Chapter 02: International Expansion, 1907-1918
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. By 1908
a. there was widespread creative experimentation in the film industry.
b. demand for films remained relatively low.
c. film budgets were nearing the $5,000 range.
d. the cinema had emerged as a full-scale industry.
e. all films were being shot in the studio.
f. all of the above
2. The typical film of 1908
a. was made on an assembly line model.
b. had credits for the actors, writer, and director.
c. ran about two reels in length.
d. was made by a combination writer-director-cameraman.
e. was shot in one week.
f. all of the above
3. From the nickelodeon boom until the advent of the feature film, the main industrial tendency was
a. experimentation and innovation in terms of both narrative and visual form.
b. wildy variable as there were not yet firm procedures established for film production.
c. toward an artisanal mode of production that was based on individual creativity.
d. centralization and standardization of production practice.
e. the continuing drive for longer and more complex films.
f. none of the above
4. The need for regular and continuous production between 1907 and 1913 led to all of the following
EXCEPT
a. specialization of labor.
b. centralization of creative control.
c. a more factorylike studio production system.
d. a highly uniform product.
e. films longer than one reel.
f. all of the above
5. In the period between 1907 and 1913
a. all companies copyrighted their films.
b. pirating or stealing prints was becoming increasingly rare.
c. few companies used Edison equipment without paying royalties.
d. most films were technically “public domain” in regard to their copyright status.
e. Both a and b are true.
f. all of the above
6. Edison
a. claimed to hold all essential patents for the motion picture camera.
b. sued to prevent competitors from operating, since all films were patent infringements.
c. helped the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC).
d. dominated the early American film industry.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
7. Which of the following was NOT an MPPC company?
a. Essanay
b. Lubin
c. Star
d. Vitagraph
e. IMP
f. All of the above were MPPC companies.
8. The MPPC
a. had ten equally powerful members.
b. was dominated by Biograph and Vitagraph.
c. opposed quotas on foreign films.
d. allowed unlicensed producers to lease its patents.
e. had an exclusive contract with Eastman Kodak for film stock.
f. all of the above
9. The General Film Company
a. competed with MPPC.
b. created a single licensed distributor for American films.
c. was primarily interested in importing foreign films.
d. sold films to both independent and MPPC theaters.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
10. The MPPC helped stabilize the industry in all of the following ways EXCEPT
a. standardizing exhibition practices.
b. establishing a level of technical competence for production.
c. encouraging fair competition among producers.
d. increasing the efficiency of film distribution.
e. setting regular pricing in production, distribution, and exhibition.
f. All of the above were ways in which the MPPC stabilized the industry.
11. The MPPC
a. completely controlled exhibition in the United States.
b. succeeded in crushing all domestic competition.
c. did not meet widespread resistance from within the film industry.
d. sought to control every aspect of the industry through licensing and royalties.
e. encouraged experimentation among its member companies.
f. all of the above
12. Foreign film producers cooperated with the MPPC
a. because they ensured a fair and open market for all films regardless of origin.
b. because the General Film Company could ensure American distribution for their films.
c. because they fell under the same patents and licensing agreements as American producers when
they tried to import their films.
d. because they received favorable trade exchange agreements from the organization.
e. because the MPPC had complete control of all American exhibition.
f. all of the above
13. The Motion Picture Distributing and Sales Company was formed to fight
a. the Independent Film Protective Association (IFPA).
b. the New York Motion Picture Company (NYMPC).
c. the Mutual Film Supply Company (MFSC).
d. the Motion Picture Patents Corporation (MPPC).
e. the Universal Film Manufacturing Company (UFMC).
f. none of the above
14. The 1908 court ruling making motion pictures subject to the same copyright restrictions as other
dramatic forms had the effect of
a. allowing filmmakers to continue to freely borrow material from stage plays and comic strips.
b. making foreign films more popular in the United States.
c. forcing filmmakers to turn to more classic literature like Shakespeare and Dickens.
d. encouraging remakes and sequels to successful films.
e. assigning ownership of The Great Train Robbery to Edwin S. Porter.
f. none of the above
15. The first MPPC filmmaker to have a film released as a two-reeler was
a. J. Stuart Blackton. d. Edwin S. Porter.
