DACTYLO SE MARIE
19/5/1934 – René Pujol et Joe May – 85mn
DAME DE CHEZ MAXIM’S
8/4/1933 – Alexandre Korda – 109mn
DANS LES RUES
(1933) – Victor Trivas – 82mn
DERNIER MILLIARDAIRE (LE)
20/10/1934 – René Clair – 92mn
DE SANTIAGO DE CHILI A PARIS
20/2/1933 – René Brut – 30mn
(documentaire sur l’aviation postale)
DEUX CANARDS (LES)
(1933) Erich Schmidt – 78mn
DEUX COUVERTS (LES)
(1934) Léonce Perret – DNC
(spectacle de la Comédie Française)
DEUX ORPHELINES (LES)
25/2/1933 – Maurice Tourneur – 87

E
ECHEC ET MAT
17/10/1931 Roger Goupillières – 75mn
ECOLE DES COCOTTES (L’)
6/7/1935 – Pierre Colombier – 106mn
ENFANT DE L’AMOUR
4/1/1930 – Marcel L’Herbier – DNC
ENLEVEZ – MOI
2/7/1932 – Léonce Perret – 98mn
EPERVIER (L’)
2/10/1933 – Marcel L’Herbier – 106mn
EQUIPAGE (L’)
26/10/1935 – Anatole Litvak – 111mn
ETIENNE
18/11/1933 – Jean tarride – 105mn

F
FANATISME
12/5/1934 – Gaston Ravel et Tony Lekain – 80mn
FANFARE D’AMOUR
14/9/1935 – Richard Pottier – 115mn
FAUBOURG MONTMARTRE
19/9/1931 – Raymond Bernard – 115mn
FEMME ET LE ROSSIGNOL
21/3/1931 – André Hugon – 102mn (existe version allemande tournée en Algérie)
FEMME AU VOLANT (UNE)
10/9/1935 – Kurt Gerron et Pierre Billon – 85mn
FIGURANTE (LA)
(1935) – Charles Félix Tavano – 30mn
FINE PARTIE (UNE)
1932 – Marco de Gastyne – 40mn
FLEUR D’ORANGER (LA)
(1932) – Henry Rousselle – 87mn
FRA DIAVOLO
31/1/1931 Mario Bonnard – 82mn
FRERES KARAMAZOFF (LES)
23/1/1932 – Fedor Ozep – 85mn (comporte une version allemande)
FUSEE (LA)
13/5/1933 – Jacques Natanson – 90mn

G
GAIETES DE L’ESCADRON
17/9/1932 – Maurice Tourneur – 85mn
GALERIES LEVY ET CIE
20/2/1932 – André Hugon – 88mn
(premier titre : Aux Galeries Washington)
GAGNE TA VIE
(1930) – André Berthomieu – 95mn
GARDIENS DE LA MER
25/2/1933 – Robert Alexandre – 15mn
(documentaire sur les phares)
GLORIA
25/11/1931 Hans Behrendt et Yvan Noë – 85mn
comporte une version allemande.
GONZAGUE
(1932) – Marco de Gastyne – DNC
GRAIN DE BEAUTE
12/3/1932 – Pierre Caron – 77mn

H
HERITIER DU BAL TABARIN
30/9/1933 – Jean Kemm – 85mn
HIPOCAMPE (L’)
(1934) – Jean Painlevé – 13mn
HISTOIRE DE LA COMEDIE FRANCAISE
2/3/1935 – RNC – DNC
HOMME EN OR (UN)
20/10/1934 – Jean Dréville – 78m
HONNETE HOMME (UN)
2/2/1932 – tourné par plusieurs réalisateurs sur un scénario de Yves Mirande au profit de l’APPEC et de l’Union des Artistes – DNC

I
ILE DES PINGOUINS
18/4/1931 – Kerry Chearton – 50’
IL ETAIT UNE FOIS
7/10/1933 – Léonce Perret – 95mn

J
J’AI UNE IDEE
12/1/1935 – Roger Richebé – 100mn
JE T’ADORE MAIS POURQUOI ?
31/5/1930 – Pierre Colombier – DNC
JOFROI
(1934) – Marcel Pagnol – 52mn
JUGEMENT DE MINUIT
7/1/1933 – Alexandre Esway – et André Charlot – 95mn
JUSTIN DE MARSEILLE
13/4/1935 Maurice Tourneur – 98mn

K
KOENIGSMARK
7/12/1935 Maurice Tourneur – 115mn

L
LEOPOLD LE BIEN AIME
20/1/1934 – Arno Charles Brun – 102mn
LEVY ET CIE
(1930) – André Hugon – DNC
(existe une version allemande : Meiier und Co )
LIDOIRE
9/9/1933 – Maurice Tourneur – 20mn
LIEBELEI
3/3/1934 – Max Ophüls – 88m

