cope Parlor at 1155 Broadway in New York City and for the first time, commercially exhibited movies as we know them today. Early spectators in Kinetoscope parlors were amazed by even the most strange moving images in very short films (between 30 and 60 seconds) - an approaching train, a parade, women dancing, dogs terrorizing rats, and other such things. In 1895, Edison exhibited hand-colored movies, including Annabelle The Dancer, in Atlanta, Georgia at the Cotton States Exhibition. In one of Edison's 1896 films, entitled The Widow Jones, often called "The Kiss", May Irwin and John Rice re-enacted a scene from a Broadway play - it was a close-up of a cinematic kiss. In 1909 the first movie studio was started - Universal Studios. The ten year peiod of 1920-1930 was the period between the end of the Great War and the Stock Market Crash. Film theaters and studios were not initially affected in this decade by the crash. Films really blossomed in the 1920s, expanding upon the foundations of film from earlier years. Some of the best artists from European film-making circles were imported to Hollywood and adapted there. The basic pattern of the film industry, and its economic organization, was established in the 1920s - the studio system was essentially born in the second decade of the century.With films, came a need for protection, and ratings. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) acted domestically as the voice and advocate of seven of the largest producers and distributors of filmed entertainment. MPAA's counterpart, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) served the same purpose on an international basis. Founded in 1922 as the trade association for the American film industry, the MPAA has broadened its authorization over the years to reflect the diversity of the expanding motion picture industry. Today, these associations represent not only the world of the theatrical film, but also major producers and distributors of entertai...
