Henry, It seems that most of your initial suggestions deal with criticism,
except the Paramount case.  How about some more industry documents?  There were
 a series of decisions early in the century that led more-or-less directly to
the formation of the Patents Company: All are headed Edison v. Biograph in the
Second Circuit Court of Appeals: 127 Federal Reporter 361 (1904); 144 Fed 121
1906); 151 Fed 767 (1907).  All are patent infringement cases and somewhat
technical, but I think revealing of the state of the "art" at the time.
 
Another favorite of mine is the Temporary National Economic Committee Investi-
gation of Concentration of Economic Power 76th Congress,3rd Session Senate
Committee Print (Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1941).  Also: How
about the various versions of the Production Code starting with the Do's and
Don'ts of the late twenties.  I think that Randall or Ira Carmen's books
reprint vrsions of the Code.  An original copy published by the Association of
Motion Picture Producers titled "A Code to Govern the Making of Motion Pictures
was in the UNC-Chapel Hill library (call No. 778 M918C)  This copy has no
discernible copyright notice but the title page is dated 1930-1955.
 
But my all-time favorite primary document is a column in "The Moving Picture
World", XII(April 6, 1912):536[?, my photocopy is obscure; the date is
accurate.  In a column headed "Cutting Off the Feet" H.F.Hoffman, a regular
writer for the paper protested "against the tendency of many motion picture
makers to cut the feet of the actors out of the scene. . . .  If this
tendency keeps up we shall soon be seeing nothing of the actor but his head and
 shoulders and that of 'the girl' in which case a brick wall will be the only
background necessary."
 
I also have in my file some correspondance between Thomas Armat and Edison
proposing a monopoly and another to Edison on the same topic from H. N. Marvin.
On the latter there's a handwritten note from Edison "I fail to see it."  If
you want I will send you a photocopy by USPostal Service.  (This offer is open
to anyone else who requests a copy in the next week or two.)
 
Other primary documents I have found revealing are contemporaneous reviews of
films shown in classes.  "Casablanca" in 1990 has a different status than it
did in 1942.  The contemporaneous reviews of "Citizen Kane" are similarly
revealing of differences in tastes.
 
Best wishes,
 
Cal