M
MAISON DE DANSES
14/3/1931 – Maurice Tourneur – 85mn
MAISON JAUNE DE RIO
4/7/1931 – Karl Grüne – 90mn
MALABARS
(1934) René Jayet – 26mn
MAM’ZELLE SPAHI
13/10/1934 – Max de Vaucorbeil – 85mn
MARCHAND DE SABLE
16/1/1932 – André Hugon – 88mn
MARIE DES ANGOISSES
27/7/1935 – Miche Bernheim – 82mn
MA TANTE DE HONFLEUR
12/3/1932 – Maurice Diamant – Berger – 85mn
MAUVAISE GRAINE
7/7/1934 – Billy Wilder et Alexandre Esway – 86mn
MELO
9/7/1932 – Paul Czinner – 95mn
MERVEILLEUSE JOURNEE (UNE)
24/12/1932 – Robert Wyler et Yves Mirande – 87mn
MIMI PANDORE
1/10/1932 – Roger Capellani – 36mn
MINUIT PLACE PIGALLE
13/10/1934 – Roger Richebé – 100mn
MIRAGES DE PARIS
7/1/1933 – Fedor Ozep – 77mn
MIQUETTE ET SA MERE
24/3/1934 – Maurice Diamant – Berger et Henri Rolla – 85mn
MISERABLES (LES)
10/2/1934 – Raymond Bernard – 305mn (projeté en 3 parties)
MONASTERE (UN)
25/2/1933 – Robert Alexandre – 40mn
MON COUSIN DE MARSEILLE
(1936) -Germain Fried – 45mn
MON GOSSE DE PERE
21/12/1929 -Jean de Limur – DNC
MONSIEUR CORDON
(1933) – Pierre Prevert – 9mn
MONSIEUR LE DUC
14/3/1931 – Jean de Limur – 81mn
MONSIEUR CAMBRIOLE
(1931) – Maurice de Canonge – DNC
MONSIEUR DURAND SENATEUR
29/10/1932 – Robert Péguy – 40mn
MONSIEUR EST SAISI
(1936) – René Sti – 39mn
MONSIEUR LE MARECHAL
25/11/1931 – Carl lamac – 80mn
(version française et allemande d’après version tchèque)
MONSIEUR LE SENATEUR
(1933) – Robert Péguy – DNC
MONSIEUR SANS GENE
9/3/1935 – Karl Anton – 95mn
MYSTERE DE LA CHAMBRE JAUNE
18/10/1930 Marcel L’Herbier – 108mn
MYSTERE DU CHATEAU D’IF
(1932) – René Barberis – 119mn
MILLE NEUF CENT
(1933) Roger Goupillières – DNC – Retrospective de films muets sonorisés
MONSIEUR CORDON
(1933) – Pierre Prévert – 9mn

N
NOUS MARIONS SOLANGE
(1934) – Lucien Mayrargues – 34mn
NOUS SERONS TOUJOURS HEUREUX
(1933) – Emil – Edwin Reinert – DNC
NUIT A MONTE CARLO (UNE)
(1932) – Robert land – 40mn
NUIT DE NOCES
14/9/1935 – René Jayet – 85mn

O
OBSESSION
21/4/1934 Maurice Tourneur – 35mn
OMBRES SUR L’EUROPE
2/12/1933 – Robert Alexandre – 55mn
(Reportage sur le corridor polonais)
ON DEJEUNE A MIDI
(1933) – Emil-Edwin Reinert
ORDONNANCE (L’)
2/9/1933 – Victor Tourjansky – 76mn

P
PAQUEBOT TENACITY
7/7/1934 – Julien Duvivier – 85mn
PARFUM DE LA DAME EN NOIR (LE)
14/11/1931 – Marcel l’Herbier – 109mn
PARIS AU FIL DE L’EAU
(1933) – Jean Claude Bernard – 470 M
PARIS BEGUIN
10/10/1931 – Auguste Genina – 117mn
PARIS MEDITERRANEE
(1931) – Joe May – 75’ (premier titre : deux dans une voiture)
PARTIR
27 6/1931 – Maurice Tourneur – 95mn
PECHE A LA BALEINE (LA)
(1933) – Lou Bonin – 4mn
(chanson de Prévert dite par Jacques Prevert)
PERDUS EN MER
3/6/1933 – Robert Alexandre – DNC
PETIT ROI (LE)
25/11/1933 – Julien Duvivier – 90mn
PETITE LISE (LA)
31/1/1931 – Jean Gremillon – 77mn
PETIT TROU PAS CHER (UN)
(1934) – Pierre Jean Ducis – 45mn
PIANO A VENDRE
(1934) – René Jayet – 26mn
PICADOR (LE)
19/3/1932 – Lucien Jacquelus – 91mn
POIGNARD MALAIS (LE)
31/1/1931 – Roger Goupillières – 60mn
POIL DE CAROTTE
5/11/1932 – Julien Duvivier – 80mn
POMPIERS DE PARIS
24/6/1933 – Jean Claude Bernard – 700m.
POUR ETRE AIME
28/10/1933 – Jacques Tourneur – 75mn
POUR UN PIANO
(1934) – Pierre Chenal – 30mn
PRECIEUSES RIDICULES (LES)
23/2/1935 – Léonce Perret – 46mn
PRINCE JEAN (LE)
(1934) Jean de Marguenat – 95mn
PRINCE DE MINUIT
20/10/1934 – René Guissart – 100mn
PRINCESSE TAM TAM
19/10/1935 – Edmond T. Greville – 77mn
PRIX DE BEAUTE
11/1/1930 – Augusto Genina (commencé par René Clair en muet, sonorisé en 4 versions) – 109mn

R
RAPIDE 713 (LE)
(1935) – George Friedland – 700 m.
REVE (LE)
25/7/1931 – Jacques de Baroncelli – 73mn
ROI DES RESQUILLEURS (LE)
15/11/1930 Pierre Colombier – DNC
ROI DU CIRAGE (LE)
21/11/1931 – Pierre Colombier – 100mn
ROSIERE DES HALLES (LA)
8/6/1935 – Jean de Limur – 100mn
ROTCHILD
5/5/1934 – Marco de Gastyne – 97mn
existe en version anglaise

S
SA MEILLEURE CLIENTE
17/12/1931 – Pierre Colombier – 87mn
SAPHO
14/4/1934 – Léonce Perret – 90mn
SERIE 7 N° 77777
(1934) – Victor de Fast – 1070 m
SIDONIE PANACHE
(1934) – Henry Wulschleger – 120mn
SI J’ETAIS LE PATRON
(1934) – Richard Pottier – 100mn
SIX CENTS MILLE FRANCS PAR MOIS
16/9/1933 – Leo Joannon – 75mn
SON ALTESSE L’AMOUR
27/9/1931 – Eric Schmitt, Robert Péguy – 91mn
(existe une version allemande)
SOUS LE CASQUE DE CUIR
30/4/1932 – Albert de Courville – 95mn
SUR LES QUAIS DE PARIS
(1933) – J.L. Bernatd – DNC

