1. Melvin L. Defleur and Everette Dennis, Understanding Mass Communication (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981), p. 11.

2. Film Index , 30 November 1907, p. 3.

3. MPW , 4 January 1908, p. 8.

4. Variety , 13 June 1908, p. 11, and 4 July 1908, p. 11.

5. Billboard , 14 December 1907, p. 17.

6. Laemmle Film Service, letterhead dated 2 October 1908, NjWOE.

7. Billboard , 21 September 1907, pp. 28 and 33; and 23 November 1907, p. 20.

8. Film Index , 9 November 1907, p. 3.

9. J. Stuart Blackton to George Eastman, 11 February 1908, document no. 0035, Albert Smith Collection, CLU.

10. Thomas A. Edison v. 20th Century Optiscope Co ., no. 28,863, C.C.N.D.I., filed October 1907, ICFAR.

11. Film Index , 17 August 1907, p. 4; Show World , 2 November 1907, p. 110; Film Index , 23 November 1907, p. 6.

12. Film Index , 7 September 1907, p. 6; Billboard , 7 December 1907, p. 74. The Actograph Company was owned by Edward M. Harrington, Frederick L. Beck, and Norman H. Mosher (Actograph Company, certificate of doing business under an assumed name, 12 June 1907, NNNCC-Ar).

13. George E. Stevens, deposition, [May 1907], legal files, NjWOE.

14. Albert E. Smith, testimony, 14 November 1913, United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co ., p. 1714.

15. George Spoor, testimony, 10 March 1914, United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co ., p. 2987.

16. Defendants' exhibit no. 164, docket of Dyer & Dyer for Thomas A. Edison v. Selig Polyscope Co., in United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co., p. 3131.

17. Billboard , 16 November 1907, p. 16.

18. MPW , 16 November 1907, p. 592.

19. MPW , 23 November 1907, p. 609.

20. "The Platform of the Association," MPW , 15 February 1908, p. 111.

21. William T. Rock to Albert Smith, 31 January 1908, document no. 0032, CLU. Even at the date of this letter, Biograph was still seriously contemplating joining the Edison group.

22. J. A. Berst, testimony, 18 November 1913, United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co., p. 1772.

23. "Film Renters Meet in Convention," Variety , 15 February 1908, p. 10.

24. See George Melies Company v. Motion Picture Patents Co. and Edison Manufacturing Company, and George Melies and Gaston Melies , no. 5826, C.C.D.N.J., filed 21 May 1909, NjBaFAR, printed record at NjWOE.

25. Blackton to George Eastman, 11 February 1908, document no. 0035, CLU.

26. William Rock to Albert E. Smith, 11 February 1908, document no. 0037, CLU.

27. William Rock to Albert E. Smith, 21 February 1908, document no. 0046, CLU.

28. Edison advertisements, Billboard , 4 April 1908, p. 27, and 11 April 1908, p. 38.

29. "Organization Expected in Philadelphia," Variety , 22 February 1908, p. 10.

30. See William Swanson to Frank Dyer, 29 September 1908, and H. H. Buckwalter to Frank Dyer, 29 September 1908, NjWOE, in regard to an attempt by William Bullock to take pictures in Colorado and Cleveland, Ohio, for local distribution. Some exceptions did occur. Although the Miles Bros. worked out an arrangement with Kalem to photograph American warships on the West Coast ( Variety , 4 April 1908, p. 12), such arrangements were cumbersome and not generally practiced.

31. Frank Dyer to Sigmund Lubin, 7 April 1908, NjWOE.

32. "Biograph Co. Licenses Three Manufacturers," Variety , 22 February 1908, p. 10, and "Biograph Company Defines Its Position in the Fight," Variety , 14 March 1908, p. 12.

33. MPW , 22 February 1908, p. 130.

34. Variety , 22 February 1908, p. 10; "Detroit Takes a Hand in the Fray," MPW , 28 March 1908, p. 264.

35. Edison Manufacturing Co. et al. v. George Kleine , no. 28,990, C.C.N.D.I., filed 6 March 1908, ICFAR; Edison Manufacturing Co. v. American Mutoscope & Biograph Co ., no. 2-169, C.C.S.D.N.Y., filed 16 March 1908, NjBaFAR.

36. Harry Marvin, testimony, 15 and 16 January 1913, United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co ., pp. 123-24, and 146; American Mutoscope & Biograph Co. v. Essanay Mfg. Co ., no. 29,109, C.C.N.D.I.; American Mutoscope & Biograph Co. v. William N. Selig , no. 29,110, C.C.N.D.I., ICFAR. Suits against the Edison Company and other East Coast concerns were apparently initiated in the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of New Jersey, for which incomplete records are available.

