Continental Films was a German-controlled French film production company. It stood as the sole authorized film production organization in

Nazi-occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. Established in October 1940, it was entirely bankrolled by the German government, and headed by Alfred Greven in Paris, with its finances, production and distribution tightly integrated with the German film industry. Continental's first production was ''

Who Killed Santa Claus? ''Who Killed Santa Claus?'' (french: L'Assassinat du père Noël) is a 1941 French comedy-drama film by Christian-Jaque. This adaptation of Pierre Véry's novel of the same name was the first film produced by Continental Films. Cast * Harry Ba ...

'' (''L'Assassinat du père Noël'', 1941). The firm gave

Henri-Georges Clouzot Henri-Georges Clouzot (; 20 November 1907 – 12 January 1977) was a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his work in the thriller film genre, having directed ''The Wages of Fear'' and '' Les Diaboliques'', ...

his first directoral job for the comic thriller ''

The Murderer Lives at Number 21 ''The Murderer Lives at Number 21'' (french: L'Assassin habite au 21) is a 1942 French comedy thriller film by director Henri-Georges Clouzot. Adapted by Belgian writer Stanislas-André Steeman and Clouzot from Steeman's 1939 book of the same t ...

'' (''L'Assassin habite au 21'', 1942), which Clouzot also co-wrote.The Classic French Cinema, 1930-1960, by Colin Crisp, p. 190 Continental released 30 features before ending production four years later. Its last release was '' Majestic Hotel Cellars'' (1944). The film ''

Safe Conduct Safe conduct, safe passage, or letters of transit, is the situation in time of international conflict or war where one state, a party to such conflict, issues to a person (usually an enemy state's subject) a pass or document to allow the enemy ...

'' (''Laissez-passer'', 2002) depicts life and work at Continental, based on the memoirs of director

Jean Devaivre Jean Devaivre (1912–2004) was a French film director and screenwriter.Rège p.319 Additionally, he worked as a dubbing director, preparing foreign-language films for release in France. The film ''Safe Conduct'' (''Laissez-passer'', 2002) directe ...

Alfred Greven

The director of Continental Film was the German producer Alfred Greven, who was born in 1897 in

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was in a doc ...

and died in 1973 in Cologne. After leaving the Gymnasium he volunteered in September 1914 for the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

. He fought at the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

in the infantry and was severely wounded. In 1917, he fought in the

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alth ...

and was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

1st and 2nd class. After the war he started to work in the movie business in 1920, joining the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

in 1931. In 1934, he was head of the committee for film production in the Reichsfilmkammer. Some of the films he produced were ''

The Old and the Young King ''The Old and the Young King'' (German: ''Der alte und der junge König'') is a 1935 German historical drama film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Emil Jannings, Werner Hinz and Leopoldine Konstantin. The film's sets were designed by the ...

'', ''

The Green Domino ''The Green Domino'' (french: Le Domino vert) is a 1935 French/German drama film directed by Henri Decoin and Herbert Selpin, based on play by Erich Ebermayer. It tells the story of a rich heiress who falls in love with an art critic after his wi ...

'' and ''

The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes ''The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes'' (German: ''Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war'') is a 1937 German mystery comedy film directed by Karl Hartl and starring Hans Albers, Heinz Rühmann and Marieluise Claudius. The film's sets were designed by ...

''. In 1940,

Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

appointed him managing director of the newly established Continental Film, his direct superior being

Max Winkler Max Winkler (7 September 1875 – 12 October 1961) was a politician and senior political appointee in the local government of West Prussia, the national government of the German Empire, the Nazi government of the German Reich, and the post-war go ...

. Films Greven produced after the war include '' Bonjour Kathrin''.

References

1940 establishments in France 1944 disestablishments in France Mass media companies established in 1940 Mass media companies disestablished in 1944 Film production companies of France German occupation of France during World War II Vichy France {{film-company-stub