T
TARTARIN DE TARASCON
17/11/1932 – Raymond Bernard – 95mn
TENDRESSE (LA)
(1930) André Hugon – existe en version allemande
TETE DE VEAU (LA)
(1933) – Emil Edwin Reinert – 21mn
TETE D’UN HOMME (LA)
18/2/1933 – Julien Duvivier – 100mn
THEODORE
15/4/1932 – Pierre Colombier – 87mn
TRAIN DE 8 H 47 (LE)
26/5/1934 – Henry Wulschinger – 80mn
TROIS MASQUES (LES)
2/11/1929 – André Hugon – 70mn
TOVARITCH
11/5/1935 – Jacques Deval – 100mn
TROIS POUR CENT
2/11/1933 – Jean Dréville – 97mn
TOTO
9 9/1933 – Jacques Tourneur – 80mn
TOUCHE A TOUT
16/11/1935 – Jean Dreville – 117mn
TOUT CA NE VAUT PAS L’AMOUR
24/10/1931 – Jacques Tourneur – 87mn
TOUT POUR RIEN
26/9/1933 – René Pujol – 95mn
TU M’ENVERRAS DES CARTES POSTALES
24/12/1932 – Titayna – 15mn

U
UNE BELLE GARCE
20/12/1930 – Marco de Gastune – DNC
(ex ROSETTA LA FILLE AUX LIONS)
UNE NUIT A MONTE CARLO
31/12/1932 – Roger Land – 1100 m
UNE FOIS DANS LA VIE
(1933) Max de Vaucorbeil – 884m
UN SOIR DE RAFLE
20/6/1931 – Carmine Gallone – 109mn

V
VARIETES
19/10/1935 – Nicolas Farkas – 100mn
VIE PERDUE (UNE)
16/9/1933 – Raymond Rouleau – 80mn
VIE DU CIRQUE
10/9/1932 – Alexandre – 30’ (documentaire sur le cirque avec Fratellini)
VITRAIL
21/12/1929 – Jacques de Baroncelli 12’
VOLEUR (LE)
23/12/1933 – Maurice Tourneur – 60mn
VRAI PARIS (LE)
(1933)- J.C. Bernard – 700m

Z
ZIZI
Charles Felix Tavano – 850m
ZOUZOU
15/12/1934 – Marc Allégret – 85mn

Films tournés à St-Maurice (Gérance Natan) après Mars 1938
(Tous ces films ont été tournés et terminés en 1938)
BRIGADE SAUVAGE
Marcel L’Herbier – 95mn
DUEL (LE)
Pierre Fresnay – 84mn
CAVALACADE D’AMOUR
Raymond Bernard – 100mn
COEUR EBLOUI
Jean Vallee – 90mn
CONFLIT (LE)
Léonide Moguy – 94mn
DERNIER TOURNANT
Pierre Chenal – 90mn
DOMPTEUR (LE)
Pierre Colombier – 85mn
EDUCATION DE PRINCE
Alexandre Esway – 95mn
ENTENTE CORDIALE
Marcel l’Herbier – 110mn
FEUX DE JOIE
Jacques Houssin – 95mn
FORT – DOLORES
René Le Hénaff – 93mn
GRAND – PERE
Robert Péguy – 85mn
HOMME DU NIGER
Jacques de Baroncelli – 102mn
KATIA
Maurice Tourneur – 91mn
LOI DU NORD (LA)
Jacques Feyder – 110mn
LOUISE
Abel Gance – 85mn
MAISON DU MALTAIS (LA)
Pierre Chenal – 90mn
MONDE TREMBLERA (LE)
Richard Pottier – 108mn
NOUVEAUX RICHES (LES)
Berthomieu – 89mn
PETIT CHOSE (LE)
Maurice Cloche – DNC
POUR LE MAILLOT JAUNE
Jean Stelli – 91mn
QUAI DES BRUMES
Marcel Carné – 91mn
REVOLTE (LE)
Léon Mathot – 105mn
SIXIEME ETAGE
Maurice Cloche – 96mn
TRICOCHE ET CACOLET
Pierre Colombier – 107mn

I discovered the treasure trove that is the British Pathé online library of footage some years ago. The NLM have done some digging to reveal a few lovely vids of ‘grit Cethlik siriminis’ [tip of the hat to Fr Finigan for the accent and to the NLM]

Betty Mars

Un soir de 1960, elle remplace au pied levé une danseuse tombée malade au Concert Mayol. Deux mois plus tard, c’est elle qui mène la revue… qui durera trois ans. Devenue meneuse de revues, elle se produit aussi au Brésil et à Las Vegas – où une dame venue la voir lui prodigue quelques conseils : «Lève la jambe, ne regarde pas tes pieds, tiens-toi droite nom d’un chien ! ». La dame s’appelle Joséphine Baker.

Embauchée à l’Alcazar de Jean-Marie Rivière, elle incarne Marylin Monroe sur un playback de Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend. C’est dans ce cabaret que Frédéric Botton la découvre, à l’aube des années 70. Interprète à
la carrière confidentielle, Botton devient vite un auteur-compositeur recherché : Régine, Juliette Gréco, Barbara, Zizi Jeanmaire, Annabel Buffet, Dani, Annie Girardot se partagent ses compositions. En 1971, Botton lui propose la chanson Monsieur l’étranger, et la face B Ça, c’était un homme. «Visage parfait, corps splendide et voix de bronze» (P. Sevran), Betty charme la France… et aussi Mike Brant, le temps d’une émission télé où ils reprennent ensemble Pigalle. En février 1972, vedette anglaise de Thierry Le Luron à Bobino, elle crée Mon café russe.