b. D. W. Griffith. e. Carl Laemmle.
c. W. K. L. Dickson. f. none of the above
16. The reason for the MPPC-led standardization of film length was
a. the belief that the public had a short attention span.
b. greater efficiency in production.
c. greater ease of exhibition.
d. filmmakers showed no desire to produce longer films.
e. only b and c
f. all of the above
17. The feature film
a. was first produced in the United States.
b. was a staple of MPPC production.
c. was initially not very popular with American audiences.
d. was a European innovation imported to America.
e. was banned from U.S. screens as a result of General Film Company policy.
f. none of the above
18. The Loves of Queen Elizabeth
a. starred Sarah Bernhardt.
b. proved so profitable that it allowed Zukor to start a production company.
c. convinced the film industry of the commercial viability of the feature film.
d. was imported from France.
e. was essentially a filmed play.
f. all of the above
19. Quo vadis?
a. was a French superspectacle.
b. was the longest film ever shown in nickelodeons.
c. was a creative breakthrough but a financial failure.
d. had a running time of over two hours.
e. was directed by Giovanni Pastrone.
f. none of the above
20. Pastrone’s Cabiria prefigures Griffith’s epics in all EXCEPT its
a. static camera work that maintains the proscenium relationship between event and viewer.
b. historical epic setting that sets individual stories against well-known events.
c. elaborate, highly-detailed sets constructed at great expense.
d. skillful narrative construction that maintains several simultaneous plots.
e. unusual length.
f. All of the above are similarities.
21. At first, feature films were at an economic disadvantage because
a. they were primarily from foreign sources and of poor technical quality.
b. MPPC resistance kept them out of the American market.
c. audiences didn’t like feature films as much as shorts.
d. feature films couldn’t be shown as many times in a given day.
e. movies were priced by the foot, and features’ negative costs were higher than shorter films.
f. all of the above
22. The economic advantages of the feature film included
a. higher admission prices.
b. longer runs.
c. cheaper, more effective advertising.
d. greater appeal to the middle-class audience.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
23. The feature film
a. generally had the same technical standards as short films.
b. tended to feature a greatly simplified narrative so as not to be confusing.
c. was considered to be any film over five reels in length.
d. was the means by which the independent film companies defeated the MPPC.
e. allowed for an economy of scale in which budgets and schedules both decreased.
f. all of the above
24. The “dream palace” style theater
a. dates back to around 1900.
b. had the same admission price as the nickelodeons.
c. remained independent of the Hollywood studio system.
d. were primarily converted vaudeville houses.
e. emerged to accommodate the growing audience for feature films.
f. both a and d
25. The first “dream palace” theater was
a. The Fox. d. The Pathé.
b. The Paramount. e. The Palace.
c. The Strand. f. none of the above
26. The star system
a. was embraced by the MPPC companies such as Edison and Biograph.
b. was developed for and is unique to motion pictures.
c. was a short-lived gimmick that allowed the independents some temporary power.
d. used manufactured publicity to fuel audience demand.
e. was invented by William Fox.
f. none of the above
27. Florence Lawrence
a. was known as the Vitagraph girl.
b. was hired away from the MPPC by William Fox’s New York Motion Picture Company.
c. was first known as a character actress before becoming the first product of the star system.
d. was a star known by her real name while still working for an MPPC company.
e. never achieved national stardom.
f. all of the above
28. Which of the following was NOT a reason for the film industry’s move to Hollywood?
a. It had an ideal climate and topography.
b. It was already a theater center.
c. Land was cheap and plentiful.
d. It was far away from the MPPC companies.
e. Los Angeles had a low tax rate.
f. All of the above were reasons.
29. The first of the MPPC members to shoot in Los Angeles as early as 1907 was
a. Edison.
b. Selig.
c. Essanay.
d. Kalem.
e. Biograph.
f. All of the above had production facilities in Los Angeles by 1911.
30. The MPPC became inoperative in
a. 1908.
b. 1911.
c. 1914.
d. 1919.
e. after 1920.
f. The MPPC never officially became inoperative.
