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 6
Leaf #:
000315
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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Defendants' Exhibit No. 184. 3321 Return and reconciliation follow. Not much of a plot, one might say, vet the sincerity and care with which it is handled and the acting of Phillips Smalley and of the runaway, who is "just boy,"' make it a play among hundreds. Written by a woman, Lois Weber, it shows great knowledge of "boy." BARNYARD FLIRTATIONS— Keystone out-Keystoned. To any one who knows this company's wonderful rough and tumble comedy that description will be sufficient. In this Fatty tries to catch two "chickens," one feathered, the other wearing skirts. The censors roared with laughter and audibly wondered how the actors could live through it. A smashing hit. PLAYS WELL WORTH SEEING. THE HEAD WAITER (Frontier)— Restaurant hurlyburly. The restaurant owner's daughter loves Max Ascher, the head waiter, and the owner tries to get rid of him. How the rapid-fire mixup of waiters, food, cooks and patrons is kept going mystifies the layman. It brings roars of laughter. PUTTING ONE OVER (Edison)— Demure daring by Dolly of the Dailies. Mary Fuller (Dolly) is a real reporter now and she lands a beat for her paper by posing as a. reform agent and letting a crooked real estate operator bribe her with a f 5,000 check. Here Dolly gets into the real swing of newspaper life and her flight by a fire escape is a foretaste presumably of exciting experiences to come. To a newspaper reviewer the following scenes in a newspaper office brought recollections of days of "big stories,, in the office. Acton Davies wrote it. THE BATTLE OF ELDERBUSH GULCH (Biograph feature) — Human as well as sensational. There really are good Indian war dramas and this is one. Dealing with the old fight about the pioneer's cabin, the massacre and the rescue, it handles them all so artistically as to make it a great film of its class. The incidents of the sacred children, the puppies and the baby they save relieve the tension of the Indian warfare scenes and still make a strong pull on the heartstrings. The child actress is far superior to the leading woman, who couldn't put any expression into her face. The verve with which the cavalry and Indian scenes were handled is beyond praise. FORGETTING (Imp, to-day's release)— How one reel