Edimbourg, samedi 25 mars 1972. Accompagnée par le chef d’orchestre Franck Pourcel, Betty Mars représente la France à l’Eurovision avec Comé comédie, une nouvelle chanson de Botton. Classée 11ème sur 18, Comé comédie est néanmoins un autre succès pour Betty, qui l’enregistre aussi en langue allemande. Le même mois, son premier 45 tours obtient le Grand Prix du Disque de l’Académie Charles-Cros, dans la catégorie premier disque. En février 1974, elle chante à Bobino, dans le même spectacle que Pierre Dac et Francis Blanche. En avril, elle double la voix de la comédienne Brigitte Ariel dans le film Piaf, de Guy Casaril. Pour Betty, c’est aussi l’époque des tournées d’été Europe 1, avec Julien Clerc, Enrico Macias, etc.

Malgré ces débuts prometteurs, le 45 tours prévu en septembre 1974 ne verra pas le jour. Quelque chose est stoppé net, Pathé semble hésiter sur la direction à prendre avec elle. Le cinéma s’intéresse aussi à elle : sa chanson Monsieur l’étranger figure dans la bande sonore de Vive la France, documentaire de Michel Audiard sorti en septembre 1974. Deux mois plus tard, Betty est à l’affiche de Bons baisers… à lundi, une comédie réalisée par le même Audiard. L’année suivante, elle est la vedette d’Émilienne, film érotique de Guy
Casaril (musique de Nino Ferrer), et en 1976, elle fait une apparition dans le nouveau film de Lelouch, Si c’était à refaire, où elle interprète la chanson-titre.

Dans les années 80, la «colombe des faubourgs» (ainsi l’a surnommée Trenet), se fait plus rare. Elle consacre tout un spectacle au répertoire de Piaf (1983), à contre-courant des tendances du moment. On peut toujours l’entendre à l’Orée du Bois, sur Radio Montmartre ou dans l’émission La Chance aux Chansons.

Fin 1988, elle prépare un album de chansons méconnues de la Révolution Française (bicentenaire oblige). Mais le 31 janvier 1989, sans un mot, elle se jette par la fenêtre de son domicile, à La Défense. Après trois semaines de coma, elle s’éteint le 20 février à l’hôpital Foch de Suresnes.

Il nous reste la beauté de ses yeux liquides, la malice de son sourire, et surtout le charme rétro de ses chansons… dont de nombreux inédits, ici dévoilés pour la première fois.

Bye Bye, Betty Blue…

Raoul Bellaïche + Pierre Fageolle
(Jechantemagazine.com)

Betty Mars – L’intégrale Pathé 1971-1975 – Sortie. 30/11/2009 – Edina Music.
Myspace.com/edinalegacy

Geachte heer/mevrouw,

Mijn naam is Marc Trip en ik ben een groot filmliefhebber. Nu is het zo dat iedere filmliefhebber zijn favoriete films misschien nooit op het witte doek heeft mogen bewonderen. Een van mijn dromen is om de, in mijn ogen althans, beste film aller tijden ooit nog eens te mogen bekijken in een bioscoopzaal. Ik heb het hier over Stanley Kubricks “2001: A Space Odyssey”.

Is het mogelijk dat deze film bij u in de bioscoop gedraaid mag worden? Ik durf er heel wat op te zetten dat de zaal minimaal voor 60/70% vol zal zitten als deze klasbak weer op het witte doek zal worden vertoond.

In afwachting van uw reactie,

Marc Trip

==========================================================================

Beste Marc,

Dank voor je mail en tip!
Ik zal kijken wat ik kan doen… We zijn bezig  weer een serie “oude” films te gaan vertonen…  Wanneer dat precies zal gaan gebeuren, kan ik je nu nog niet zeggen, helaas…

Hans Unger

Theatermanager Pathé Groningen

7 options:

“The Emancipation of Putz” a high concept screwball comedy/satire I have written is sitting on the desk of the head of Universal and has also been given to Pathe in the UK.”

“Lucky & Rich” a bohemian romance that I have in advanced development is in the hands of two film financiers in the LA”

“My proposal for “3-legged dog Idol” an online interactive TV show to cast “Scrap” the tripod star of Lucky & Rich is in the hands of two pet food companies who are considering corporate sponsorship.

“I am in the process of being commissioned to write the screenplay for a rugby film set in the South Pacific.”

“When I get my visa to go back to LA I will represent “The New Zealand Film Connection“ in America, a company that specializes in organizing New Zealand film shoots for foreign companies.”

“I am partnering up with an American filmmaker to produce a top secret documentary on the streets of Eastern Europe.”

“I have created a new filmmaking model, that uses social media, tribal marketing strategies and the internet that has the potential to change the way we make films, I have been in talks with other filmmakers who are interested in having me consult on their films.”

P:S: If you are interested click here and check out my latest newsletter.

Recap

Last time we looked at the inventions that made film and motion pictures possible. Many people had a part in perfecting the medium and many small steps combined resulted in something that would change the world and how we see it.

Only a few years after the birth of the medium films were now printed on celluloid strips and shown to crowds of paying viewers.

Business

The icons of early film definitely include the Lumiere brothers. After their first screening of a motion picture for a paying audience December 28th 1895 they were unstoppable. Within the first four months of 1896 they had opened Cinématographe theatres in London, Brussels, Belgium and New York.
The company grew and other operators shot films for them. In 1900 they

decided to stop the screenings and focused on selling their technical inventions, which include equipment for one of the first partially colored photographic processes.

Last time I mentioned a man by the name of Robert W. Paul. He suggested that films should be shown to crowds instead of viewing them individually through peep-hole machines. One might think this is funny coming from him, knowing that peep holes is where his career began.

In 1894 two greek entrepreneurs asked Paul to build a copy of Edisons Kinetoscope, the peep-hole viewer for a single person viewing.

This was only possible because Edison did not have a patent on the kinetoscope for England, by mistake. Paul built a whole string of machines and sold them not only to the greek gentlemen. Edison was a smart man and stopped Paul from putting him out of business by only selling the films to licensed operators of his original kinetoscope.