37. "Statement Given Out by the Edison Company," Variety , 14 March 1908, p. 13.

38. Variety , 14 March 1908, p. 12.

39. Harry N. Marvin, testimony, 16 January 1913, United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co ., p. 123.

40. Exhibit no. 164, United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co ., p. 3092.

41. "Interviews with F.S.A. Members and Others," MPW , 28 March 1908, p. 260.

42. Show World , 28 March 1908, p. 9.

43. American Mutoscope & Biograph Co. v. Aaron J. Jones et al ., no. 29,107, C.C.N.D.I., ICFAR.

44. "Editorial," MPW , 7 March 1908, p. 12.

45. "The Future Should Be Taken Care Of in the Present," MPW , 19 September 1908, p. 211.

46. "Chats with the Interviewer," MPW , 4 April 1908, p. 288.

47. Carl Laemmle to Frank Dyer, 27 April 1908, accompanied by letter from B. R. Craycroft to Laemmle, 26 April 1908, NjWOE.

48. "Long Buys Kleine Out," Variety , 25 April 1908, p. 14; "Editorial Notes," MPW , 23 May 1908, p. 456.

49. "Trade Notes," MPW , 29 February 1908, p. 159, and "Philadelphia," MPW , 18 April 1908, p. 347.

50. Among the exchanges that joined the independents were: Goodfellow's Detroit Film Exchange, the Cut Rate Film Exchange, the Cincinnati Film Exchange, C. J. Hite & Co., the Cleveland Film Exchange, and the Southern Film Exchange ( Billboard , 29 February 1908, p. 33, and 14 March 1908, p. 53; "Quits Association," Variety , 28 March 1908, p. 13, and "Association Cuts Off Deserters' Line of Retreat," Variety , 4 April 1908, p. 12).

51. MPW , 4 April 1908, p. 283.

52. "Opposing with Same Pictures," Variety , 21 March 1908, p. 14.

53. "Another Flop to Independents," Variety , 25 July 1908, p. 13, and "Went Over to the Independents," NYDM , 18 July 1908, p. 7.

54. "An Alleged Scare," NYDM , 1 August 1908, p. 7.

55. Joseph McCoy, report, June 1908, NjWOE.

56. William Hodkinson to Offield, Towle and Linthicum, 10 April 1908, NjWOE.

57. A.D. Plintom to John Hardin, 18 April 1908, NjWOE.

58. William Swanson to William Gilmore, 9 May 1908; Swanson to Dyer, 18 June 1908, NjWOE. While such anti-Semitism continued to manifest itself within the industry, it was frequently put aside in the interests of commercial alliances.

59. Standard Film Exchange to Frank Dyer, 28 June 1908, NjWOE.

60. Plintom to Dyer, 6 November 1908, NjWOE.

61. "'A Square Deal for All' is Thomas Edison's Promise," Variety , 20 June 1908, p. 12.

62. Statement, 1908, NjWOE.

63. George K. Spoor, testimony, 10 March 1914, United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co ., p. 2988; J. A. Berst, 18 November 1913, United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co ., p. 1729.

64. This figure is estimated using proportions derived from Joseph McCoy's June 1908 survey.

65. See above, pp. 335-36. J. Searle Dawley, memoirs, n.d., CLAc, confirmed by Edison Manufacturing Company, payroll ledger, NjWOE.

66. Brooklyn Eagle , 11 December 1906, p. 4, and 23 December 1906, p. 5C.

67. Among Dawley's plays were Little Miss Sherlock Jr ., © 10 July 1900; The Land Beyond the Firelight , © 15 December 1900; At Old Fort Lookout , a western military drama in several acts, © 13 October 1902; and On Shanon's Shore , © Mary G. Spooner, 22 October 1906. In addition, Dawley co-wrote Dreamland's Gateway, or the Land of Nod , © J. de Cordova, 9 October 1902.

68. Article in Movie Weekly , n.d., courtesy of Mark Wannamaker.

69. The Girl and the Detective ; or, My Little Detective , a play in four acts © Charles E. Blaney; Countess Du Barry , a historical drama, © Edna May Spooner, 24 April 1908; Daughter of the People , a drama in four acts, © 5 June 1808; and The She Devil , adapted from the English translation of Ferenc Molnár's Der Teufel , © 28 September 1908.

