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 #:
000226
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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2676 John D. Kessler, Direct Examination. Q. What are the names of those two theatres? A. Which ones, both of the independents? Q. I mean the one that uses the General Film, and the one that uses the independent? A. The one that uses the General Film is the Gem Theatre. Q. What is the seating capacity of the Gem Theatre? A. I think that it has about two hundred and fifty some odd, I don't know. Q. And the independent? A. I think it is has a hundred and eighty-four. Q. What is the name of it? A. Theatorium. Q. Is there another independent theatre in your neighborhood? A. The Royal, 120, and the Opera House, I think, 1200 seats. Q. Is the Opera House independent? A. Yes, sir. Q. Does that run motion pictures intermittently? A. No, just on Sunday, and then sometimes during the week. Q. Do you use the licensed service exclusively in the Star Theatre? A. Yes, sir, but I have used the Famous Players also, in the Star Theatre. Q. How long have you been using the licensed service in the Star? A. Since I opened the doors. Q. When you first began to operate the Star Theatre from what exchange did you obtain your motion picture service? A. The Kent Exchange, Toledo, Ohio. Q. Now, after the sale of the property of the Kent Exchange to the General Film Company did you continue to take your service from the General Film Company? A. Yes, sir. Q. Before the General Film Company began operating in the Toledo field, did you find it possible to announce and advertise a definite program in advance with any certainty of being able to show the program on the day stated in your advertisement? A. No, sir. In one hour I could go to work, and put out a poster, and the fellow I was opposing, he might get that film. Q, What was the situation with respect to getting a program at that time? A. You couldn't get one. I would go down there very early in the morning, and stay there, and try to get out a program, and someone would come in and say "You promised it to me" and I would lose out, and they would give it to him. On different occasions I have seen people come in there, and I would have that film booked for