The only way Paul could remain on the market was to build a camera of his own that could produce films to be played on his copy-viewer. He soon started working with the photographer, Birt Acres and together they developed a working camera. Acres wanted to patent the camera in his name and this resulted in a feud that split up the team.

Paul later developed a projector, the Theatrograph, so that the larger audience could simultaneously enjoy film art.

He also became a successful producer. After making huge amounts of money on selling the equipment, he constructed film studios in northern London and made 80 short film in the summer of 1898 alone. He kept on working until 1910 where he suddenly decided that the industry war to risky, closed the firm and burnt all the negatives.

Acres also developed a projector, the Cinematoscope, but is more famous for creating the first amateur cine camera, the Birtac in 1898. He kept on working in this field untill his death in 1918.

One company that did have a longer lasting success was Pathé.

Charles Pathé and his brothers Émile, Théophile and Jacques started the Pathé Frères company. At first they sold phonographs. After 1901 they start producing films, with Ferdinand Zecca in charge of the creative process. Their success was of yet unseen proportion. By 1905, Pathé was the largest film company in the world, a position it retained until World War I. The first expansion of the company brought them to London and from thereon to Moscow, Berlin and St. Petersburg. The company logo was and is the distinctive rooster of Gaul. Number two on the list of companies was Léon Gaumont’s company, easy to recognize by the logo flower, a marguerite, after Gaumont’s mother.

The brothers started by selling the equipment for cinemas and then began producing in 1897. The big success came to Gaumont through the creative people behind their film. The first female director, Alice Guy, was one of them and so was Louis Feulliade.

Below you’ll find the link to one of Louis Feulliade’s films from 1915, Les Vampires.

It’s a series of 10 episodes, 40 minutes each. This is the first part – “The Severed Head.”

The serial is set in Paris and follows the exploits of a gang of master criminals who call themselves “Les Vampires.”

http://www.archive.org/details/lesVampires1915Episode1-theSeveredHead

If you liked it and want to see more, please go to:

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=Louis%20Feuillade%20AND%20mediatype%3Amovies

Alice Guy’s short film La Glu can be seen here

http://www.archive.org/details/LaGlu1907

While most of the produced films showed so-called actualities, documenting life, some people took the new medium into the world of drama and fiction. One of my favorite icons of film history is Georges Méliès. He had worked as a stage magician in Paris during the late 1880’s when he had the opportunity to attend the Lumiere premiere. As a master of illusions he saw a new potential within the medium. He combined the techniques of stage performance with the visual possibilities of film. The camera would be fixed and the actors would perform their show before it.

My adoration of Méliès is not only due to the fact that he and his crew produced 531 films in the years between 1896 and 1914. It is also based on his absolute ingenuity. Others were trying to document the everyday life while Méliès

invented genres like science fiction or horror and executed them through his knowledge of magic tricks.
In late 1896 an accidental jamming of the camera sparked Méliès’ imagination.

Méliès was filming and the camera jammed. It took him a few minutes to get it working again. After processing the material he saw magic happen. Things moved across the screen, jumping from one side to the other, appearing, disappearing, changing shape. Stop motion was born and many other tricks with it.

I have included the link to a film that I believe you need to see. It is not the first film by Méliès, but it is one of the most beautiful ones. The film is called “Le Voyage dans la Lune” and was produced 1902. It’s a crazy little tale of a trip to the moon.

http://www.archive.org/details/Levoyagedanslalune

Another icon of the silent era who took motion pictures to another level was D.W. Griffith. The unsuccessful young playwright from Kentucky left his home for New York with the intention of selling a script to Edwin Porter who at the time worked for Edison at the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. Porter rejected the script but hired Griffith as an actor instead. After years of acting jobs an opportunity appeared. The main director of AMBC was ill and his son not able to run the company. The position was given to Griffith. Griffith became famous for producing films that blew their budgets. In 1915 Griffith’s most famous film hit the market. The original budget was 40.000$ but at the end of production cost 121.000$

The film was originally called The Clansman, after the book upon which it was based, but was renamed Birth of a Nation. It was a very controversial film due to it’s glorification of the Ku Klux Klan.

The next film, Intolerance, was even larger. It included over 3000 extras and a scene depicting a Babylonian orgy alone cost over 200.000$

As a Dane I feel obliged to have my country represented here.
In 1906, Ole Olsen, a fairground showman, founded Nordisk Film.
Asta Nielsen is the most famous actress from the golden age of Nordisk Film.

Other innovations

Back in the monochrome days one had quite a task ahead when wanting to display different light settings, for example night. The film wasn’t sensitive enough to shoot at night so you had to find another way of telling you viewers which scenes were night scenes.

Tinting was the way to go. The entire film strip was dipped in a colored solution that would leave the strip transparent but tinted. These tints had codes for what they were depicting. Blue meant night, yellow ment indoor light, red  suggested a romantic sometimes promiscuous atmosphere.

Close to tinting but much more difficult was the process of hand colouring the film strips. Frame by frame films would be coloured by painting areas inside the frames with translucent paints. Sometimes thousands of frames would be painted.

Here is a link to a fantastic example of a film that was coloured by hand.

http://www.europafilmtreasures.eu/PY/249/see-the-film-butterflies

As you may have noticed intertitles were the vehicle to getting the details of a story across. One country, although, had a different approach.

The japanese film audience had extra help. The so-called Benshi (speech person) were live narrators of the films. They would explain the film as it was shown. To this day the Benshi tradition lives on.

Sound-on…
From the start people were not satisfied with the soundless illusion.
And right from the start engineers tried to include sound into the film experience.

Some recorded the sound and put it on records to be played simultaneously with the films, the so-called sound-on-disc. But if the film broke, the sound would be out of synch. Eugene Lauste, a former Edison employee had a great idea. He put the sound of the film on the same strip, only as photographic information.

This way visuals and sound would run together, a first sound-on-film.

