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 #:
000215
Language:
English
Collection:
Government & Law and Early Cinema
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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Joseph R. Dbnniston, Direct Examination. 2665 Q. Do you receive your programs as promised you? A. I do. Q. Do you select your program, or do you permit the exchange to select it, largely, for you? A. Well, we have a schedule that we run on, that we run certain releases on a certain day. Q. Do you ever ask the exchange to make changes in your program, and give you certain subjects? A. Frequently. We see certain subjects that are released that we would rather have in preference to what we have on our schedule, and always make arrangements to ^et them. Q. Were you able to do this when you were taking service from the Ohio Film Exchange? A. Well, we did not know what we were going to get then, until we got it. Q. Do you find that the General Film Company is willing to co-operate with you in arranging a program that will satisfy you and your public? A. They have done so so far, yes, sir. Q. With reference to the prices of motion picture service, have you been familiar therewith for the past few years? A. Yes, sir; for seven years, at least. Q. How does the price of the licensed motion picture service you are now showing in your theatre, compare with the prices that you were paying prior to the advent of the General Film Company in this field? A. Well, it is cheaper, compared with the number of reels that I run and the quality. Q. How many reels were you running in the Family Theatre or the Theatorium in 1909? A. Six reels a week. Q. How many reels are you running in the Monroe Theatre at present? A. Twenty-three — 24. Q. What was the price you were paying for the service in the Family Theatre in 1909? A. Well, it run — it varied some, but we paid between $20.00 and 830.00. Q. What price do you pay for the service you are now using in the Monroe Theatre? A. $43.00. But yon must understand that the service that I used in the Family Theatre at Paulding, when I was paying from $20.00 to s.'IO.OO was ranging anywhere from sixty days to six months old. and some of it was even older than that, and my service ranges now from nine days to 43 days old. Q. Yes. And you have already told us the addition in