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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 #:
000396
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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2846 Howell Graham, Direct Examination. Q. And what was it that you opened up? A. A picture show. Q. Have you been operating a motion picture theatre continuously since that time? A. Yes, sir. Q. How large a house have you? A. All the houses average about 250. Q. Did the house that you opened when you first went to Chattanooga have a seating capacity of about 250? A. Yes, sir. Q. Have you operated the same house continuously since? A. Yes, sir. Q. Have you opened any other house? A. Yes, sir. Q. What other house or houses do you own? A. The Colonial, Alhambra, Crescent, and Theatore. Q. Are they all located in Chattanooga? A. Yes, sir. Q. And what is the average seating capacity of these houses? A. About the same. Q. They all run about 200 or 250? A. Yes, sir. Q. What kind of service do you use in the various houses? A. I use the General service. Q. By that you mean the licensed service? A. The licensed service, yes, sir. Q. And you obtain it from what rental exchange? A. Atlanta. Q. From the Atlanta branch of the General Film Company? A. I am now using the Mutual and the General. Q. How many reels of licensed film are you taking at present? A. I am getting nine reels a day. Q. Do you run seven days a week? A. Six days. Q. That would be 54 reels each week? A. Licensed. Q. How many reels per week of the unlicensed? A. Twenty-four. Four a day. Q. How do you use these reels, do you blend them in your various programs? A. Yes, sir. Q. So that each of your theatres have some licensed service and some unlicensed? A. We try to assemble all the Westerns in one house. Give a dependable program for certain people who have a certain line of stuff they want to go and see. Q. Before the General Film Company had an office in Atlanta, from what rental exchange were you obtaining your licensed service? A. The Theatre Film Supply Company in Birmingham.