Charles and Al Christie | |
|---|---|
 Charles (left) and Al (right) in 1920 | |
| Born | Charles Herbert Christie (1882-04-13)April 13, 1882 Alfred Ernest Christie (1886-11-23)November 23, 1886 London, Ontario, Canada (both) |
| Died | Charles Herbert Christie October 1, 1955(1955-10-01) (aged 73) Alfred Ernest Christie April 14, 1951(1951-04-14) (aged 64) Beverly Hills, California, U.S. (both) |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | Al: Shirley Collins (m. 1911) |
Charles Herbert Christie (April 13, 1882 – October 1, 1955) andAlfred Ernest Christie (November 23, 1886 – April 14, 1951) were Canadian motion picture entrepreneurs.
Charles Herbert Christie was born between April 13, 1880, and April 13, 1882. Alfred Ernest Christie was born between October 23, 1881, and November 23, 1886; both were born inLondon, Ontario. Their father managed the Opera House in the city and their mother was its box-office manager and accountant. Charles graduated from school when he was 14; he graduated from a four-year accountancy course in two years at age 16.[1][2][3][4][5]
At 23, Charles was offered a job as the stage manager for Liebler and Company and accepted it on the condition that his brother Al also be given a job. They worked for the organization for three years. Charles joined the film industry after being hired as an accountant for theNestor Film Company. William Horsley said that "I wonder if we would have survived as a viable industry had not Charles Christie arrived to put our finances in order". Al presented a few comedy scripts and was paid $15 for both of the one-reel ideas. Al aided in establishing the Nestor Film Company inLos Angeles in 1911, andUniversal Pictures began distributing all of their films in 1913.[6]
TheChristie Film Company was formed on January 6, 1916, and Al purchased the Blondeau Tavern for $15,000. The company's films were distributed by Universal andCarl Laemmle gave it $5,000 to aid in its establishment. Al wanted the company to produce an equal amount ofwesterns and comedies, but Charles convinced him to focus on comedies.[7][8][9][10] Charles was the vice-president and general manager of the company.[11] They ended their distribution agreement with Universal moving toEducational Pictures in 1919.[12] From 1927 to 1928, the company's films were distributed byParamount Pictures and then byColumbia Pictures after Paramount canceled its contract.[13] Their films starredBetty Compson,Dorothy Devore,Lloyd Hamilton,Al St. John,Fay Tincher, and other actors.[2][14]
Charles served as a director of theMotion Picture Relief Fund.[15] He was a member ofRobert M. Allan's campaign committee in 1925, while Allan was seeking reelection to theLos Angeles City Council.[16] Charles succeededJoseph M. Schenck as president of the Association of Motion Pictures Producers, a subsidiary of theMotion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, in 1925.[17]
The Christie brothers purchased theMetropolitan Studio in the 1920s and spent over $500,000 to soundproof it.Dangerous Females was the Christie's firstsound film and they produced over fifty feature-length sound films in 1929.[18][2] The Christie brothers opened theChristie Hotel, the first skyscraper and also the first luxury hotel inHollywood, California in 1922.[19][20] They owned theChristie Realty Building as well.[21]
The Christie brothers were financially ruined after theWall Street crash of 1929.[22] The brothers used bank loans for real estate purchases and had $2.5 million in debts by 1932. They liquidated their assets, but were $70,000 short of the amount owed. The Horsley brothers paid the remainder of their debts.[23] Charles started selling real estate and Al went to live inNew York. Al established another film studio in 1932, with the backing ofAtlas Corporation Studios and the Guaranty Trust Company. He produced thirty-two films until he decided to leave the film industry in 1941. The brothers reunited and Al managed entertainment at theDouglas Aircraft Company's factory inSanta Monica which featuredLucille Ball,Milton Berle,Bing Crosby,Duke Ellington,Gracie Fields,Bob Hope,Betty Hutton,Glenn Miller, andJames Stewart during the time Al was the manager.[24]
Al said that "Very few of our negatives or prints survived" as they "couldn't afford to keep that old emulsion film in the cold storage it needed to survive".[22] He produced over seven hundred films before his retirement.[2]
Al married Shirley Collins in 1911, but they later divorced.[25][26] In 1925, the Christie brothers and their film company paid $31,654.43 (equivalent to $567,557 in 2024) in income taxes.[27] Al retired afterWorld War II and Charles retired in 1950. Al died inBeverly Hills, California on April 14, 1951, three days after suffering a heart attack. He had an estate worth only $2,597 (equivalent to $31,460 in 2024), with $1,697 in cash and $900 in personal property, and it was inherited by Charles. Charles died in Beverly Hills, on October 1, 1955; he gave his housekeeper of thirty years over $250,000 (equivalent to $2,934,472 in 2024) along with his house. She died in a car accident three months later.[28][2][29]
