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Answer Key
1. B
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45. A
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91. A
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1. Thomas Edison’s first attempt to create talking pictures in the late 1800s was an
immediate commercial success.
A) True
B) False
2. The first motion pictures were watched by only one person at a time.
A) True
B) False
3. The first public showing of Edison’s kinetoscope projector system was in a Paris café in
December 1895.
A) True
B) False
4. To become a mass medium, the early silent films had to offer what books achieved: the
suspension of disbelief and stories that engaged an audience’s imagination.
A) True
B) False
5. Georges Méliès opened the first public movie theater in France in 1896.
A) True
B) False
6. French director Georges Méliès pioneered a number of camera tricks and techniques,
including slow motion.
A) True
B) False
7. Georges Méliès made the first western, The Great Train Robbery.
A) True
B) False
8. The first movie theaters were called nickelodeons, a name that indicated the cost of
admission.
A) True
B) False
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9. The Motion Picture Patents Company was established in 1908 to share film technology
with independent filmmakers.
A) True
B) False
10. The Motion Picture Patents Company was founded by Adolph Zukor of Paramount
Pictures and William Fox of Fox Film Corporation.
A) True
B) False
11. Hollywood was the international center of cinema from the very beginning.
A) True
B) False
12. The existence of the Motion Picture Patents Company led some independent producers
to make their pictures in faraway Hollywood.
A) True
B) False
13. An oligopoly exists when a few companies control an industry.
A) True
B) False
14. With the exception of Mary Pickford, the early studio moguls who ran Hollywood were
mostly men.
A) True
B) False
15. American studios were able to gain control of the world film industry during World War
I.
A) True
B) False
16. Movie palaces looked beautiful on the outside, but were often very shabby on the inside.
A) True
B) False
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17. The Birth of a Nation (1915) was very controversial when it premiered because of its
glorification of the Ku Klux Klan.
A) True
B) False
18. The first sound movie, The Jazz Singer, was basically a silent film with a few spoken
words and musical numbers.
A) True
B) False
19. The Singing Fool was a big commercial disappointment, and demonstrated that movie
fans were not ready for talking pictures.
A) True
B) False
20. In scriptwriting terminology, the discourse is how the story is told.
A) True
B) False
21. Grouping films by genre allows the movie industry to achieve both product
standardization and differentiation.
A) True
B) False
22. Examples of genres include comedy, drama, romance, action, and thriller.
A) True
B) False
23. Horror films are successful because they appeal to both teenagers and their parents.
A) True
B) False
24. Film noir movies are notable for their bright lighting, lush sets, and upbeat story lines.
A) True
B) False
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25. Directing opportunities for women in Hollywood have been limited.
A) True
B) False
26. Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Academy Award for best director
with her film The Hurt Locker.
A) True
B) False
27. In America, most woman movie directors have first been successful actresses or
scriptwriters.
A) True
B) False
28. As of 2011, there are still no African American directors in mainstream Hollywood.
A) True
B) False
29. Hollywood produces the most movies of any film industry in the world.
A) True
B) False
30. Cinema verité is a style of documentary filmmaking that closely resembles a big-budget,
high-gloss Hollywood feature.
A) True
B) False
31. Documentaries generally avoid controversial or unpopular subject matter.
A) True
B) False
32. During the Hollywood witch-hunts of the late 1940s and 1950s, many film executives
and stars accused others in the film industry of being communist sympathizers.
A) True
B) False
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33. The Hollywood Ten were studio writers and directors jailed for leaking military secrets
to the Soviet Union.
A) True
B) False
34. As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Paramount decision, the major film studios
divested themselves of their theaters.
A) True
B) False
35. The Paramount decision ended the dominance of the major studios over the commercial
film industry.
A) True
B) False
36. Movie attendance began a sharp decline in the 1940s mostly because of television.
A) True
B) False
37. The popularity of radio had a great impact on movie attendance in the late 1940s.
A) True
B) False
38. With television capturing suburban audiences by the mid-1950s, movie producers made
only family-friendly films to lure that audience back to theaters.
A) True
B) False
39. Three-dimensional (3-D) movies did little to stem the drop in movie theater attendance
in the 1950s.
A) True
B) False
40. Blu-ray discs have prevented the streaming of movies over the Internet from catching on.
A) True
B) False
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41. The success of Star Wars had no effect on the business strategies of major studios going
forward.
A) True
B) False
42. In the 1970s, suburban multiplex theaters were a failed attempt to increase movie ticket
sales.
A) True
B) False
43. Between 80 and 90 percent of new movies lose money during their theatrical release.
A) True
B) False
44. Movie studios usually make their films available on DVD and Internet streaming
services at the same time as the theatrical release.
A) True
B) False
45. Movie studios can earn more than double their U.S. and Canadian box office receipts by
distributing their films in foreign markets.
A) True
B) False
46. For creative reasons, film studios have generally resisted making product placement
deals.
A) True
B) False
47. Although Hollywood movies may show actual consumer products, such as Pepsi-Cola or
BMW automobiles, for the effect of realism, the studios may not receive any money or other
compensation for showing those products.
