Early Hollywood Studio vs Early French Studio

During the early era of film production America and French cinema were both undergoing what you can call drastic changes. France Studio Production was in fact on the verge of competing with the ahead of it’s time system America Studio Production had created until the occupation of Germany in France during WW II. While America was allowed to continue production and advancing in film production, upon Germany taking control, french filmmakers were forced to halt the production of twenty films. Ultimately what happened was the Vichy government created the COIC to support and control the film industry in hopes of keeping it alive but regulated unlike in America the US Government called upon hollywood to make films supporting the war effort. 

In France most of the production companies were still small firms making very little films during the war, while in America production companies like Warner Brothers, Fox, and MGM were evolving into major studio companies. France at the time brought in Continental, a German production company which owned its own studios, labs, and a large french theater chain. 

America was becoming somewhat a monopoly especially when the “Blum - Byrnes pact would reserve sixteen weeks per year for french films, and although this accord was defended as a way to encourage production, french film works protested it made France an open market for American films.”  The main aspect that created difference within French and American studio production was organization. Hollywood had started a studio system that was “the method of film production and distribution dominated by small number of major studios in hollywood.” There was a practice in large motion picture studios, that when they had produced a movie primarily on their own filmmaking lots and had this happen through vertical integration. The hollywood system was united through chains and members, having members produce a different product, service, or need, and combining all together to ignite a successful production. The french had trouble organizing a system like this due to the occupation of Germany, they lacked technology and investors considering the Vichy administration imposing rules on the system. 

For example in Children of Paradise, the film was forced to be split into two parts because the Vinchy administration only allowed a max of 90 min for feature films. The lack of money and investors through producers caused the set builders to be short of supplies and camera crews film stock to be forced to ration.