THE STRUGGLE FOR THE EXPANDING AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY

 Today, Hollywood dominates the international market in entertainment media, as it does in many other industries. Before world War I, however, the United States was not yet the world‘s most economically important country. Great Britain still ruled the waves; its ships carried more goods than did those of any other country, and London was the globe‘s financial center> It was the war that allowed the United States to surpass England and other European countries. Prior to the war, American film firms concentrated on the swiftly expanding domestic demand and paid less attention to foreign markets. Between 1905 and 1912, American producers, distributors and exhibitors tried to bring some stability to the shifting and confused film business. Only then would they be able to turn greater attention to export. The Nickelodeon Boom By 1905, films were showing in most of the available vaudeville houses, local theatres, and other venues. The main trend in the American film industry from 1905 to 1907 was the rapid multiplication of film theaters. These were typically small stores, installed with fewer than two hundred seats. Admission was usually a nickel(hence the term Nickelodeon) or a dime for a program running fifteen to sixty minutes. Most nickelodeons had only one projector. During reel changes a singer might perform a current song, accompanied by lantern slides. Nickelodeons spread for several reasons. When production companies turned away from actualities toward story films, moviegoing became less a novelty and more a regular entertainment. Shorter work weeks left more time for entertainment. In addition, film producers took to renting rather than selling films. Since exhibitors no longer had to keep running the same films until they made back their purchase price, they could change their programs two, three, even seven times a week. As a result some of their patrons returned regularly. Nickelodeons could run the same brief programs over and over continuously, from late morning to mid night. Many exhibitors made huge profit. Nickelodeons has advantages over earlier forms of exhibition. Unlike amusement parks, they were not seasonal. They were cheaper than vaudeville houses and more regularly available than travelling exhibitions. Expenses were low. Spectators typically sat on benches or in simple wooden seats. There were seldom newspaper advertisements to alert patrons in advance concerning programs. There was almost always some sound accompaniment. The exhibitor might lecture along with the film, but piano or phonograph accompaniment was probably more common. In some cases, actors stood behind the screen and spoke dialogue in synchronization with the action on the screen. More frequently, people used noisemakers to create appropriate sound effects. During the nickelodeon boom, most film came from abroad. The nickelodeons also launched the careers of several important businessman. The warner brothers got their start as nickelodeon exhibitors.