World War One ended in 1919 with the Treaty of Versailles. After four years of bloody war, France and it’s film industry was in tatters. The French film market largely supported the countries it shared a language with: Belgium, Switzerland as well as the French colonies. The only two film studios that were left after the war were Pathe Freres and Leon Gaumont. With the film industry in tatters, American cinema invaded with the works of Chaplin, Fairbanks, DeMille amongst others.