# Continental Films > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Continental_Films > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Continental_Films.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Films > Source revision: 1262594076 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{confuse|Continental-Kunstfilm|Continental Film Distributors}} {{short description|French film company}} '''Continental Films''' was a German-controlled French film production company. It stood as the sole authorized film production organization in [Nazi-occupied France](/source/German_military_administration_in_occupied_France_during_World_War_II).The A to Z of French Cinema, by Dayna Oscherwitz, MaryEllen Higgins, page xxviii Established in October 1940, it was entirely bankrolled by the [German government](/source/Government_of_Nazi_Germany), and headed by [Alfred Greven](/source/Alfred_Greven) in Paris, with its finances, production and distribution tightly integrated with the German film industry.The Ufa Story: A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company, 1918-1945, by Klaus Kreimeier, page 335 Continental's first production was ''[Who Killed Santa Claus?](/source/Who_Killed_Santa_Claus%3F)'' (''L'Assassinat du père Noël'', 1941). The firm gave [Henri-Georges Clouzot](/source/Henri-Georges_Clouzot) his first directoral job for the comic thriller ''[The Murderer Lives at Number 21](/source/The_Murderer_Lives_at_Number_21)'' (''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](/source/Majestic_Hotel_Cellars)'' (1944). The film ''[Safe Conduct](/source/Safe_Conduct)'' (''Laissez-passer'', 2002) depicts life and work at Continental, based on the memoirs of director [Jean Devaivre](/source/Jean_Devaivre). ==Alfred Greven== The director of Continental Film was the German producer Alfred Greven, who was born in 1897 in [Elberfeld](/source/Elberfeld) and died in 1973 in Cologne. After leaving the [Gymnasium](/source/Gymnasium_(school)) he volunteered in September 1914 for the [German Army](/source/German_Army_(German_Empire)). He fought at the [Western Front](/source/Western_Front_(World_War_I)) in the infantry and was severely wounded. In 1917, he fought in the [Luftstreitkräfte](/source/Luftstreitkr%C3%A4fte) and was awarded the [Iron Cross](/source/Iron_Cross) 1st and 2nd class. After the war he started to work in the movie business in 1920, joining the [Nazi Party](/source/Nazi_Party) in 1931. In 1934, he was head of the committee for film production in the [Reichsfilmkammer](/source/Reichsfilmkammer). Some of the films he produced were ''[The Old and the Young King](/source/Der_alte_und_der_junge_K%C3%B6nig)'', ''[The Green Domino](/source/The_Green_Domino)'' and ''[The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes](/source/The_Man_Who_Was_Sherlock_Holmes)''. In 1940, [Goebbels](/source/Joseph_Goebbels) appointed him managing director of the newly established Continental Film, his direct superior being [Max Winkler](/source/Max_Winkler). Films Greven produced after the war include ''[Bonjour Kathrin](/source/Bonjour_Kathrin_(film))''. == References == {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * {{cite book |first=Christine |last=Leteux |title=Continental Films: French cinema under German control |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |date=2022 |isbn=9780299339807}} {{Authority control}} Category:1940 establishments in France Category:1944 disestablishments in France Category:Mass media companies established in 1940 Category:Mass media companies disestablished in 1944 Category:Film production companies of France Category:German occupation of France during World War II Category:Vichy France {{film-company-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Continental Films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Films) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Films?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.