General Film Company

film distributor

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 29, 2026

Quick Summary

The General Film Company was established in 1910 by the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC), also known as the "Trust." This company integrated the licensed distributors of the MPPC into a single corporate entity. The MPPC aimed to control the entire American film industry by pooling patents and controlling production, distribution, and exhibition through a licensing system. While the MPPC, and by extension the General Film Company, helped stabilize the burgeoning film industry by standardizing practices and regularizing pricing, its monopolistic nature ultimately led to resistance from independent distributors and exhibitors. This resistance eventually contributed to the downfall of the MPPC.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

History of film
Early growth of the film industry
…a week—the MPPC formed the General Film Company, which integrated the licensed distributors into a single corporate entity. Although it was clearly monopolistic in practice and intent, the MPPC helped to stabilize the American film industry during a period of unprecedented growth and change by standardizing exhibition practice, increasing the…
Read More
…a week—the MPPC formed the General Film Company, which integrated the licensed distributors into a single corporate entity. Although it was clearly monopolistic in practice and intent, the MPPC helped to stabilize the American film industry during a period of unprecedented growth and change by standardizing exhibition practice, increasing the…
Read More