Documentaries

Sirius

1939-1955 : Singing performances and ethnographic films
20 hours - Pathé collection

This little-used collection is a must-see for all :

Ethnographique films
Four major films by Marcel Griaule, a pioneering explorer:
Au Pays des Dogons (1931), Sous les Masques Noirs (1939), Techniques Chez les Noirs (1939) and Le Soudan Mystérieux (1939).

Songs and musical theatre
Including performances from Charles Trenet and Lucienne Boyer.

Hotel des Artistes in 1950: four short musical theatre shows from Jean Perdrix featuring various performers.

Shorts
These include films by Jean Devaivre:

La Pythonisse (1946): a salesman returns home and discovers his wife has run off with the furniture. Horrified, he goes to see a clairvoyant, who can see nothing in her crystal ball except for variety performers. Then it comes back to him – they had moved house!

L'Estivant (1948): the pleasures and distractions on offer for holidaymakers at the seaside during summer.

Paris Une Nuit (1947): returning home, a night owl recounts the evening’s events to a prowler.

Paris Taxi (1949): a special report on the taxi industry in contemporary Paris, accompanied by music from Léo Ferré.