The Man Who Made the Movies

by Vanda Krefft

  104 no autopsy: “Says Blackjack May Have Killed ‘Big Tim’ Sullivan,” NYT, Nov. 28, 1914, 1.

  104 ruled an accident: “‘Big Tim’s’ Death Accident,” 2.

  104 thirteen days . . . three morgues: “‘Big Tim’ Dead; 13 Days in Morgue,” 1.

  104 plain pine box: Ibid., 1.

  104 newspaper photos: “Says Blackjack May Have Killed ‘Big Tim’ Sullivan,” 1.

  104 “Why, it’s Big Tim!”: “‘Big Tim’ Dead; 13 Days in Morgue,” 1.

  104 blackjack . . . sandbag: “Says Blackjack May Have Killed ‘Big Tim’ Sullivan,” 1.

  104 poisoned before being dumped: “‘Big Tim’ Dead; 13 Days in Morgue,” 1.

  104 “dogs in the streets”: “Thousands Mourn at ‘Big Tim’s’ Bier,” 9.

  104 hundreds of people: “‘Big Tim’ Dead; 13 Days in Morgue,” 1.

  104 his face . . . unscathed: Ibid.

  104 one of Big Tim’s caretakers: “Bureau to Identify Bodies,” NYT, Sept. 27, 1913, 14.

  104 veteran with a clean record: Ibid.

  105 crowd estimated at 75,000: “Class Lines Vanish at Sullivan Burial,” NYT, Sept. 16, 1913, 5.

  105 to 100,000: Crandall, “Tim Sullivan’s Power,” 15.

  105 mahogany coffin: “Thousands Mourn at ‘Big Tim’s’ Bier,” 9.

  105 three thousand American Beauty roses: “Class Lines Vanish at Sullivan Burial,” 5.

  105 207 Bowery: “Thousands Mourn at ‘Big Tim’s’ Bier,” 9.

  105 Cathedral on Mott Street: “Class Lines Vanish at Sullivan Burial,” 5.

  105 “politicians, prizefighters”: Ibid.

  105 German, Italian: “Thousands Mourn at ‘Big Tim’s’ Bier,” 9.

  105 requiem Mass: “Class Lines Vanish at Sullivan Burial,” 5.

  105 officially declared incompetent: “Jury Finds ‘Big Tim’ Is Incompetent,” 8.

  105 stopped paying rent: “‘Big Tim’ Suing for Rent,” NYT, Jan. 13, 1913, 22.

  105 abandoned both theaters: “Sullivan Firm Stands,” NYT, Apr. 8, 1913, 7.

  105 overdue rent of $3,641: “‘Big Tim’ Suing for Rent,” 22.

  105 “illegal and unlawful”: “Charges Building Fraud,” NYT, Mar. 16, 1913, 3.

  105 “connivance, fraud”: Ibid.

  105 stalled on repayment: “Sullivan Receiver Named,” NYT, Aug. 8, 1914, 6.

  106 financial interests in: “Jury Finds ‘Big Tim’ Is Incompetent,” 8.

  106 hadn’t kept any books: “Asks Court to Save ‘Big Tim’s’ Property,” NYT, Aug. 5, 1914, 20.

  106 flood of claims . . . immediately sued: “To Report To-Day on T. D. Sullivan’s Tangled Affairs,” New York Herald, Sept. 13, 1915, 6.

  106 adopted daughter: “May Be a Contest Over ‘Big Tim’s’ Will,” NYT, Sept. 17, 1913, 6; “Punishes Sleuths In Sullivan Case,” 6.

  106 biological daughter: “Claims ‘Big Tim’ Was Her Father,” Buffalo Evening News, Dec. 10, 1913, 16; “$50,000 Payment Reveals ‘Big Tim’ As Girl’s Father,” New York Herald, Dec. 10, 1913, 1; “Arrest Faces ‘Big Tim’s’ Executors,” NYTR, May 29, 1914, 1.

  106 estimated $2 million: “May Be a Contest Over ‘Big Tim’s’ Will,” 6.

  106 $970,000: “‘Big Tim’ Sullivan Died Worth $970,000,” NYT, May 6, 1914, 20.

  106 had Mulligan and Sullivan arrested: “Executors May Yet Go to Jail,” NYTR, May 8, 1914, 18.