70. MPW , 12 October 1907, p. 502.

71. Joseph McCoy, oral history, NjWOE.

72. Edison Manufacturing Company, investment ledger, NjWOE. Fox may have been acting as agent for the city: McCoy's recollection, however, is accurate on other details. Edison also purchased an adjoining 20' x 100' plot on 25 October 1907 for $4,000.

73. Film Index , 16 June 1906, p. 5.

74. Edison Manufacturing Company, general ledger, 1900-1911, pp. 50-51.

75. J. Searle Dawley, memoirs, n.d., CLAc.

76. Edwin Porter, draft of affidavit for equity no. 28,863, Thomas A. Edison v. 20th Century Optiscope Co ., ca. October 1907, legal files, NjWOE.

77. J. Searle Dawley, payroll books, CLAc. This was the only day the actors appearing in the still were hired.

78. "A Model Studio," NYDM , 14 November 1908, p. 12.

79. Edison Manufacturing Company, payroll ledger, indicates that Cronjager was hired 1 July 1907, shortly after Bonine's departure. He appears in the production photograph of A Country Girl's Seminary Life and Experiences turning the crank.

80. Richard Murphy would later follow Porter to Rex and Famous Players. In 1919, when he went to the British Famous Players-Lasky Studio, he was accompanied by his

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assistant, William Cameron Menzies ( MPW , 2 August 1919, p. 667; I thank Russell Merritt for bringing this to my attention).

81. MPW , 16 December 1911, p. 908.

82. Eileen Bowser, "Griffith's Film Career Before The Adventures of Dollie, " in Fell, ed., Film Before sGriffith , pp. 367-73.

83. Dawley, payroll notebook, CLAc; Edison Manufacturing Company, payroll ledger, NjWOE. Dawley's books were for those actors hired on a per day basis. The Edison ledger was for those working on staff.

84. "Edison's Devil," Film Index , 3 October 1908, p. 4.

85. NYDM , 19 September 1908, p. 9.

86. "The Flower of Youth," Variety , 15 February 1908, p. 11.

87. MPW , 26 September 1908, p. 232.

88. "Whither Are We Drifting," MPW , 10 October 1908, p. 276.

89. Billboard , 25 January 1908, p. 17.

90. "Lectures on Moving Pictures," MPW , 22 August 1908, pp. 136-37.

91. W. Stephen Bush advertisement, NYDM , 9 January 1909, p. 9.

92. MPW , 3 October 1908, p. 253.

93. MPW , 21 November 1908, p. 398.

94. MPW , 22 August 1908, p. 137.

95. "The Value of a Lecture," MPW , 8 February 1908, p. 93.

96. MPW , 11 January 1908, p. 23.

97. Billboard , 7 March 1908, p. 29.

98. MPW , 22 February 1908, p. 143.

99. "The Successful Exhibitor," MPW , 16 May 1908, p. 431; and NYDM , 14 November 1908, p. 11.

100. Pittsburgh Dispatch , 8 January 1905, p. 4D.

101. NYDM , 25 February 1905, p. 18. George Pratt generously provided much of this information about Spook Minstrels . See also Film Index , 13 October 1906, p. 3; and MPW , 7 September 1907, pp. 421-22.

102. Detroit Free Press , 4 February 1906, p. 6D.

103. Clipper , 25 March 1905, p. 126; Pittsburgh Post , 30 January 1906, p. 4; and Cincinnati Commercial Tribune , 7 January 1906, p. 22.

104. NYDM , 19 September 1908, p. 9.

105. Manchester [N.H.] Union , 22 April 1907, p. 8.

106. Clipper , 20 April 1907, p. 246.

107. Ibid.

108. Manchester Union , 22 April 1907, p. 8; Lewiston Evening Journal , 16 April 1907, p. 2.

109. "Pictures at Ford's," Baltimore Sun , 6 August 1907, p. 9.

110. Billboard , 15 February 1908, p. 7.

111. Billboard , 25 April 1908, p. 41.

112. Clipper , 16 May 1908, p. 350.

113. Humanovo Producing Company, consent to increase stock, 12 November 1909, NNNCC-Ar. When Loew became a part-owner is not clear.

114. "Twenty-Two Humanovo Companies," NYDM , 18 July 1908, p. 7.