A) True
B) False
48. Six studios dominate the U.S. film business.
A) True
B) False
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49. The six major studios were able to dominate movie exhibition in the United States by
acquiring all of the country’s drive-in theaters.
A) True
B) False
50. Movie studios in the United States still practice block booking and require that theaters
accept lesser films in order to get blockbuster movies.
A) True
B) False
51. Time Warner’s cable channels can be considered a form of high-tech vertical integration.
A) True
B) False
52. All six major Hollywood film studios today are owned and operated by U.S.-based
corporations.
A) True
B) False
53. The movie industry has largely embraced the Internet’s ability to distribute new films
and rentals to consumers.
A) True
B) False
54. Because of high equipment and operating costs, digital technology is not expected to
benefit independent filmmakers for many years.
A) True
B) False
55. A consensus narrative is a type of movie that seeks a small, select, niche audience.
A) True
B) False
56. Most U.S. films provide shared cultural experiences that operate across different times
and cultures.
A) True
B) False
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57. Who opened the first public movie theater in France in 1896?
A) Thomas Edison
B) Georges Méliès
C) Auguste Lumière
D) Louis Lumière
E) Adolph Zukor
58. Which of the following chronologies best describes the way early movie industry
technology developed?
A) narrative films — vitascope — celluloid — zoetrope
B) zoetrope — vitascope — celluloid — narrative films
C) celluloid — zoetrope — vitascope — narrative films
D) zoetrope — narrative films — celluloid — vitascope
E) zoetrope — celluloid — vitascope — narrative films
59. Why was Edwin S. Porter’s 1902 film The Life of an American Fireman important?
A) It was the first to use editing and close-ups as narrative-building techniques.
B) It was the first studio film to use personal style.
C) It was the first sound picture.
D) It challenged racial stereotypes.
E) It was the first film to be shown to a theater audience.
60. American filmmaker Edwin S. Porter ______.
A) shot narrative scenes out of order
B) made what is considered America’s first narrative film
C) used the first close-up in U.S. narrative film history
D) adapted Méliès’s innovations for narrative film
E) All of the options are correct.
61. Nickelodeons were ______.
A) turn-of-the-century theaters dedicated to screening children’s films
B) the first fancy downtown movie palaces, located mainly in business centers
C) the original movie theaters, popular with immigrants
D) large, multiple-screen movie complexes typically located near busy highways
E) cheaply priced drive-in theaters
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62. Nickelodeons and the silent films they showed were very popular with
turn-of-the-century immigrant populations because ______.
A) they advertised outside of Ellis Island
B) they provided an inexpensive escape
C) nickelodeons showed films in color
D) popular Broadway singers were the featured players
E) the elaborate movie sets were visually exciting
63. In an early attempt to monopolize the film industry, inventor Thomas Edison formed
______.
A) The Motion Picture Monopoly of America
B) General Electric
C) The Edison Oligopoly Company
D) Paramount Studios
E) The Motion Picture Patents Company
64. Which of the following is one of the methods used by the Trust to control the film
industry?
A) Distributing faulty movie film to other companies
B) Acquiring most major film distributorships
C) Signing exclusive contracts with actors
D) Forcing film producers to relocate to New York
E) Building the most lavish nickelodeons
65. What is vertical integration?
A) Control of the production, distribution, and exhibition of a film or other cultural
product by one company
B) A system for predicting whether a film will succeed or fail at the box office
C) The theory that media elites atop the social hierarchy can persuade the citizenry to
act in certain ways
D) The process a movie goes through from script to promotion
E) A unionizing tactic in which all levels of movie production—from actors and
directors to camera operators and janitors—are brought into a single bargaining force
66. Which of the following is not an element of vertical integration in the movie industry?
A) Syndication
B) Distribution
C) Production
D) Exhibition
E) All of the options are correct.
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67. Adolph Zukor formed the Famous Players Company in 1912 to ______.
A) give young actors a start in movies
B) exert control over movie production
C) serve as an agent for established actors
D) make exceptional movies with the best directors available
E) None of the options are correct.
68. Which of the following did Adolph Zukor achieve?
A) Hired D.W. Griffith to direct movies for him exclusively
B) Tried to control all levels of movie production through Edison’s trust
C) Ran Paramount Pictures
D) Pioneered the studio system
E) Formed United Artists
69. Mary Pickford was ______.
A) instrumental in founding the studio system
B) a founder of Paramount Pictures
C) an experienced stage actress before going into the movies
D) known as “America’s Sweetheart”
E) None of the options are correct.
70. Who launched United Artists?
A) Mary Pickford
B) Adolph Zukor
C) Edwin S. Porter
D) Thomas Edison
E) None of the options are correct.
71. Mary Pickford was able to start United Artists because ______.
A) early Hollywood was known for respecting women and promoting their careers as
producers, directors, and studio executives
B) Adolph Zukor wanted more studios competing to make films
C) she had become very popular with audiences and influential in the industry
D) she was born into a wealthy family
E) she was an award-winning director