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 #:
000165
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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Charles A. Fetnler, Direct Examination. 2615 Q. Was that a motion picture theatre? A. It was a combination house, but I converted it into a motion picture house the last two years it was in existence. Q. At what time did you convert that into a motion picture house? A. Well, 1909 — 190S. Somewhere along that. Q. What was the seating capacity of the Grand? A. 1,000, about. Q. So that, you first commenced exhibiting motion pictures to the public in the Virginia Theatre, in 1908? A. No, in the Grand I first started. Q. I see. A. Then I followed up after the Grand, at the Virginia. Afterwards, I lost the lease of that, and they tore the building down, and remodeled it. Q. From what exchange did you take your pictures when you began exhibiting motion pictures to the public? A. From the Pennsylvania — Columbia Film Exchange. Q. Do you know whether or not that was a branch of the Pittsburgh Calcium Light Company? A. I think it was. Q. How long did you continue taking motion pictures from that exchange? A. Well, I started with them, and ran pictures with the vaudeville that I had at the Grand at that time, and then, later on, I ran pictures exclusively. Q. How long did you stay with the Pennsylvania Columbia Film Exchange? A. I was with them up to the time the General Film Company bought them over. Q. And then, did you continue to take service from the General Film Company? A. Yes, sir. Q. What service do you take at the present time? A. The General Film Company service. Q. By that I mean, what sort of a program do you take? A. I use four reels at each house. Q. Does that mean four reels every other day? A. I say each house; I mean at the Colonial and Virginia. Q. Four reels every other day? A. Four reels every day at each house. Q. Making 21 reels a week at each house? A. Yes, sir. Q. What is the standard service in this territory? A. 21 reels. Q. A great many houses run a 3 reel program, do they not? A. I understand they do, but not around Wheeling. They all run 4 around there.