In the 1920’s sound became more sophisticated and finally resulted in the first (part-)talkie “The Jazz Singer” from 1927.

Phew… that was a big bite. My head is smoking. If you should be an aficionado of silent films and the whole era you will probably find many things and details missing here. Please don’t take it personally if your hero wasn’t mentioned. I’m merely trying to condense these years and years of pioneer work and innovations down to a readable version.
I really hope that you enjoy this blog. I’d love comments.

In case you were wondering…

Next time I’ll go back just a step to the likes of Eisenstein to tell you about how you can depict emotions via a smart cutting technique.

Kinophile

Aujourd’hui, les films sortent le mercredi et on peut constater que les jeudis et vendredis, les salles sont presque vides. Jérôme Seydoux, à la tête de Pathé, propose pour remédier à cette situation que les sorties de film s’effectuent dorénavant le vendredi, comme dans le reste du monde. Il a lancé le débat à l’occasion du 64^e congrès de la Fédération nationale des cinémas français à Deauville.

D’après lui, le vendredi est suivi du week-end, moment où la plupart des gens ne travaillent pas et ils sont donc alors plus aptes à dépenser leur argent. Il faut aussi penser au fait que les matchs de ligne 1 s’effectuent le mercredi. De plus, ce serait un moyen d’éviter le piratage qui s’effectue entre le mercredi et le week-end.

Néanmoins, certain ont peur que ce changement de jour privilégie les grosses productions. En effet, on va au cinéma à cause des acteurs, d’une bonne critique, ou du bouche à oreille qui s’effectue entre le mercredi et le week-end (surtout dans le cas des petites productions).

d’après le figaro du 2 octobre et  d’après l’article de lci du 2 octobre

J’en aurais des choses à vous dire, sur ce que je fais ou ne fais pas, sur ce que je pense ou ne pense pas, mais non, je suis là, je surfe sur le net sans but, comme un zombie, et je n’écris pas de billet sur mon blog.
Pour couronner le tout, je viens de créer un nouveau blog qui est encore sans article. Ah, je vous jure, on ne se refait pas.

Outre le fait, que j’ai très envie d’écrire un bouquin de 150 pages mini, d’apprendre des nouvelles choses à la fac’, de me prendre une carte le pass au pathé d’à côté parce que je suis en manque de ciné comme on peut être en manque de sucre, c’est-à-dire à ne pas se sentir bien, de m’acheter le dernier bouquin de Werber, le miroir de cassandre, je ne sais pas quoi faire de ma peau.

Ah oui aussi j’ai très envie de renouveller mon MacBook blanc pour un petit MacBook Pro toujours en 13 pouces, mais à ce qui paraît une mise à jour hardware serait prévu dans les semaines à venir (c’est pas moi qui le dit).

Je voulais illustrer ce post par des images de Werber et d’une carte le pass, mais l’envie s’en est allée.

En plus, je dois finir trois bouquins que j’ai commencé il y a à peine 15 jours, ou sinon ils s’ajouteront à la pile de ceux que j’ai laissé tomber parce que je n’avais plus envie de les lire.

Pour finir, en cours, c’est la mort. Trois cours, et à côté de moi, il n’y a que des étrangers qui s’assoient alors bonjour la discussion. Demain, il faut que je parle à quelqu’un sinon cette année va être mortelle… Pour l’instant il n’y a pas encore de travaux en groupe, alors ça me rassure dans le bon sens.
Vive le Master 2 en alternance, c’est moi qui vous le dis !

Sur ce, bonsoir.

Cómo hacer remezclas con imágenes de otro y que te pagen por ello. Eso lo consiguierón Graham Daniels y Tolly que forman Adicctive TV con el remix Antonio Banderas vs Adicctive tv (take the lead) en 2006, el estudio les pagó y luego premiaron el producto, un viral para internet. Remezclas de video y audio que hacen moverse al mundo. Desde entonces su carrera no para de subir.

Como Vj han actuado en clubes por todo el mundo y en los grades museos modernos. El último gran encargo, después de Sportive para Adidas en Beijing 2008, es el remix de Slumdog Millionaire encargado directamente por Pathé (distribuidora) para la película de su compatriota Danny Boyle.

Slumdog Millionaire vs Addictive TV

by nachoduerme

]]> http://aforapoc.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/trailer-session-1-pathe/ Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:06:15 +0000 apoc http://aforapoc.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/trailer-session-1-pathe/ http://bexcentric.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/old-bexley-and-old-everywhere-else/ Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:43:57 +0000 bexcentric http://bexcentric.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/old-bexley-and-old-everywhere-else/

My attentions have been elsewhere lately – apologies – but Bexcentric readers with an interest in the area’s past will love the compilation of links to Pathé newsreel videos of south-east London which darryl853 posted today.

Among the more promising-sounding ones from our borough I notice:

• 1925: An old fire pump in Welling.
• 1931: A woman in Sidcup who keeps monkeys for pets.
• 1935: Princess Mary opens Danson Park, Bexleyheath.
• 1937: Celebrations! Bexley becomes a borough – with “the biggest crowds Bexley has ever seen”.
• 1947: Bexley’s teenage mayoress.
• 1958: Clive Lloyd, 11, of Bexley, shows off his private zoo.
• 1966: A butterfly farm at Bexley.

There are loads more from all around the south-east of London over at 853 and I can’t wait to watch them all when I have a bit more time. Excellent work in compiling all this Darryl – thank you!

Transpontine did it a while back, and so did Caroline, and a link elsewhere led to me spending a morning delving into the British Pathe archives… which turned into almost a whole day. South-east London wasn’t always overlooked by the media, you know.

This stuff’s been online for some time now, and considering the number of errors in the accompanying text (the team behind it only had the soundtracks to rely on) perhaps these archives would benefit from a Wikipedia-style approach where we could correct it ourselves. There’s a heap of fascinating stuff there – here’s a (huge) selection. If you’re after Woolwich’s military history, Greenwich’s royal history, or old sporting fixtures from the area, there’s loads more at the British Pathe site.