31. By 1915, Hollywood
a. had approximately fifteen thousand workers employed by the motion picture industry.
b. was home to over 60 percent of American film production.
c. had a capital investment exceeding $500 million.
d. was home to the former “independents” who would soon become the major studios.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
32. Paramount Pictures was formed through a merger of
a. Loews, First National, and the New York Motion Picture Company.
b. Metro Pictures, Famous Players Film Company, and Nicholas Schenk.
c. Famous Players Film Company and Lasky’s Feature Play Company.
d. IMP, Powers, Rex, and Bison.
e. Goldwyn, Nestor, and Lasky’s Feature Play Company.
f. none of the above
33. The parent company of MGM was
a. First National.
b. Loews, Inc.
c. Louis B. Mayer Productions.
d. Goldwyn Pictures.
e. Metro Pictures.
f. c, d, and e were equal partners in the studio.
34. The major American movie studios that began to emerge in the post–World War I period
a. incorporated several of the MPPC companies.
b. all began as independent exhibitors and distributors fighting the MPPC.
c. were largely formed from merged production companies and distributors.
d. were still divided geographically between California and New York.
e. both b and c
f. none of the above
35. The men who led the early Hollywood studios
a. had backgrounds in arcades and nickelodeons.
b. were first-generation Jewish immigrants.
c. were referred to as “moguls.”
d. employed “chain–store”methods.
e. only c and d
f. all of the above
36. Which of the following MPPC companies did NOT fold immediately after the dissolving of the trust?
a. Edison d. Star Film
b. Biograph e. Kalem
c. Vitagraph f. All of the above folded immediately.
37. The three directors in the Triangle Film Corporation were
a. Griffith, Ince, and DeMille. d. Ince, DeMille, and Blackton.
b. Lasky, Ince, and Griffith. e. Griffith, Ince, and Sennett.
c. Sennett, Griffith, and Zukor. f. none of the above
38. By 1915, a major studio like Paramount was producing feature films at a rate of
a. one or two per month.
b. three or four per week.
c. one new film every day.
d. ten to fifteen per week.
e. three or four per month.
f. None of the above; in 1915, most studios were still not making feature films.
39. By 1915, the average production cost for a feature film was
a. $500–$1,000. d. $25,000–$50,000.
b. $5,000–$10,000. e. $50,000–$100,000.
c. $12,000–$20,000. f. over $100,000.
40. The studio that began the practice of block booking was
a. Edison. d. Famous Players-Lasky.
b. Biograph. e. MGM.
c. First National. f. none of the above
41. Block booking
a. was first developed by Edison for the MPPC.
b. was accepted willingly by the exhibitors who benefited from the system.
c. put producers at a distinct economic disadvantage.
d. forced exhibitors to show less desirable films if they wanted to show the more desirable ones.
e. was not widely practiced in Hollywood.
f. none of the above
42. First National battled block booking
a. by producing their own films.
b. by ignoring distribution and concentrating only on production and exhibition.
c. by filing a series of lawsuits against Paramount and the other studios.
d. by acquiring the distribution rights to Chaplin’s films.
e. by using “the wrecking crew” to blow up Paramount’s theaters with dynamite.
f. None of the above; First National was equally guilty of block booking.
43. The mogul whose intensive campaign to acquire theaters led to the battle between the major producers
to own exhibition venues was
a. Mayer. d. Laemmle.
b. Zukor. e. Fox.
c. Goldwyn. f. none of the above
44. Edison, Paramount, and First National all understood that control of the film industry is based on
controlling
a. production. d. marketing.
b. exhibition. e. merchandising.
c. distribution. f. none of the above
45. First National was able to eliminate block booking by
a. filing lawsuits against those engaging in the practice.
b. acquiring sole distribution rights to Charlie Chaplin’s films.
c. buying more movie theaters than its competitors.
d. making more films than its two next biggest rivals combined.
e. authoring an industry-wide agreement to refrain from the practice.
f. none of the above
46. The capital for the Hollywood studio’s theater acquisition boom came from
a. further corporate mergers. d. Wall Street banks.
b. revenue from films. e. both b and c
c. sales of real-estate holdings. f. none of the above
47. The primary factor in Hollywood’s rise to international dominance prior to 1920 was
a. a clear international preference for American films.
b. the inferiority of the average European film.
c. the increased prestige of the feature film.
d. the growing artistic respectability of the American cinema.
e. World War I.
f. all of the above
48. World War I shut down European film production primarily because
a. there was great infrastructure damage to studios and theaters.
b. the film industries were all focused on war propaganda.
c. the chemicals used to make movie film were needed to make gunpowder.
d. the poor economic conditions left little money for entertainment.
e. trade routes were disrupted.
f. All of the above causes were about equal.