  106 trailed Mulligan: “Asks Court to Save ‘Big Tim’s’ Property,” 20.

  106 injunction preventing: “Sullivan Receiver Named,” 8; “Asks Court to Save ‘Big Tim’s’ Property,” 20.

  CHAPTER 10: JUSTICE

  108 massive amounts of useful information: “‘Trust’ Case Proceeding,” Variety, Nov. 7, 1913, 15.

  108 thirty-six-year-old: “Dr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor Dies, Head of National Geographic, 90,” NYT, Feb. 5, 1966, 29.

  108 cousin of President Taft . . . twin brother: “Edwin P. Grosvenor, Noted Lawyer, Dies,” NYT, Mar. 1, 1930, 13.

  108 Columbia University . . . class of 400: Ibid.

  108 one of his worst customers: J. J. Kennedy, “Memoranda Relating to MPPC and General Film Company,” p. 29. UCLA Special Collections, U.S. v. MPPC Trial Records, Box 4, third file.

  108 GFC never wanted . . . backed out of the deal: Ibid., 29.

  109 Very popular with exhibitors: Louis Rosenbluh testimony, USA-MPPC, Vol. I, at 373.

  109 two- and three-reel . . . trip to Africa: Ibid.

  109 only if they canceled their contracts: Ibid., 374.

  109 “Personally I would not care”: Palace Amusement Company Manager to Greater New York Film Rental Co., May 31, 1912, Biograph case file, NARA-NYC; “Crisp and Effective,” MPW, Apr. 6, 1912, 36.

  109 making late deliveries: McArdle, “Arguments in Case of Wm. Fox Against Patents Company.”

  109 shipping defective copies: “Memorandum of Interviews with Mr. Grosvenor and Others,” p. 3. UCLA Special Collections, U.S. v. MPPC Trial Records, Box 4.

  110 he shouted back: “United States vs. Motion Picture Patents Co.,” MPW, Mar. 15, 1913, 1082–83.

  110 “officer, ain’t he?”: William Fox testimony, USA-MPPC, Vol. II, at 668.

  110 “I seen Mr. Kennedy . . .”: Ibid., 681.

  110 “That is what he done”: Ibid., 788.

  110 Kinemacolor . . . in all his theaters: “Kinemacolor Breaks ‘Trust’ Ranks, Annexing Fox Houses,” Variety, Apr. 11, 1913, 15.

  110 “Gentlemen, you can all”: “Independents Propose Organization,” 1521.

  110 On July 10, 1913 . . . license cancellation: “Unlicensed Feature Films in Ass’n Licensed Houses,” Variety, July 11, 1913, 3.

  110 first step toward an open market: “Kinemacolor Breaks ‘Trust’ Ranks, Annexing Fox Houses,” 15; “Unlicensed Feature Films in Ass’n Licensed Houses,” 3.

  110 “the expense of litigation”: “Indictments Hang Over Heads of Motion Picture Patents Co.,” Variety, July 18, 1913, 8.

  110 incurred about $500,000: Ibid.

  110 on the International Harvester case: “Defense Resumes in Patents Company Suit,” MPN, Nov. 22, 1913, 18.

  110 December 1913, Grosvenor announced: “M. P. Patents Co.–Government Suit Continued,” New York Clipper, Dec. 13, 1913, 16.

  111 Wall Street corporation lawyers: “E. P. Grosvenor Resigns,” NYT, Jan. 2, 1914, 2.

  111 dismissed the case . . . restraint of trade: “Film Rental Co. Loses Appeal,” NYT, Dec. 27, 1913, 7; “Film Service Not a Utility,” LAT, Feb. 5, 1913, I-4.

  111 repeatedly won postponements: “Independents Propose Organization,” MPW, Sept. 12, 1914, 1522.

  111 about $30,000 in projector royalties: Complaint, Greater New York Film Rental Company v. Motion Picture Patents Company and others, at 31. (Microfilm Part V, Reel 224, Image 19, TAEP).

  111 formed a nationwide organization: “Independent Film Board,” NYT, Aug. 30, 1914, 15.

  111 draw up a charter and incorporate: “Independents Propose Organization,” 1522.

  111 mailed out letters to every: “Time to Get Together” ad, MPN, Aug. 29, 1914, 79.

  111 trade publication ads . . . August 29, 1914: Ibid; and “Time to Get Together” ad, MPW, Aug. 29, 1914, 1267.

