Showing posts with label Abe Stern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abe Stern. Show all posts

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Century Comedies -- Consistently Good -- February 29, 2024

Motion Picture News, 02-February-1924

Baby Peggy Montgomery had been Century's biggest comedy star. She moved on to starring in features for Universal and Sol Lesser's Principal Pictures. Captain January was based on a book by Laura E Richards. Shirley Temple starred in another adaption. 

Motion Picture News, 02-February-1924

Motion Picture News, 02-February-1924

I hope the kids at New York's Hebrew Orphan Asylum enjoyed Baby Peggy's first feature, The Darling of New York

Motion Picture News, 23-February-1924

Century carried on with other comedy series. "A Barrel of Real Fun!"

Motion Picture News, 23-February-1924

Al Herman had just finished directing his thirtieth Century comedy for the Stern Brothers. 

Motion Picture News, 16-February-1924

Giant Jack Earle starred with Harry McCoy in Century's "Keep Going." Robert Kerr directed. 

Motion Picture News, 23-February-1924

Young Buddy Messinger starred in "Quit Kidding," directed by Al Herman.

Motion Picture News, 09-February-1924

Century Studio was at 6100 Sunset Boulevard, which is now a parking lot. At the corner of North Gower, it was near what is now Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles. 

Film Daily, 11-February-1924

I know almost nothing about Sherwood MacDonald and I know even less about Butterfly Comedies. I think this is the only time I have seen the word "filmbrand."

Motion Picture News, 23-February-1924

Christie Comedies: "Fast and Funny." "The Best Bet for a Balanced Program." "In the Front Line of Laughmakers." Lots of tag lines. 

Motion Picture News, 16-February-1924

Please excuse the racism. Jimmie Adams seems to have done a lot of blackface. William Beaudine directed "Aggravating Papa." 

Motion Picture News, 02-February-1924

Christie Comedies are "Crammed With Laughs and Action." Dorothy Devore was a popular Christie star. Scott Sidney directed "Stay Single." 

Film Daily, 25-February-1924

Film Daily, 08-February-1924

Al Christie was planning to make feature-length comedies."  

Film Daily, 25-February-1924

Dorothy Devore and Walter Hiers were going to star in the first Christie feature, Hold Your Breath

Motion Picture News, 23-February-1924


Film Daily, 08-February-1924

Camera, 02-February-1924

The Christie Studio was at 6101 Sunset at Gower. There is nothing remarkable there now. 


Sunday, April 30, 2023

Christie Comedies -- New Ideas -- New Laughs -- April 30, 2023

Motion Picture News, 14-April-1923

Christie Comedies were becoming more ambitious. "Backgrounds from Hawaii to Alaska -- different in every picture. "Green as Grass," centered on horse racing, starred Jimmie Adams and was directed by Scott Sidney. "... a fast and thrilling race of laughs."

Motion Picture News, 14-April-1923

Jimmie Adams and Charlotte Herriam. 

Motion Picture News, 14-April-1923

Unfortunately, Christie chose to make "Roll Along" with his actors in black face. Scott Sidney directed The movie was shot along the Sacramento River but set along the Mississippi. Jimmie Adams played Rastus Jones. "Every actor in the picture will be in burnt cork, that is to say there will be no real colored folks in the piece..."

Motion Picture News, 07-April-1923

Century Comedies, which had produced short comedies like "Sky High" was going to feature their biggest star, Baby Peggy, in a feature-length movie. Elsie Jane Wilson was to direct, but King Baggott would end up with the credit.  

Motion Picture News, 14-April-1923

Doris Eaton became known as the "Last Surviving Ziegfeld Girl" before she died in 2010. She appeared in three editions of the Ziegfeld Follies between 1918 and 1920. Her husband Joe Gorham, a former director for Flo Ziegfeld, produced a revue called the Gorham Follies. Joe Gorham died six months after they married, leaving Doris a widow at 19. At least two short comedies in the Gorham Follies series were produced. 

Doris and her sisters Pearl and Mary, all beautiful, appeared in several editions of the Ziegfeld Follies.

