France felt the effects of the worldwide Depression comparatively late.
Bank failures began in late 1930, and economic production declined from the second half of 1931 on. The government failed to counter these problems, and the slump lingered throughout the 1930s. The film industry was hit hard by the Depression, and its already unstable production sector became even more fragmented. Other studio systems we have examined, such as those of Britain, Japan, and Italy, were more coherent and prolific. Still, French cinema of this era was more significant than its industrial conditions would suggest, producing a surprising proportion of notable films. Filmmakers like Rene Clair and Jean Renoir did their most important work during the 1930s, and French films had an influence around the world second only to that of Hollywood films. A weak studio system offered filmmakers flexibility and freedom.
Throughout Europe, economic problems created political turmoil. Italy, Germany, Spain, and smaller countries near France were establishing fascist governments. Right-wing parties were pushing France in the same direction, and during the mid-1930s a coalition of leftist groups, the Popular Front, opposed them and briefly came to power. This movement had a short-lived but significant impact on filmmaking.
France’s involvement in World War II, beginning in September 1939, cut off most filmmaking activity. When German forces captured Paris in June 1940, a right-wing French government was established in Vichy, in the south. The German Occupation lasted until August 1944. During these four years, the conditions of film production and exhibition changed radically, and many filmmakers had to flee or go into hiding. Those who remained, however, managed to keep the French industry alive. Some of the resulting films are distinctive for their tone of fantasy, isolation, and escapism. Although World War II altered many countries’
Films, there can be few places where the break between the prewar 1930s and the early wartime 1940s was as dramatic as in France.