49. Prior to World War I, which of the following European countries had a highly developed film
industry?
a. Russia d. Spain
b. Great Britain e. Italy
c. Germany f. none of the above
50. Between 1914 and 1919, the American film industry
a. grew in terms of the number of films produced but lost market share to European producers.
b. experienced its first period of decline since the movies began.
c. was producing nearly all of the films seen around the world.
d. was battling France and Italy for the domination of international markets.
e. was too focused on internal competition to pay much attention to export markets.
f. none of the above
51. The single figure who dominated French cinema from 1898 to 1904 was
a. Lumière. d. Méliès.
b. Pathé. e. Zecca.
c. Gaumont. f. none of the above
52. Charles Pathé’s industrial strategy included all of the following EXCEPT
a. assembly-line production.
b. vertical integration.
c. foreign sales offices around the world.
d. building the world’s first luxury theater.
e. leaving distribution to an outside company.
f. All of the above were part of Pathé’s industrial strategy.
53. Pathé
a. was financed by some of France’s largest corporations.
b. exercised a complete vertical monopoly over every aspect of the film business, including
manufacturing cameras and film stock.
c. marketed twice as many films in the United States in 1908 than all the American companies
combined.
d. wound up with the rights to distribute Méliès’s films.
e. had a profit margin of between fifty and one hundred times the negative cost of any film.
f. all of the above
54. Ferdinand Zecca
a. built the world’s first luxury cinema. d. manufactured his own film stock.
b. acquired the Lumière patents in 1902. e. all of the above
c. built a state-of-the-art movie camera. f. none of the above
55. The primary motion picture director at Pathé was
a. Ferdinand Zecca. d. Louis Feuillade.
b. Charles Pathé. e. Alice Guy.
c. Georges Méliès. f. none of the above
56. The primary genre in which Ferdinand Zecca worked was
a. lower-class melodramas. d. religious spectacle.
b. reconstructed newsreels. e. literary adaptation.
c. the comic chase film. f. all the above
57. Max Linder
a. was a major influence on Chaplin.
b. was a star for Gaumont.
c. invented the Pathé newsreel.
d. starred in but did not write or direct his own films.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
58. Pathé’s primary competition in the French industry came from
a. Star Films. d. Gaumont.
b. the Lumières. e. Ambrosio Films.
c. Société Film d’Art. f. none of the above
59. Gaumont
a. had the cinema’s first woman director, Alice Guy.
b. produced the popular Feuillade serials.
c. opened foreign offices and acquired theater chains like Pathé.
d. dominated the French industry from 1914 to 1920.
e. became a pioneering animation studio with the work of Émile Cohl.
f. all of the above
60. Of the following, who was NOT a Gaumont director?
a. Jean Durand
b. Alice Guy
c. Ferdinand Zecca
d. Émile Cohl
e. Louis Feuillade
f. All of the above were Gaumont directors.
61. Feuillade’s Fantomas
a. was filmed on elaborately constructed sets.
b. is daring in terms of its cinematic structure.
c. is based on the exploits of a French superhero.
d. features a poetic blend of realism and the fantastic.
e. was a two-part story that was finally released as a single film.
f. all of the above
62. All of the following are indicative of Feuillade’s cinematic style EXCEPT
a. elaborate tableau shots.
b. location shooting.
c. composition in depth.
d. dense poetic imagery.
e. montage editing.
f. All of the above are characteristic of his style.
63. Feuillade’s work was popular with all of the following EXCEPT
a. surrealist intellectuals like Breton and Apollinaire.
b. the Cahiers du cinéma critics who became the filmmakers of the French New Wave.
c. his contemporary French audiences.
d. his contemporary filmmakers like Abel Gance and René Clair.
e. international audiences of the pre–World War I period.
f. None of the above; Feuillade has always been universally popular.