115. NYDM , 13 June 1908, p. 10.

116. MPW , 4 July 1908, p. 9, and 12 September 1908, p. 195.

117. MPW , 25 July 1908, pp. 64-65.

118. MPW , 31 October 1908, p. 352.

119. "How Talking Pictures Are Made. A Scarcity of Picture Actors," MPW , 22 August 1908, p. 138.

120. "Alleged Talking Pictures," NYDM , 6 June 1908, p. 6.

121. Baltimore Sun , 31 May 1908, p. 1, and 7 June 1908, p. 1. The fourth film was Selig's The Two Orphans .

122. MPW , 4 July 1908, p. 9. See also "Motion Picture Notes" in NYDM for this period. College Chums was probably the most frequently used film for talking pictures. Tom Gunning and I wrote dialogue for and performed with the film at the Collective for Living Cinema, New York City, 29 April 1979. It was the high point of the evening.

123. NYDM , 19 September 1908, p. 9.

124. Film Index , 17 August 1907, p. 3.

125. MPW , 16 May 1908, p. 431.

126. MPW , 28 November 1908, p. 419.

127. MPW , 23 January 1909, p. 86.

128. Film Index , 7 August 1907, p. 3.

129. "Moving Pictures as a Profession," NYDM , 12 September 1908, p. 9.

130. MPW , 22 February 1908, p. 143.

131. NYDM , 5 September 1908, p. 8.

132. NYDM , 19 September 1908, p. 9.

133. NYDM , 26 September 1908, p. 9, and 10 October 1908, p. 8. Both films were based on plays.

134. See "Barbarian Ingomar," NYDM , 24 October 1908, p. 8; and "Song of the Shirt," NYDM , 28 November 1908, p. 8.

135. Recent research by Richard Koszarski indicates that many projectionists in the 1920s continued to play an editorial role by cutting down their film programs to fit within a designated time-slot (Richard Koszarski, An Evening's Entertainment: The Age of the Silent Feature Picture, 1915-1928 [New York: Scribner's, 1990]). This does not seem to have been a common practice during the nickelodeon era, however.

136. Bowser, "Griffith's Film Career Before The Adventures of Dollie, " in Fell, ed., Film Before Griffith , p. 371.

137. NYDM , 29 August 1908, p. 7.

138. Thomas Robert Gunning, "D. W. Griffith and the Narrator-System: Narrative Structure and Industry Organization in Biograph Films, 1908-1909" (Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1986), pp. 145-54.

139. Sergei Eisenstein, "The Filmic Fourth Dimension," in Film Form , Leyda, ed. and trans., p. 64.

140. Tom Gunning, D. W. Griffith and the Origin of American Narrative Film (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, forthcoming). This is a revision of Gunning's dissertation, cited in a previous note.

141. Defleur and Dennis, Understanding Mass Communication , p. 6. In their discussion of motion pictures, however, Defleur and Dennis fail to analyze the cinema in light of their definition (see pp. 208-37). Moreover, Defleur and Dennis neglect certain aspects of mass communication that have been the focus of this study and seem particularly

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important. Mass communication, for example, requires more than professional communicators. It usually depends on an organizational structure that utilizes specialization and hierarchy.

142. Vardac, Stage to Screen , p. 57. The play opened at New York's New Star Theater in November 1904 and was soon burlesqued by the Vitagraph Company in its film A Race for a Wife (November 1906). Available prints of The Trainer's Daughter lack the first and last shots, although these sections were restored by adding copyright stills and catalog descriptions.

143. Variety , 29 February 1908, p. 12.

144. Variety , 16 May 1908, p. 11.

145. "Last Week at Maryland," Baltimore Sun , 9 June 1908, p. 9.

146. MPW , 1 February 1908, p. 71.

147. Baltimore Sun , 7 June 1908, p. 1. The reference to the song was brought to my attention by Tom Gunning. This song is performed by Joan Morris and William Bolcom on their record After the Ball (Nonesuch, H-71304). The complete lyrics are reprinted in the accompanying notes.

