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The Motion Picture Industry
The star series method of licensing the exhibition of motion pictures was generally adopted by the trade between the years 1917 and 1919. ... It was gradually abandoned, and about 1920 or 1921
Schedule of Prices for Paramount Pictures Price per Picture
Population, Towns of
1 Day
2 Days
3 Days
One Week
5,000 6,ooo 7,000 8,ooo 9,000 i o,ooo
$25.00 27.50 30.00 32.50 35.00 37-5°
Advance
20% for two
days
Advance 30%
for three days
1 picture
double
3 days'
price
2 pictures
double
one picture
price
the then existing methods of selling motion pictures were almost completely replaced by the present generally used method of block booking, that is, the offering at one time of a "block" composed of a number of pictures to be released over a period of time.
Some of the distributors had tried other methods of selling and all distributors had considered them; with a few exceptions such as the United Artists Corporation's plan, however, no plan had been worked out that, in the minds of distributors, met the needs of the situation as well as block booking.
In defense of block booking, distributors testifying before the Federal Trade Commission advanced five distinct arguments: ( 1 ) it was simply wholesaling applied to the sale of motion pictures just as wholesaling was applied in the sale of ordinary commodities; (2) it reduced the cost of distribution, thus benefiting the distributors and, in turn, the exhibitors; (3) it simplified the buying problem of exhibitors by making it possible to obtain a year's supply of pictures in a few large purchases; (4) it assured a producer a definite income which enabled him to make better pictures than he otherwise could have made; and (5) it had been found more successful than any other method that had been developed by any distributing company.
Several distributors testified that the selling of pictures