American Cartel: Block Bookings and the Paramount Plan

This chapter investigates how the Australian film industry was historically shaped during its formative period by the block booking contract system, which flooded Australia cinema screens with popular American films. While the block booking strategy did not last, Australia’s obsession with American cinema did, to the point where exhibitors today are still dependent on filling their venues with the latest craze from America. By concentrating on the silent period of 1909–1927, this chapter discusses a number of significant shifts in film exhibition that transformed Australian cinema from an independent and self-sufficient industry into a local Hollywood.