Nickelodeon city

"From the 1905 opening of the eponymous Nickelodeon in Pittsburgh's downtown to the outgrowth of nickel theaters in nearly all of its neighborhoods, Pittsburgh proved to be perfect for the movies." "Nickelodeon City provides a detailed view inside the city's early film trade. Drawing from the pages of the Pittsburgh Moving Picture Bulletin, the first known regional trade journal for the movie business. Michael Aronson profiles the major promoters in Pittsburgh, as well as many lesser-known ordinary theater owners, suppliers, and patrons. He examines early film promotion, distribution, and exhibition, and reveals the earliest forms of state censorship and the ensuing political lobbying and manipulation attempted by members of the movie trade. Aronson also explores the emergence of local exhibitor-based cinema, in which the exhibitor assumed control of the content and production of film, blurring the lines between production, consumption, and local and mass media."--BOOK JACKET.