148. Variety , 21 March 1908, p. 15.

149. MPW , 11 April 1908, p. 312.

150. Billboard , 25 April 1908, p. 6.

151. Hans Leigh, "Exhibitors Are Not Satisfied with Their Bill of Fare," MPW , 23 May 1908, p. 454.

152. Variety , 9 May 1908, p. 11.

153. NYDM , 13 June 1908, p. 10.

154. NYDM , 20 June 1908, p. 6.

155. MPW , 20 June 1908, p. 526.

156. Variety , 20 June 1908, p. 13.

157. MPW , 20 June 1908, p. 526.

158. NYDM , 20 June 1908, p. 6.

159. NYDM , 4 July 1908, p. 4.

160. NYDM , 11 July 1908, p. 7.

161. NYDM , 27 June 1908, p. 5.

162. C. H. Wilson to Mr. Weber, 24 July 1908, NjWOE.

163. J. Searle Dawley, memoirs, CLAc.

164. Compare reviews of Edison and Biograph films from this period in the NYDM and Variety .

165. NYDM , 18 July 1908, p. 7.

166. NYDM , 15 August 1908, p. 7.

167. These night scenes are in the Museum of Modern Art Collection and labeled Tales the Searchlight Told . The original 1905 intertitles had been removed.

168. NYDM, 12 September 1908, p. 9.

169. NYDM , 1 August 1908, p. 7.

170. Harper & Bros. et al. v. Kalem Co. and Kleine Optical Co ., no. 2-160, C.C.S.D.N.Y., filed 6 April 1908, NjBaFAR. This ruling was augmented by copyright legislation signed by President Theodore Roosevelt in the closing days of his administration. See NYDM , 20 March 1909, p. 3.

171. A. T. Moore to Frank Dyer, 25 July 1908, and Frank Dyer to H. Anthony D'Arcy, NjWOE.

172. NYDM , 24 October 1908, p. 8. Griffith also made use of this method with Song of the Shirt .

173. NYDM , 24 October 1908, p. 8.

174. NYDM , 28 November 1908, p. 8.

175. MPW , 25 July 1908, p. 67.

176. MPW , 3 October 1908, p. 263.

177. NYDM , 10 October 1908, p. 8.

178. MPW , 24 October 1908, p. 318.

179. NYDM , 3 October 1908, p. 8.

180. Variety , 26 September 1908, p. 12.

181. NYDM , 26 September 1908, p. 9.

182. NYDM , 12 September 1908, p. 9.

183. NYDM , 11 October 1902, p. 16. Tom Gunning brought information about the de Lorde play to my attention.

184. Jay Leyda often showed this Pathé film in his Griffith classes in conjunction with The Lonely Villa .

185. NYDM , 10 October 1908, p. 8. The play was probably Pocahontas by Tecumtha, © 7 June 1906.

186. Variety , 3 October 1908, p. 11.

187. NYDM , 7 November 1908, p. 8.

188. NYDM , 7 November 1908, p. 8.

189. ''Earmarks of the Makers,'' NYDM , 14 November 1908, p. 10.

190. Ibid.

191. NYDM , 21 November 1908, p. 8.

192. NYDM , 5 December 1908, p. 8.

193. Ibid.

194. MPW , 5 December 1908, p. 448.

195. Sklar, Movie-Made America , p. 30.

196. Film Index , 22 September 1906, p. 3.

197. Film Index , 15 September 1906, p. 6.

198. Film Index , 22 September 1906, p. 3.

199. MPW , 20 April 1907, p. 102; and Rosenzweig, Eight Hours for What We Will , pp. 205 and 207.

200. Chicago Tribune , 10 April 1907 cited in MPW , 20 April 1907, p. 101.

201. MPW , 25 May 1907, p. 179, and 14 March 1908, p. 214.

202. MPW , 20 July 1907, p. 312.

203. Ibid.

204. Billboard , 24 August 1907, p. 5.

205. J. Pelzer, memos, 16 and 23 June 1908, NjWOE; when this practice began is uncertain.

206. "The Merry Widower," NYDM , 29 August 1908, p. 7.

207. Clipper , 26 October 1907, p. 1005.

208. MPW , 21 December 1907, p. 677.

209. MPW , 7 March 1908, p. 190.

210. MPW , 19 December 1908, p. 501.

211. MPW , 16 May 1908, p. 443.

212. Variety , 20 June 1908, p. 12.

213. Film Index , 30 November 1907, p. 3; Clipper , 9 November 1907, p. 1066.

214. Variety , 22 February 1908, p. 11; MPW , 1 February 1908, p. 82.

215. Variety , 20 June 1908, p. 12.

216. Newspaper article, reprinted in MPW, 5 December 1908, p. 444.

217. MPW , 5 December 1908, p. 448.

218. MPW , 28 November 1908, p. 422.

219. MPW , 21 September 1908, p. 524; 7 September 1907, p. 422; 7 December 1907, pp. 645-46; and 14 December 1907, p. 665.

220. MPW , 2 May 1908, p. 392.

221. Variety , 23 May 1908, p. 12.