Like Buying Hats

Under the shaky structure of the movie industry's distribution system the Supreme Court of the U.S. last week laid a bundle of dynamite. By a 7-to-1 decision, the court found that nine, major producing, distributing and exhibiting companies* had conspired to prevent Chicago's Jackson Park Theater, an independent neighborhood house, from showing films until their box office potential had greatly deteriorated.

In Chicago, distributors have fixed a minimum of ten weeks before a film shown in high-priced Loop houses can be shown in low-priced neighborhood theaters. Independent operators have squirmed under this system, which is roughly the same in all...

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