Page 1
1.
Who opened the first public movie theater in France in 1896?
A)
Auguste Lumière
B)
Adolph Zukor
C)
Georges Méliès
D)
Louis Lumière
2.
American filmmaker Edwin S. Porter (maker of The Life of an American Fireman)
A)
shot narrative scenes out of order.
B)
made what is considered America’s first narrative film.
C)
used the first recorded close-up in U.S. narrative film history.
D)
All options are correct.
3.
Nickelodeons were _____.
A)
turn-of-the-twentieth-century theaters dedicated to screening children’s films
B)
the first fancy downtown movie palaces, located mainly in business centers
C)
a type of movie theater that often consisted of converted storefronts redecorated to
mimic vaudeville theaters
D)
No option is correct.
4.
Which of the following was not one of the original “Big Five” studios that once
dominated the film business?
A)
MGM
B)
Warner Brothers
C)
Disney
D)
Paramount
5.
In an early attempt to dominate the film industry, inventor Thomas Edison formed
A)
the Motion Picture Monopoly of America.
B)
the Edison Oligopoly Company.
C)
Paramount Studios.
D)
the Motion Picture Patents Company.
6.
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.
Page 2
7.
After Edison, Adolph Zukor of Paramount tried to monopolize the film industry by
controlling
A)
production.
B)
distribution.
C)
exhibition.
D)
All options are correct.
8.
Which of the following is not an element of vertical integration in the movie industry?
A)
Production
B)
Syndication
C)
Distribution
D)
Exhibition
9.
Who launched the company United Artists?
A)
Mary Pickford
B)
Douglas Fairbanks
C)
Charlie Chaplin
D)
All options are correct.
10.
Under the studio system
A)
actors were independent contractors who could work for any studio.
B)
movies were made on an assembly line basis.
C)
the studios had no control over the private lives of their creative talent.
D)
producers were hired to direct the pictures.
11.
To gain access to popular films, early theater owners and exhibitors had to agree to rent
new or marginal films featuring no stars. This distribution strategy was called
A)
international distribution.
B)
block booking.
C)
option time.
D)
Zukor’s law.
12.
Block booking was a studio
A)
production technique that doubled up on scripts.
B)
distribution strategy that enabled studios to test market up-and-coming stars at little
financial risk.
C)
exhibition technique that used B-roll schedules to limit lengths of films.
D)
business ploy that “doctored” the accounting books.
Page 3
13.
_____ were built in the early 1900s to draw members of the middle and upper-middle
classes to the movies.
A)
Small neighborhood theaters
B)
Downtown first-run theaters
C)
Multiplexes in shopping malls
D)
Movie palaces
14.
Which film was the first successful talking motion picture?
A)
The Great Train Robbery
B)
The Singing Fool
C)
Birth of a Nation
D)
The Jazz Singer
15.
_____ demonstrated the government’s attempts at breaking up monopolies within the
film industry.
A)
Fin-syn
B)
The Paramount decision
C)
The Telecommunications Act of 1996
D)
HUAC
16.
The drop in movie attendance that occurred after World War II can be attributed to
A)
competition from radio.
B)
the population shift to the suburbs.
C)
the Paramount decision.
D)
All options are correct.
17.
In an effort to compete with television in the 1950s, the movie studios began making
A)
big-budget family films.
B)
documentaries.
C)
X-rated adult movies.
D)
films that dealt with social problems.
18.
Which of the following did not have an effect on Hollywood in the postwar era (late
1940s, 1950s)?
A)
The rise of nickelodeons
B)
The Paramount decision
C)
The mass egress to the suburbs
D)
Television
Page 4
19.
How did Hollywood adapt to the development of home entertainment?
A)
By developing small-budget films better suited to TV
B)
By investing in home entertainment technology
C)
By urging government to restrict DVD distribution
D)
By developing a new market for renting and selling movies
20.
Which of these is not a reason U.S. film viewing decreased during the 1950s
A)
Television cornered the family market
B)
Innovations like Technicolor were not enough to lure people downtown
C)
Americans chose to spend their money on material goods rather than movie tickets
D)
The introduction of cable television
21.
_____ generate more revenue than domestic box-office income for major studios.
A)
DVD/video sales and rentals
B)
Premium cable and pay-per-view sales
C)
Distribution in international markets
D)
Product placements
22.
Thomas Edison was the first person who theorized about the possibility of motion
pictures.
A)
True
B)
False
23.
The first kinetoscope motion pictures were watched by only one person at a time.
A)
True
B)
False
24.
The first public showing of Edison’s kinetoscope projector system was in a Paris café in
December 1895 where hundreds of viewers saw images on a large screen.
A)
True
B)
False
25.
Georges Méliès made the first western, The Great Train Robbery.
A)
True
B)
False
Page 5
26.
Early silent films flourished in part because they transcended language.
A)
True
B)
False
27.
One of the earliest types of movie theaters were called nickelodeons, a name that
indicated the cost of admission.
A)
True
B)
False
28.
An oligopoly exists when a few companies control an industry.
A)
True
B)
False
29.
The Motion Picture Patents Company was established in 1908 to share film technology
with independent filmmakers.
A)
True
B)
False
30.
Marilyn Monroe became known as “America’s Sweetheart” after her work with the
Famous Players Film Company shortly after 1912.
A)
True
B)
False
31.
American studios were able to gain control of the world film industry during World War
I.
A)
True
B)
False
32.
