<P> The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948; their verdict went against the movie studios, forcing all of them to divest themselves of their movie theater chains . This, coupled with the advent of television and the attendant drop in movie ticket sales, brought about a severe slump in the movie business, a slump that would not be reversed until 1972, with the release of The Godfather, the first modern blockbuster . </P> <P> The Paramount decision is a bedrock of corporate antitrust law, and as such is cited in most cases where issues of vertical integration play a prominent role in restricting fair trade . </P> <P> The Court ruled 7 - 1 in the government's favor, affirming much of the consent decree (Justice Robert H. Jackson took no part in the proceedings). William O. Douglas delivered the Court's opinion, with Felix Frankfurter dissenting in part, arguing the Court should have left all of the decree intact but its arbitration provisions . </P> <P> Douglas's opinion reiterated the facts and history of the case and reviewed the District Court's opinion, agreeing that its conclusion was "incontestable". He considered five different trade practices addressed by the consent decree: </P>

What did the paramount consent decree force motion picture companies to do