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 #:
000325
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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Houston N. Morgan, Direct Examination. 2775 Q. No. A. The Reliance. Well, I can't offhand tell all. Q. You had them all? A. Yes, sir, everything, the Ambrosia. Q. Did the St. Louis Film Supply Exchange furnish a complete motion picture program? A. Yes, sir, absolutely. Q. How many motion picture theatres became customers of the St. Louis Film Supply Company? A. In this vicinity? Q. Yes? A. Well, I couldn't tell you the exact number, but we had quite a number of them. I know in the five weeks I was there we took on fifteen hundred and eighty-five dollars' worth of business per week, but as to the exact number of theatres I could not tell you. Q. What were the circumstances of your terminating your relationship with the St. Louis Film Supply Company? A. Our opposition exchange, the Swanson-Crawford Company, bought the St. Louis Film Supply Company, and got them to retire from the field. Q. What service was the Swanson-Crawford Company furnishing at that time, the licensed or the unlicensed? A. The unlicensed, the same brands and makes of pictures that we were handling. Q. At the present time do the unlicensed exchanges, or their representatives solicit you for business? A. Oh, yes, every week we receive a call from them. Q. Do they offer to furnish you a complete program? A. Absolutely, yes, sir. Q. Do they, as a matter of fact, furnish complete programs to the various motion picture houses here in St. Louis? A. Yes, sir, and they have furnished them to me at the Gem Theatre. Q. Do you have any competitor in your immediate neighborhood who is using the same service as yourself? A. To-day? Q. Yes? A. Yes, sir, just two blocks from me. Q. From what exchange are you obtaining your service? A. The General Film Company's exchange at Grand and Oliver Streets here in this city. Q. What is the name of your competitor who is also using the licensed service? A. Mr. Redmond, at the Lyric Theatre. Q. What is the seating capacity of that theatre? A. I am guessing at that. I am told it is about between five and six hundred. I never was in the house in my life.