1914: Artillery sports at Woolwich.
1914: A Victoria Cross winner gets a hero’s reception at Deptford.
1916: Lewisham’s pride – footage of soldiers from World War I. Wonder where the street is?
1917: Queen Mary visits mothers and babies in Woolwich.
1920 “The kiddies of Deptford – for whom the Duchess of Albany is organising the great Ball at Devonshire House on April 14th.” (UPDATE: See Deptford Misc for more, thanks to Bill for researching this)
1920: Clouds of smoke from a coke fire across the Thames at North Woolwich.
1920: Top hats ahoy! Woolwich Borough Council starts work on a new housing estate. (This would be around Rochester Way, Eltham, wouldn’t it?)
1920: Homeless boys make Christmas pudding at the Cranleigh Mission, Blackheath.
1921: Anglo-French rugby at the Rectory Field, Blackheath.
1921: An open air Catholic service at Bostall Convent, Plumstead.
1921: A tank gets stuck in the Thames at Woolwich.

1922: An intrepid cameraman shimmies 250 feet up a wireless mast at Kidbrooke. Unfortunately, we don’t see the view from the top, which would have been priceless.
1922: Queen Mary opens the British Hospital for Mothers and Babies in Samuel Street, Woolwich. It closed in 1984.
1922: Prince Henry’s there to see the British Army football team play their Belgian counterparts, presumably on Woolwich Common.
1923: At long last – Surrey beat Kent. Cricket at the Rectory Field. Kent used Blackheath FC’s home as a ground until 1972.
1923: Match footage from The Valley – Charlton Athletic v Bolton Wanderers.
1925: Policemen and firemen mince through the streets of Eltham – it’s a walking race.
1925: Messing around on motorbikes at the annual gymkhana at Woolwich. I wonder where the stadium is?
1925: An old fire pump in Welling.
1926: The All Blacks beat Blackheath at the Rectory Field – featuring their war dance.
1927: The Prince of Wales – later Edward VIII – visits Woolwich Market.
1928: “Greenwich-on-sea” in a heatwave.

1930: “Meet the Clarke family of Blackheath, London – a father and eleven sons; a complete football team and referee!”
1930: Queen Mary opens Rachel McMillan teacher training college in Creek Road, Deptford. See a photo here.
1930: The Woolwich military tattoo.
1931: A woman in Sidcup who keeps monkeys for pets.
1934: Oh no! The Kidbrooke wireless mast is coming down! We do get to see the view this time, though.
1935: Princess Mary opens Danson Park, Bexleyheath.
1936: “Now, it’s away to The Valley, to meet the lads of Charlton Athletic” – their first season in the first division, after two consecutive promotions – and a chance to see George Tadman “bang in a hard one”.
1937: Mrs Chebby Cohen of Woolwich impersonates a little girl and plays with the neighbourhood children. A little odd.
1937: Celebrations! Bexley becomes a borough – with “the biggest crowds Bexley has ever seen”.
1936: More from The Valley – “this winter, keep your eye on Charlton Athletic!”. Legendary manager Jimmy Seed gets his magnetic board out and outlines his plan for success at “Charlton Ath-er-letic”.
1938: Football again! Charlton beat Millwall 1-0 at The Den in a charity game, with 27,745 watching.
1938: Mr J H O Bunge wants to dam the Thames at Woolwich.

1938: A 36-ton boiler falls off a lorry and crashes into a Woolwich off-licence.
1938: Air minister Kingsley Wood sees barrage balloons at Kidbrooke, and gets three cheers for his troubles.
1940: Footage of Chislehurst and Petts Wood.
1940: Fitness wins! Physical jerks at The Valley – followed by Fulham’s Craven Cottage. Straighten up there!
1941: An RAF parade at Kidbrooke.
1942: Mr Woolley of Eltham shows off his model of the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship.
1946: A school for barmaids at the Dover Castle, Deptford.
1947: Their proudest moment – Charlton win the FA Cup.
1947: Bexley’s teenage mayoress.
1948: Cooks on parade for Christmas at Woolwich Barracks.
1948: Making propellers at Stone’s foundry in Charlton.
1948: A mobile fish and chip shop is a big hit in Sidcup.
1948: A “silent butler” to help busy housewives is unveiled in Hither Green.
1949: “Daredevil cockney kids” use a New Cross bomb site as a speedway track.
1949: : An FA XI takes on an Army XI at The Valley.
1949: “Plumstead Plumber” Bill Painter climbs Eros in a trilby.

1950: Some of the last hop-pickers set off from London Bridge.
1952: How Fred Fellingham from Charlton was at the forefront of hen technology.
1952: London’s last tram arrives in New Cross from Woolwich.
1954: The sparkling new Kidbrooke school for girls – Britain’s first comprehensive – is unveiled. A contrast from the rotten state it was in when I did an A-level there in the early 1990s.
1954: Goalkeeper Sam Bartram celebrates 500 league games at Charlton.
1954: The Cutty Sark sails into Greenwich for the last time.
1955: Vintage cars leave Kidbrooke RAF base on a jaunt to Hastings.

1956: Checking out weights and measures in Lewisham market.
1956: Canoe-making in Eltham and Welling.
1956: The Camberwell Beauty butterfly is released in Greenwich Park.
1956: Artists gather at the Yacht pub, Greenwich, to paint Thames-side scenes. I didn’t realise the Yacht was 300 years old – or did Pathe get it confused with the Trafalgar Tavern, which is old but hasn’t always been a pub?
1957: Blackheath’s “house of tomorrow” – is this the Cator Estate?
1957: It’s the Lewisham North by-election – and some great shots of the high street. I wonder where that ornate old town hall was?
1957: The Lewisham rail disaster. The “temporary” replacement bridge erected after the crash remains.
1957: Midwife Elsie Walkerdine retires after bringing 4,000 Deptford babies into the world.
1957: Footage of a dim-looking Blackwall Tunnel.
1958: Charlton-based artist and sculptor Russell Gammage lets Pathe see him at work.
1958: Clive Lloyd, 11, of Bexley, shows off his private zoo. Wonder if he picked up his monkeys from the lady in Sidcup?
1959: A Charlton factory – presumably Stone’s – demonstrates a new kind of ship propeller.
1959: Afghan hounds race at New Cross dog track.
1959: Children from Earl Rise primary school, Plumstead, head off to school camp.

