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 #:
000173
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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James W. Hunter, Direct Examination. 2623 Q. What is the price of admission of the unlicensed house? A. Five cents. Q. What is the name of the unlicensed theatre in Wilkinsburg? A. The Grand. Q. When you were interested in the Wilkins Theatre did you have any difficulty in keeping your program clear? A. Yes, sir, I did. Q. Will you tell us something about that? A. Quite often I would have the same picture on that they would have at the Colonial, but they would change the picture for us. Q. Did you have any difficulty at that time in obtaining from the exchange what they had promised you? A. Yes, we had. Q. Did you always get it? A. We never got exactly what we were promised. We very seldom knew what we were going to have when we would go in there of a morning. Q. What service do you use, and by that I mean what program? A. I use three reels. Q. Every day, or every other day? A. Every day. Q. Is the three-reel service the regular program in this vicinity? A. Yes, sir, the three-reel service. Q. Is your theatre solicited by the independents from time to time? A. Only when their special features come out, not by any film exchange. Q. Have the prices of motion picture service been increased to your theatre by the General Film Company? A. Well, in the way of the run it has, the run of the films. Q. How do you mean "in the way of the run?" A. Well, in the date of the release. Our run today is not as new as it was a few years ago for the same money. Q. What is the difference? A. Well, about, I suppose, fifteen days. Q. Is the price that the Doris Theatre pays uoav larger or smaller than the price paid by the Wilkins Theatre? A. The same price, as I understand it. Q. Did the Wilkins Theatre have a three-reel program? A. Yes, sir. Q. Or a three-reel service? A. Yes, sir, three reels. Q. What kind of projecting machine have you been using? A. I have been using an Edison. Q. Have you been using an Edison altogether? A. Yes, sir.