| Company type | Film production and distribution |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film |
| Founded | Late 1920s |
| Defunct | 1942 (independent existence) |
| Fate | Merged into a state-controlled industry |
| Headquarters | Germany  |
| Parent | UFA GmbH |
Tobis Film was a Germanfilm production andfilm distribution company. Founded in the late 1920s as a merger of several companies involved in the switch fromsilent tosound films, the organisation emerged as a leading German sound studio.[1] Tobis used theTri-Ergonsound-on-film system under theTobis-Klang trade name. TheUFA production company had separate rights to the Tobis system, which it used under the trade name of Ufa-Klang.[2][3] Some Tobis films were released in Germany by the subsidiaryEuropa Film.
Its principal production studios were theJohannisthal Studios inBerlin.
During theNazi era, Tobis was one of the four major film companies along withTerra Film,Bavaria Film andUFA. In 1942 all these companies were merged into a single state-controlled industry bringing an end to Tobis' independent existence, though films continued to be released under the Tobis banner.
From 1933 until 1938, Tobis controlled the dominant Austrian producerSascha-Film which was known asTobis-Sascha. From 1932, it also owned a majority share of one of the main Portuguese producers known asTobis Portuguesa, a name which the company kept even after the German participation was terminated at the end of world War II.
Tobis established a Paris subsidiary and produced French-language film at theEpinay Studios during the 1930s. Among the directors under contract to the company wasRené Clair who produced the filmsUnder the Roofs of Paris andLe Million during the early sound era.[4]
One of the studio's employeesHorst Wendlandt later (1971) founded a new distribution company which is also known asTobis Entertainment.[5] In 2016, the present-day Tobis became an investor in Globalgate Entertainment.
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