1960: A star-packed circus on Blackheath.
1960: Fanny Cradock holds a “cockney party” in Blackheath.
1960: A very busy looking Woolwich Foot Tunnel (which had been open for many years, contrary to the blurb).
1961: “Four blocks of flats, 14 storeys high, is one practical way the Woolwich Borough Council is celebrating its diamond jubilee.” Princess Margaret opens Frances Street high-rises (part of the soundtrack was recently used in this sneery ad for sausages). Also features the infamous Autostacker car park, which didn’t actually work and had to be pulled down.
1962: Meet pop star Marty Wilde’s mum – living in Blackheath in a house bought by her son. I think Marty Wilde – father of Kim – was brought up in Greenwich.

1965: Fascinating clip from a debate I can’t imagine people being open-minded enough to have now. Is Kidbrooke School too big?
1966: The new Woolwich Ferry terminals open.
1966: A butterfly farm at Bexley.
1967: The aftermath of the Hither Green train disaster.
1967: The second Blackwall Tunnel opens – and work starts on the Blackwall Tunnel Southern Approach.
1968: The Gipsy Moth arrives at Greenwich – by road from Woolwich – where it stayed until 2004. It’s now sailing again.
1969: This is my favourite – camels and bingo at The Valley.
1969: Early footage of Thamesmead.
1970: Meet Plumstead clergyman Barry Wright – also a policeman in Woolwich.
1970: Woolwich beats Maggie Thatcher – milk snatcher. Bit baffled by this as Greenwich was a Conservative council in 1970, but you can see where a generation of local TV news reporter got their style from.
1970: Protesters in Eltham demand the building of the Dover Radial road – finally opened in the 1980s as the Rochester Way Relief Road.

(See also Time Out Big Smoke and Londonist. Title frames are copyright British Pathe, of course.)

Aujourd’hui, c’est la fête du cinéma. Autant quand j’étais môme je me ruinais la santé a enchaîner 12 films en trois jours avec les copains, autant maintenant que j’ai la carte, j’évite les salles obscures le temps que les pauvres finissent de s’aglutiner. Mais comme je pense à vous autres les non-encartés, je vous fais le Top 5 des films a voir à la fête du ciné cette année.

Number Five – Lascars

Là où la série se démerdait bien en vignettes de quelques minutes, le film lutte pour assurer la longueur. Reste la réalisation rythmée et osée qui arrache la rétine, les doublages parfois savoureux et quelques très bonnes vannes qui font de Lascars un film d’anime plus qu’honnête. Puis j’ai toujours de la place dans mon cœur pour un dessin-animé 2D fait avec amour.

Number Four – Les Beaux Gosses

Wesh un teen movie en France. Dieu que c’est crade, visuellement et dans certains passages. Télérama kiffe le ton incorrect, j’ai trouvé ça parfois too much. Mais je me suis marré plus que prévu, de bonnes vannes, de bonnes répliques. Puis le film commet l’irréparable pour un teen movie axé sur le dépucelage : le héros ne baise pas à la fin. Uber Massive Epic Fail. Bel effort mais c’est pas encore ça. Au prix de la fête du ciné c’est un deal honnête.

Number Three – Transformers II

Ma tête putain. Scénario de pochette surprise, acteurs en mousse, filles filmées comme dans un porno, pas de surprise pour la suite de Transformers. Mais là où le premier film jouait la carte du mystère dans sa première heure, la suite tape tout de suite et cogne jusqu’au bout d’un final interminable entrecoupé de blagues minables. J’en suis sorti avec une migraine. On pourrait crier au Bad Boys II du film de robots, mais ça manque trop d’équilibre dans la recette. A voir (en IMAX) pour le fun et la prouesse technique, mais penser à l’aspirine.

Number Two – Coraline

Henry Sellick sort enfin de l’ombre de Tim Burton pour prouver au monde qui était le véritable génie derrière L’étrange Noël de Mr Jack. Roman de Neil « Dieu » Gaiman adapté en animation de marionnettes image par image, Coraline est peut être le plus beau film de cet été. Parfois un peu mou, il sait se rattraper sur les images et l’inventivité constante de l’univers. Si vous avez moyen de le voir en numérique 3D (réseau Gaumont/MK2/Pathé), ça vaut clairement le coup, l’intégration du relief étant particulièrement bien choisie et apporte un véritable plus au film (I’m looking at you Volt !).

Number One – The Hangover

J’ai déjà tout dit l’autre fois. Entre temps le film a éclaté toutes les prédictions aux US, se classant sans broncher numéro 1 du box office 2009 des films interdits aux moins de 17 là bas, éclatant pépère Watchmen et Terminator. Castant des non-stars dans les rôles principaux, faisant confiance à un réal que l’on donnait has-been, produisant une comédie hard 100% originale, la Warner à tenté quelque chose dans un climat de suites et remakes. Pari plus que payant. Aller voir The Hangover, c’est faire un bras d’honneur à tous les films de merde calibrés jusqu’à la gueule de cette année. En plus, c’est très bien. D’ailleurs j’y retourne.

Bon, si avez ça vous êtes pas motivés à bouger vos fesses de gros branleurs pour apprécier des vrais putains de films, je peux rien pour vous. Manque juste une bonne comédie romantique cette année. Heureusement, je vous couvre en vous en sortant une de ma cave perso demain.