V'Là L'Cinéma

104 minutes, 1994

During the war of 1870, young Charles Pathé, age eight, makes deliveries for his father, the pork butcher in Vincennes. The child is sickly and according to the palm reader, does not have long to live. In perfect health, 20-year old Charles Pathé leaves for Brazil and Argentina. Upon his return, he has toughened up and developed organizational skills and an amazing business sense. At the Vincennes Fair, he discovers Edison’s phonograph and drops everything to take advantage of and perfect the extraordinary invention. In 1892, pictures come to life thanks to the Kinescope. Charles Pathé becomes fully involved in this technological revolution that will turn the next century upside down. In the late 1920s when he retires, he leaves an empire that today spans more than 50 countries.

Source: Library and Archives Canada - Canadian Feature Film Database (LAC)

Contributed Notes