In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants (1914)

Record Details:

Title:
In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants
Date:
1914
Publisher:
New York, Appeal Printing Co.
Volume:
In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants : record volume 5
Leaf #:
000203
Language:
English
Collection:
Early Cinema and Government & Law
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
The Museum of Modern Art Library, New York
Sponsor:
Media History Digital Library
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
These seven volumes contain the testimonies and supporting documents from the U.S. District Court's antitrust lawsuit against the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC). Formed in 1908, the MPPC (sometimes referred to asœ"the Edison Trust" or just "the Trust") sought to control the American film industry through pooling patents and demanding that producers and exhibitors acquire licenses to those patents. Independent producers and exhibitors, who refused to license the patents, argued that the MPPC was an unlawful monopoly. In 1912 and 1913, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania heard testimonies from both MPPC members, such as Siegmund Lubin, and "Independents" who later became Hollywood moguls, such as William Fox. Ultimately, in 1915, the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which found the MPPC in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and spelled the end for the already weakening MPPC. -- Eric Hoyt, 2012
Date Added:
September 21, 2023
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Samuel E. Morris, Direct Examination. 2653 Q. Did you find it possible to select a program in advance, or announce a program in advance? A. Well, they gave me a stipulated number of reels at a certain age, and of a certain make. That was the first time that was inaugurated in my experience. Q. Did you begin to advertise? A. Well, I advertised, yes. Q. And were you able to produce the program you advertised on the date set out in your advertisement? A. Well, not always either at the beginning, that is at the immediate beginning of the General Film. Q. Did this condition improve or grow worse? A. It improved, just as soon as they were buying the stipulated output of the manufacturers. Q. And what is the condition now, and what has it been for sometime back? A. Well, the condition today is that the exhibitors are getting, that is, my observation is that they are getting an equitable service for the price that they pay. They are getting a program at least a week in advance, pictures that you can figure on as far as the manufacturers' advance notes are published, and getting them on a stipulated date so many days old. Q. Do you select your own program or permit the exchange to select the whole, or a part of it? A. I select given features, and they fill the program in. Q. Do you ever make a special request for a special feature, or film which you think would be desirable at your theatre? A. Yes, I do, both for the regular film and the special film. Q. Do you ever make a request for a regular film that you desire? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you ever have a modification of your program made by the General Film Company? A. In what respect? Q. With respect to substituting one film for another? A. Yes, they do. Q. Do you find they arc1 willing to co-operate with you in that request? A. Yes, sir, to the best of their ability. Q. Do they help you get out a special program in pursuance of your requests? A. Yes, sir. Q. Have you been familiar with the prices of the motion picture service during the four years you have been operating the Home Theatre? A. Yes, sir.