64. In 1910, France controlled what percentage of the world film market?
a. less than 20 percent d. 60–70 percent
b. 20–30 percent e. 80–90 percent
c. 40–50 percent f. over 90 percent
65. The man who applied the principles of stop-motion photography to line drawings and thus became the
father of cinematic animation was
a. Jean Durand. d. J. Stuart Blackton.
b. Émile Cohl. e. Herbert Blaché.
c. Max Linder. f. none of the above
66. The Société Film d’Art films
a. were visually dynamic productions.
b. attempted to attract working-class viewers to classical theater and literature.
c. tried to create new stars for the cinema by casting unknown actors in the lead roles.
d. were mostly stories written expressly for the screen by young writers.
e. were not appreciated by French intellectuals.
f. none of the above
67. All of the following are true of the Société Film d’Art productions EXCEPT
a. the films were not popular successes.
b. they were almost entirely photographed in either long or medium shot.
c. every shot corresponds to a dramatic scene in the classic tableau style.
d. the sets were highly artificial, constructed out of papier-mâché.
e. they featured scores written by the leading composers in France.
f. All of the above are true.
68. The first Société Film d’Art production was
a. The Loves of Queen Elizabeth.
b. Oliver Twist.
c. The Sorrows of Young Werther.
d. Quo vadis?
e. The Assassination of the Duc de Guise.
f. none of the above
69. Société Film d’Art
a. lasted well into the sound era.
b. enjoyed only modest commercial success.
c. was the only company of its type in France.
d. had many imitators around the world.
e. filmed only French plays and novels.
f. all of the above
70. Film d’art
a. became an important international genre.
b. died rapidly right before World War I.
c. increased standard film lengths.
d. helped make the film medium socially and intellectually respectable.
e. identified a new audience for cinema.
f. all of the above
71. An important lesson learned by filmmakers like Griffith and Feuillade from the film d’art movement
was
a. audiences neither liked nor could understand complex plots.
b. the tableau style was the most effective form of narrative presentation.
c. acting for film required a different, more subtle approach than stage acting.
d. classic literature made good source material.
e. audiences preferred shorter films to longer ones.
f. all of the above
72. The country most responsible for the rise of the feature film was
a. France. d. Great Britain.
b. the United States. e. Germany.
c. Italy. f. none of the above
73. The Italian film industry can be said to have begun with the construction of which studio?
a. Ambrosio d. Cines
b. Film d’Arte Italiana e. Alberini
c. Italia f. none of the above
74. The film that is considered the first blockbuster by virtue of its ten-reel length and cast of a thousand
extras is
a. The Last Days of Pompeii. d. Messalina.
b. The Capture of Rome. e. The Fall of Troy.
c. Cabiria. f. none of the above
75. All of the following are true of Quo vadis? EXCEPT that it
a. established the conventions of the Italian superspectacle.
b. was so successful that the studio had to work 24-hour days to make enough prints.
c. featured crowd scenes with five thousand extras.
d. featured both a real chariot race and a Colosseum full of real lions.
e. was extremely popular in Italy but not internationally.
f. all of the above
76. All of the following are true of Cabiria EXCEPT
a. the story and screenplay are by the famous Italian writer Gabriele D’Annunzio.
b. the budget was over one million lira (or $100,000 in 1914 dollars).
c. it featured the largest sets ever created for a motion picture.
d. it was shot on location in Tunisia, Sicily, and the Italian Alps.
e. it took six months to shoot.
f. All of the above are true.
77. The “cabiria movement” refers to
a. a panning shot. d. a lot of extras all in simultaneous action.
b. an editing technique. e. a tracking shot.
c. a crane shot. f. none of the above
78. Cabiria
a. was the first commercially unsuccessful Italian superspectacle.
b. used only natural lighting and so Pastrone had to build glass-roofed sets.
c. was shot in a visually static style.
d. was made with a painstaking attention to period details of costume and décor.
e. contained only primitive and unconvincing special effects.
f. all of the above