Joseph Rytmann

Joseph Rytmann was a French cinema operator who owned several cinemas in Paris during the 20th century. Rytmann was known as the "Emperor of Montparnasse".

Early life Rytmann was born in 1903 in Barysaw, Russian Empire (now Belarus) to a Jewish family. He was the brother of the sociologist and revolutionary Hélène Rytmann.

Career In 1933, Rytmann assumed ownership of the Théâtre de Montrouge cinema (which late became Mistral) on Avenue du Général-Leclerc in Paris. In 1938, he created the Miramar cinema in Montparnasse, which is now known as the Gaumont Parnasse.

Rytmann's cinemas were plundered during the Nazi occupation of France. Rytmann fled Vichy France for the Zone libre. He survived World War II, afterwards fighting in court to successfully regain ownership of his cinemas. He then opened additional cinemas in Paris, including the Bretagne and the Montparnos.

Rytmann played a prisoner in the 1973 Claude Lelouch film Happy New Year (1973).