aaaAfterthetremendouspopularsuccessofthe Fantômasnovels,bothofthemajorFrench filmstudios—PathéandGaumont— viedfortherightstoproducefilmsbased ontheseries.Gaumontwon,andfrom April1913toMay1914LouisFeuillade directedfiveFantômasfilmswhichcritic DavidThomsonhasdescribedas"thefirst greatmovieexperience."