Movie studios in the United States still practice block booking and require that theaters
accept lesser films so as to get blockbuster movies.
A)
True
B)
False
33.
Movie palaces looked beautiful on the outside, but were often very shabby on the inside.
A)
True
B)
False
Page 6
34.
Birth of a Nation (1915) was the first feature-length film produced in the United States.
A)
True
B)
False
35.
The Singing Fool was the first real breakthrough for talkies.
A)
True
B)
False
36.
The first sound movie, The Jazz Singer, was basically a silent film with a few spoken
words.
A)
True
B)
False
37.
In scriptwriting terminology, the “discourse” is how the story is told.
A)
True
B)
False
38.
Examples of genres include comedy, drama, romance, and action/adventure.
A)
True
B)
False
39.
Film noir movies are notable for their bright lighting, lush sets, and upbeat story lines.
A)
True
B)
False
40.
Grouping films by genre allows the movie industry to achieve both product
standardization and differentiation.
A)
True
B)
False
41.
Hollywood’s primary “authors” are scriptwriters.
A)
True
B)
False
Page 7
42.
Successful film directors develop a particular cinematic style or interest in specific
topics.
A)
True
B)
False
43.
All commercial movies made in the world are now produced and shot in Hollywood.
A)
True
B)
False
44.
American audiences refuse to watch foreign films.
A)
True
B)
False
45.
Today, the world’s largest film industry is in India, out of the so-called Bombaywood.
A)
True
B)
False
46.
Cinema verité is a style of documentary filmmaking that closely resembles a big-budget,
high-gloss Hollywood feature.
A)
True
B)
False
47.
Documentaries generally avoid controversial or unpopular subject matter.
A)
True
B)
False
48.
The government’s 1948 order forcing the major studios to sell their theaters effectively
ended their control of the movie industry.
A)
True
B)
False
49.
The Paramount decision ended the dominance of the major studios over the commercial
film industry.
A)
True
B)
False
Page 8
50.
The Motion Picture Production Code was established in the 1960s to rate movies for
age-appropriate content.
A)
True
B)
False
51.
The major film studios were able to dominate movie exhibition in the United States by
acquiring all the country’s drive-in theaters.
A)
True
B)
False
52.
Domestic box-office income is still the largest single source of revenue for a typical
feature film.
A)
True
B)
False
53.
Despite the popularity of DVDs, theme parks, and soundtrack CDs, the Hollywood
studio system continues to make money.
A)
True
B)
False
54.
The film industry makes more money today from first-run releases in movie theaters
than from home DVD/video releases.
A)
True
B)
False
55.
International box-office gross revenues are almost double the U.S. and Canadian
box-office receipts.
A)
True
B)
False
56.
Film studios have generally resisted making product placement deals for creative
reasons.
A)
True
B)
False
57.
Six studios dominate the U.S. film business.
A)
True
B)
False
Page 9
58.
Because of high equipment and operating costs, digital technology is not expected to
benefit independent filmmakers for many years.
A)
True
B)
False
59.
A “consensus narrative” is a type of movie that seeks a small, select niche audience.
A)
True
B)
False
60.
_____ is a transparent and pliable film that can hold a coating of chemicals sensitive to
light.
61.
The _____ was an early movie camera developed by Thomas Edison (with the help of
his assistant, William Kennedy Dickson) in the late 1800s.
62.
The _____ was an early film projection system that that required individual viewers to
look through a small hole to see images moving on a tiny plate.
63.
In 1902, Edwin S. Porter made America’s first narrative film, The Life of an American
_____.
64.
Movie theater facilities with as many as fourteen or more screens are called _____.
65.
_____ are weekly ten-minute magazine-style compilations of filmed news events from
around the world.
66.
Movies with sound, called _____, began to appear in 1927.
67.
Why were early silent films popular?
68.
What contribution did nickelodeons make to film history? Why did they eventually
disappear?
Page 10
69.
What is vertical integration?
70.
Why did Hollywood become the center of American film production?
71.
Describe the three major stylistic or formal elements that defined the film style known
as Hollywood style.
72.
Describe what a genre is and name three popular film genres.
73.
Why did the particular structure in film called the classic Hollywood narrative become
so dominant in moviemaking?
74.
What ended the Golden Age of the Hollywood film studios?
75.
The movie industry used to make most of its money from box-office revenues. Explain
why that is no longer the case.
76.
Describe (using as much detail as possible) six main revenue sources used by the movie
industry today.
77.
How is the movie industry adapting to the digital age?
78.
What do you think about the significant role that U.S. movies play in global culture?
Should changes be made? Explain.
Answer Key
1.
C
2.
D
3.
C
4.
C
5.
D
6.
B
7.
D
8.
B
9.
D
10.
B
11.
B
12.
B
13.
D
14.
B
15.
B
16.
B
17.
D
18.
A
19.
D
20.
D
21.
A
22.
B
23.
A
24.
B
25.
B
26.
A
27.
A
28.
A
29.
B
30.
B
31.
A
32.
B
33.
B
34.
A
35.
A
36.
A
37.
A
38.
A
39.
B
40.
A
41.
B
42.
A
43.
B
44.
B
Page 12
45.
B
46.
B
47.
B
48.
B
49.
B
50.
B
51.
B
52.
B
53.
A
54.
B
55.
A
56.
B
57.
A
58.
B
59.
B
60.
Celluloid
61.
kinetograph
62.
kinetoscope
63.
Fireman
64.
megaplexes
65.
Newsreels
66.
talkies
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.