  111 “the Moses of the business”: “Laemmle Replies to Fox,” MPW, Sept. 19, 1914, 1650.

  112 “Let those who have certain grievances”: “Observations by Our Man About Town,” MPW, Sept. 26, 1914, 1764.

  112 Only fifty: “Independents Propose Organization,” 1521.

  112 to one hundred people: “Independent Board of Trade Organized,” MPN, Sept. 12, 1914, 71.

  112 first meeting . . . at the Hotel McAlpin: “Independents Propose Organization,” 1521.

  112 “Don’t you know . . . act in a united fashion”: Ibid.

  112 “The clerks speak in whispers”: “Chilly General Film Offices Keep All Employes [sic] Subdued,” Variety, Feb. 20, 1914, 23.

  112 Around 5:30 p.m.: “Edison Sees His Va
st Plant Burn,” NYT, Dec. 10, 1914, 1.

  112 Edison plant in West Orange, New Jersey: Charles Edison, “My Father and the Fire,” LAT, Feb. 21, 1954, J2. The Edison Company’s motion picture production facility was located in the Bronx.

  112 film storage room: “Mrs. Edison Saved Husband’s Records,” NYT, Dec. 11, 1914, 9.

  112 spontaneous combustion, “roaring inferno”: Edison, “My Father and the Fire,” J2.

  112 destroyed nearly three-quarters: “Mrs. Edison Saved Husband’s Records,” 9.

  112 manufacturing and experimentation facilities: “Edison Sees His Vast Plant Burn,” 1.

  112 within twelve hours: Edison, “My Father and the Fire,” J2.

  112 “a smoldering jumble”: Ibid.

  113 melted fire extinguisher under his arm: “Mrs. Edison Saved Husband’s Records,” 9.

  113 redbrick laboratory . . . undamaged: Edison, “My Father and the Fire,” J2.

  113 “his white hair tossed”: Ibid.

  113 “start all over again tomorrow”: “Edison Sees His Vast Plant Burn,” 1.

  113 $2 million worth of damage, only $268,000: Edison, “My Father and the Fire,” J2.

  113 austerely furnished courtroom . . . Philadelphia: W. Stephen Bush, “United States vs. Motion Picture Patents Co.,” MPW, Dec. 26, 1914, 1815.

  113 a single antitrust case: “E. P. Grosvenor Resigns,” 2.

  113 “absolutely fanatical”: Frank L. Dyer to Thomas A. Edison, Sept. 25, 1912, 4. (Microfilm Part V, Reel 214, Image 993, TAEP).

  113 Subjectively . . . and objectively: “Arguing Case to Dissolve the Motion Picture ‘Trust’,” Variety, Dec. 12, 1914, 25.

  113 arbitrary, oppressive, and arrogant: Bush, “United States vs. Motion Picture,” 1815.

  114 at least $2 million in profits: “Government Argument on Picture Trust Case,” Variety, Dec. 19, 1914, 22.

  114 known as a quick study: Bush, “United States vs. Motion Picture,” 1817.

  114 4,235 printed pages: Ibid., 1815.

  114 Six days after . . . “triple damages”: George F. Scull to Carl Hillis Wilson, Dec. 18, 1914, 1. (Microfilm Part V, Reel 214, Image 1038, TAEP).

  114 Rogers to Washington to lobby: “As New Yorkers View Bills,” NYT, Feb. 13, 1914, 2.

  114 as prima facie evidence: Daniel R. Fischel, “The Use of Government Judgments in Private Antitrust Litigation: Clayton Act Section 5(a), Collateral Estoppel, and Jury Trial,” University of Chicago Law Review 43 no. 2 (Winter 1976): 338–339.

  114 award him $1.8 million: “Comment on Patents Company Decision,” MPW, Oct. 23, 1915, 624.

  114 several veiled clauses: George F. Scull to C. H. Wilson, Nov. 30, 1915, 1. (Microfilm Part V, Reel 224, Image 373, TAEP),

  114 carry the case . . . U.S. Supreme Court: “Dissolution of Motion Picture ‘Trust’ Ordered,” New York Herald, Oct. 2, 1915.

  115 settlement offer on Fox’s triple damages: Transcript, 17.

  115 until six the next morning: Ibid.

