Evening star., 1925-11-02
BY JAMES ROBBINS.
ARTICLE v.


ARTICLE v.
Step by step counsel for the
Federal Trade Commission have taken
up the uniting of production, distri-
button and exhibition of motion pic
lures In support of their contention
that an open attempt was made to
monopolize the Industry, and they
have related from the testimony in the
four years of investigation how fac
tors that loomed up in the business
We're blotted out or absorbed.
Through all this history of the IL
Near-old industry that has grown TO
fourth in size in the country runs the
rise Of Adolph Zukor, head OF the
Famous PlayersLas Corp. to the
position he commands.
The acquiring of Paramount Pic
lures Corporation to acquire it; the
securing of distributing companies,
then theaters: the attempt to absorb
and then destroy First National. and
the subsequent making of business
connections with the franchise hold
ers in it: the working combination"
with Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer and Mar
Gus Loew, his old friend in the fur
business and in penny arcades. are
depicted as but steps in Zukors climb
to the peak Of filmdom. a perch from
which he might be visualized as max
Ing Charlie Chaplin eat his pies and
Mary Pickford grow up.
Started i'm 1912.
These steps go back to 1912. when
the feature picture. or that Of four
or more reels. was practically un.
known. when the General Film Com.
pany, which was declared mono
polistic combination and forced to
Ii.
cent of all pictures made and ma arIet-
ed them through various organiza-
rions in the different States. back to
the time when the industry was but
an innocent of four years. al the
candy tempting age.
Zukor had given ZIP the small thea
ter business on Fourteenth street. New
York City. That year he organized the
Famous Players Film CO., becoming
its president.
Jesse L. Lasky had been producer
of vaudeville sketches He entered
the rapidly developing motion picture
field at the same time As Samuel
Goldfish. who later changed his name
to Goldwyn. They organized the Jesse
l.. Lasky Feature Play CO., in Nov
ember, 1918, and began producing
pictures in competition with Zukor
W. w. Hodkinson. through the
Progressive Motion Pictures Co. in
San Francisco. was distributing films
on the Pacific Coast. He came to
New York in 1914 and conferred with
ZukOr with q view to working out 4
national distributing organization.
Zukor thought well of it. but is said
to have demanded a half interest in
the proposed company. This was re-
fused and five Of the State dis
tributors incorporated the Para
mount Pictures Corporation. Hodkin-
son became its president.
Merger Plan Opposed.
Zukor is said to have then advo-
Gated the merging of production, dis
tribution and exhibition into one
company and to have been opposed
by Hodkinson.
The year 1915 was one of fire
works in the industry. The Goldwyn
Pictures Corporation had been form
ed to produce and distribute pic
lures. Famous Players, it is stated,
undertook to acquire it, but was not
successful.
The Paramount Corporation en-
tered into contract with both Zukor
and Lasky for the distribution of
their pictures for five years. That
Zukor and Lasky were then planning
to combine was shown by this con-
tract in which it was provided that
in case of the formation of n corpo-
ration it should be substituted in
place of Zukor and Lasky.
The Paramount Corporation had
decided to compel Zul<or TO re-
lease his own picture. The Eter-
nal City" through a subsidiary cor
Film Booking Agency, although it
had no right to the picture. This
is said to have met with the APP
proVal of Zukor. except that he de-
manded half interest in the com
pany. The Paramount stockholders
are said to have objected. and that
while the negotiations were pending.
as we'll as before Paramount organ
lied its subsidiary. Zukor secretly in
corpor4ted the Select Film Booking
Agency. This So-called coup of his, il
is stated. resulted in Paramount buy
ing a half interest in the organized
and q agreeing to pay it s. per
cent Of the gross sum received in rent
ais from exhibitors for The Eternal
City" as we'll as to advance Zukur's
producing company. the Famous
Players Film Company. $4,000 on ac-
count of such percentage.
This one-half interest in the Select
Film Booking Agency, il is contended.
tanning complete control of the Para
mount Pictures Corporation and its
and of merging produC
ton and distribution.
Big Merger Discussed.
Zukor is next said to have gone to
California to acquire the Triangle
Company for the distribution of the
pictures of his and LaSky's companies,
which had become the backbone of
Paramount distribution. Upon his re
turn to New York, it is stated, there
was a meeting at his home there and
a discussion of the merger Of the
three branches of the industry into
one big company.
His counsel says there is nothing in
the testimony that the union of eXhib-
itorS was discussed at this time. and
add that as result of this meeting
of a majority of the directors and
stockholders of Paramount agreed
with Zukor and ouSted HodkinSon."
Zukor's and LaSkyS companies
were combined into the Famous Play
ers-Lasky Corpora ton, with Sl2.500.-
900 capital Its charter provided for
carrying out the idea of merging the
three branches of the industry One
of The wide powers conferred by the
charter read:
10 purchase. sell. produce, lease,
exhibit and deal in
motion picture negatives and posit:ves
and to erect, purcha Sc. sell, lease and
operate Iheaters and amusement en-
terprises of all kinds"
In less than year the new cor
poration had acquired all the stock of
the Paramount Pictures Corporation
and it's nine subsidiaries. The Para
mount organization was dissolved and