Motion Picture News, 14-April-1923

Hal Roach was producing short comedies which alternated between Paul Parrot, brother of Charley Chase, and Stan Laurel. 

Motion Picture News, 28-April-1923

Hal Roach's new series, Our Gang, was a hit.

Motion Picture News, 28-April-1923

Snub Pollard had his own series of two-reelers for Roach.

Motion Picture News, 07-April-1923

Lloyd Hamilton had his own series released by Educational. "His unerring sense of comedy..."

Motion Picture News, 14-April-1923

"The majority of  'F. O. B.' was shot in a box car ... The cast of 'F. O. B.' has no women."

Motion Picture News, 14-April-1923

Educational released Mermaid Comedies, produced by Jack White and often starring Lige Conley. Note the lion.

Sunday, March 27, 2022

They Went Wild Over Baby Peggy -- March 27, 2022

Moving Picture Weekly, 11-March-1922

Baby Peggy had grown to become Century's biggest comedy star, even surpassing her old comrade Brownie the Century Wonder Dog. This ad touts her role in a feature film, an adaption of Booth Tarkington's book Penrod. Wesley Barry played Penrod and Baby Peggy, billed as Peggy Jane, played Peggy Rensdale.

Motion Picture News, 21-January-1922

Baby Peggy and Wesley "Freckles" Barry in the feature film Penrod, directed by Mickey Neilan.

Exhibitors Herald, 25-March-1922

"Century Comedies Rock the Earth With Laughter." Century Comedies' four series starred Lee Moran, Harry Sweet, Baby Peggy and Brownie the Century Wonder-Dog.

Moving Picture World, 04-March-1922

Century President Julius Stern, Carl Laemmle's brother-in-law, returned from a trip to the East to find everyone hard at work under the supervision of his brother, Abe Stern.

Moving Picture World, 04-March-1922

Meanwhile Moran's erstwhile parter Eddie Lyons was making comedies for Arrow.


Moving Picture World, 25-March-1922

This ad for Educational Pictures Week featured a list of 43 Christie Comedies and a large photo of producer Al Christie.

Moving Picture World, 25-March-1922

"All Christie Comedies Available" for Educational Pictures Week.

Moving Picture World, 25-March-1922

Neal Burns was one of Christie's comic leading men.

Moving Picture World, 25-March-1922

Bobby Vernon started as a juvenile comedian at Keystone, where he starred in several popular comedies with Gloria Swanson. "The dog's name is Blanco because there is a blank space where his brains ought to be. That is harsh.

Exhibitors Herald, 04-March-1922

Al Christie had a company up in the Sierras, in Truckee. They reported that several film crews were at work in the area. 

Moving Picture World, 04-March-1922

Educational, which specialized in short subjects, released several series of comedies: "Lloyd Hamilton in Mermaid Comedies," "Bobby Vernon in Christie Comedies," "Johnny Hines in Torchy Comedies," and "Neal Burns in Christie Comedies." This ad also mentions "The Battle of Jutland" and a new series of "Wilderness Tales."


Lloyd Hamilton, who had been the Ham of Ham and Bud, starred in a series of Mermaid Comedies distributed by Educational Comedies. Most of them were destroyed in a vault fire.

Exhibitors Herald, 04-March-1922

Exhibitors Herald, 04-March-1922

Exhibitors Herald, 11-March-1922

Exhibitors Herald, 18-March-1922

Harry Cohn, his brother Jack and Joe Brandt provided the initials for C.B.C. Film Sales Corp. The Hallroom Boys Comedies were a long running series of short comedies, based on a comic strip by Harold MacGill.

Moving Picture World, 18-March-1922

Mario Bianchi was born in Cesena in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. He emigrated to the US in 1914. He adopted the name Monty Banks and appeared in many short comedies. He later appeared in features known for daring stunt work.

Moving Picture World, 25-March-1922

Uncle Dan Mason, who played the Skipper in a series of short comedies based on Fontaine Fox's comic panel The Toonerville Trolley That Meets All the Trains, met Sunny Jim Rolph, the mayor of San Francisco. Some of the movies were shot down the Peninsula in San Mateo.