  115 Fox would receive $300,000 . . . $50,000: Henry Lanahan to Carl Hillis Wilson, Jan. 31, 1916. (Microfilm Part V, Reel 224, Images 68–71, TAEP).

  115 had a good chance of winning: George F. Scull to Carl Hillis Wilson, Dec. 18, 1914. (Microfilm Part V, Reel 214, Images 1038–1039, TAEP).

  115 unanimously in his favor: Ibid.

  115 “a potential power of evil”: “Ends Price-Fixing by ‘License’ Plan,” NYT, Apr. 10, 1917, 14.

  115 spring of 1918 . . . sold off: “Edison Sells Its Studio and Equipment,” MPN, May 11, 1918, 2803.

  115 “When the industry began to specialize”: Edison, The Diary and Sundry Observations, 64.

  116 “throw the whole thing to the dogs”: Thomas Edison handwritten response to Frank L. Dyer letter of Apr. 17, 1912. (Microfilm Part V, Reel 214, Image 964, TAEP).

  116 renouncing their licenses and joining: Frank L. Dyer to Thomas A. Edison, Sept. 25, 1912, 4. (Microfilm Part V, Reel 214, Image 993, TAEP).

  116 licensed manufacturers and even the GFC: “Notes on Present Status of Patents Company Affairs,” Nov. 18, 1915, 2—3. (Microfilm Part V, Reel 224, Images 369–370, TAEP).

  116 GFC was moribund: Carl Hillis Wilson to Thomas A. Edison, Oct. 26, 1916. (Microfilm Part V, Reel 214, Images 1087–1090, TAEP).

  116 Moon kept looking over: Bush, “United States vs. Motion Picture Patents Co.,” 1817.

  116 “rising inflection” . . . real plaintiff: Ibid.

  116 “ringing tones” . . . “since its inception”: Ibid.

  116 anyone . . . could do so legally: “Explains Court’s Decision,” 17.

  116 “I fought in the United States Courts”: Fox, “An Open Letter to Exhibitors” ad, MPN, June 30, 1917, 3987.

  CHAPTER 11: INDEPENDENCE

  117 eighteen thousand movie theaters . . . $300 million: Czitrom, Media and the American Mind, 42.

  117 only their worst junk: “Wm. Fox to Drop All the ‘Foreign’ Feature Films,” Variety, July 24, 1914, 17.

  117 only two or three: Ibid.

  117 slashed the price: Ibid.

  117 “Most of the exhibitors”: Ibid.

  117 drop all foreign films: Ibid.

  118 Nemo . . . Balboa Amusement Producing Co.: Box Office Attraction Co. ad, MPN, Oct. 3, 1914, 6; Balboa Amusement Producing Co. ad, MPW, Nov. 28, 1914, 1192.

  118 only short films: Universal Film Manufacturing Company ad, MPN, Oct. 11, 1913, 51.

  118 same building as Fox: Box Office Attraction ad, MPN, Oct. 3, 1914, 6; “One Building Shut Off,” Variety, Feb. 6, 1914, 21.

  118 Warner brothers . . . Peril of the Plains in 1912: Eileen Bowser, The Transformation of Cinema, 1907–1915 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1990), 224–25. At that time, the Warners were mainly distributors, but they called their production arm the Pittsburg Photoplay Company.

  118 change his name to Goldwyn: Berg, Goldwyn, 82–83.

  118 “I felt a strong obligation”: Transcript, 62.

  118 “a mission to perform”: Fox Film ad, “The New William Fox Policy,” MPN, July 24, 1915, 23.

  118 thirty-year-old . . . Sheehan: Arthur Ungar, “Winfield Sheehan, Film Pioneer, Dies After Devoting 31 Years to Industry,” Variety, Aug. 1, 1945, 4. Sheehan was born on Sept. 21, 1883.

  118 general manager: “Theatrical Notes,” NYT, Feb. 25, 1914, 9.

  118 Irish immigrant: “Fox’s Fix,” Time, Jan. 13, 1930.

  118 dry goods store owner: “‘Winnie’ Sheehan, Hollywood Dynamo, Ex-World Reporter,” Evening World, Oct. 5, 1929; “Winfield Sheehan, Empire Builder of the Screen,” New York Morning Telegraph, Jan. 2, 1927, 7.

