Tribute today to silent comedy producer and director Al Christie (1881-1951).
A director formerly associated with Nestor Studios and Universal Pictures, in 1916 he formed the Christie Film Company with his brother Charles. Al’s most successful enterprise to date had been the Mutt and Jeff series, featuring Bud Duncan. Through the end of the silent era Christie produced a series of comedy shorts featuring minor stars like Bobby Vernon, Fay Tincher, Jimmie Adams, Betty Compson, Billy Dooley, Dorothy Devore, and Neal Burns. After his own studio folded with the coming of sound, he continued to write and direct for other studios (e.g., Educational) through a good part of the 1940s before a long illness finally took him away.
For more on silent and slapstick comedy like the films of Al Christie, don’t miss Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube,
(Travalanche) 
Dear Trav S.D.
I enjoyed your posting on Al Christie, My wife, Joanna (Valle) Karman’s grandfather Felix Valle acted in some of Mr. Christie’s features with Dorothy Devore. You can see him in Stay Single (1924)
It’s an Italian print and I think a one reeler. I can’t read the dialog but it clearly is a good short. Ms. Devore is gorgeous and the dog in the pic is obviously well trained. We have two pictures of Mr. Valle holding my wife as a baby that we treasure. He passed in 1973 when she was just 2 1/2 but she amazingly can remember one clear interaction that she had with him. Thanks for the posting!
LikeLike
What wonderful memories. And now I must keep an eye out for Mr. Valle. Thanks so much for sharing!
LikeLike