  118 Buffalo, New York: Sheehan was born on Sept. 24, 1881 (1916 passport application, www.ancestry.com).

  119 teenage reporter for the Buffalo Courier: “Fox’s Fix,” Time.

  119 first for the Journal . . . then the World: “Films’ Future is in Talkies, Says Sheehan,” New York Telegram, Mar. 27, 1929.

  119 fire commissioner in 1909 . . . secretary: Ibid.

  119 police commissioner the following year: Ibid.

  119 Sheehan went along: “‘Winnie’ Sheehan, Hollywood Dynamo, Ex-World Reporter.”

  119 the janitor: “Waldo, Annoyed on Stand, Gives Stereotyped Replies,” New York American, Sept. 20, 1912, 2.

  119 “close and fast friends”: Transcript, 228.

  119 to Havana, Cuba: Passenger List, SS Havana, sailing from Havana, Cuba, Jan. 27, 1912, www.ancestry.com.

  119 “a stogie-puffing leprechaun”: Raoul Walsh, Each Man in His Time: The Life Story of a Director (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1974), 220.

  119 city’s most notorious gangsters: “‘Winnie’ Sheehan Knew the Gangs,” BDE, Sept. 20, 1912.

  119 kingpin in a graft scheme: “Find Money Link Between a Man Close to Waldo and Inspector Under Suspicion,” New York World, Aug. 23, 1912; “Four High Police Officials Mentioned in the Confessions Involving Lieutenant Becker,” New York American, July 31, 1912, 1.


  119 $2.4 million annually: “Four High Police Officials Mentioned in the Confessions Involving Lieutenant Becker,” 1.

  119 Sheehan joined with three high-ranking uniformed: Ibid.; “Three Higher Up Named by Burns,” unidentified publication, Aug. 13, 1912. (NYPL, New York Sun newspaper morgue files 1900–1950, Winfield Sheehan file).

  119 centralize and systematize: Ibid.

  119 lawyer named George C. Norton: “Norton and Hyde Seek,” unidentified publication, Sept. 20, 1912. (NYPL, New York Sun newspaper morgue files 1900–1950, Winfield Sheehan file).

  119 that he represented Sheehan: “Calls W. R. Sheehan the Man Higher Up,” NYT, Apr. 30, 1914, 6; “Sheehan Named in Bribe Case,” New York Sun, Apr. 30, 1914.

  119 “an election gorilla”: “Graft Hunt Led to Waldo’s Man, Swears Sleuth,” NYTR, Sept. 19, 1912, 1.

  120 Rosenthal told friends . . . club was raided: “He Had Accused Police Secretary,” New York Herald, July 18, 1912.

  120 321 West Fifty-Fifth Street: “New Police Scandal Caused by Commissioner Waldo’s Story of $15,000 Bribe,” New York Herald, Sept. 18, 1912.

  120 Four men . . . to see Sheehan: “Who Is ‘Winnie’ Sheehan, Secretary of Waldo?”

  120 Told by the elevator . . . angry and fled: Ibid.; “Waldo Stands by Sheehan,” New York American, July 18, 1912.

  120 $100 a week: Transcript, 228.

  120 $75-a-week: “Who Is ‘Winnie’ Sheehan, Secretary of Waldo?”

  120 didn’t know anything about the film business: “Winnie Sheehan, Hollywood Dynamo, Ex-World Reporter.”

  120 had seen only a few films: “Films’ Future is in Talkies, Says Sheehan.”

  120 “That’s all right . . . literature”: “Winnie Sheehan, Hollywood Dynamo, Ex-World Reporter.”

  120 small truck delivered . . . headquarters: Ibid.

  120 less than $65 a month . . . didn’t own a car: “Who Is ‘Winnie’ Sheehan, Secretary of Waldo?”

  120 invested much of his Police Department loot: Ibid.; Lloyd F. Lonergan, “Elsie Ferguson’s Interpretation of Portia New, But Successful,” (Portland, OR), May 28, 1916, 3; “He Had Accused Police Secretary.”

  120 brought along more cash: Edwin C. Hill, “Mr. Sheehan, Genius Extraordinary, Chapter I,” American Weekly magazine, New York American, Feb. 10, 1946, 19. Sheehan denied having given money to Fox while at the Police Department (“Who Is ‘Winnie’ Sheehan, Secretary of Waldo?”).