Between The Man in the Moonlight and The Egg Crate Wallop, in August during her first break in nearly half a year, the August 17th Los Angeles Times reported in “Just Can’t Vacation” that “two long-term contracts have been submitted to her (Colleen), both attractive, and she will sign one in the next few days.” The two companies vying for her attention were not mentioned in the article, but possibly they were the Christie Film Company and Mack Sennett. Both companies produced comedies. Mack Sennett and Al Christie were two of the best known producers of comedies. Sennett’s were better known, but his comedies were slapstick and, to some, low-brow; Christie’s comedies were more situational comedies. There were many comedy production companies, but Colleen had made a name for herself, and would have been attracted to those two companies, given the high-profile their productions enjoyed.

   The reason Colleen was considering comedies, when she was carving out a comfortable niche for herself in drama, was that she had read that many of he best known dramatic actresses at work in film at the time had gotten their start in comedy. Comic timing was an aid to drama. Unfortunately, Colleen assumed that in all likelihood, she would have to appear as a “bathing-beauty” to start her comedy career. The Sennett Bathing Beauties were a collection of young beauties who appeared in Mack Sennett's films, a way for actresses to make their entrance into comedy. Several of the Bathing Beauties would go on to become well-known actresses, such as Marie Prevost, Phyllis Haver, and Carole Lombard. Actresses Mabel Normand and Gloria Swanson would often be sited as former bathing beauties, but both would deny it. Christie also had his own troupe of swim-suited women.

   Bathing-beauties and “mermaids” often appeared in comedies, and scantily-clad young women were a sure-fire way to get butts into seats in theaters, and while the trend would continue through the decades, sometimes they were not as successful. In 1921 the Hamilton-White Comedies announced that they were phasing out “mermaids” from their pictures.

   Colleen did not think of herself as eye-candy, and even if she had, her grandmother would have forbade her from parading around on film in a bathing suit. Colleen’s Grandma Kelly had laid down the law.

   Colleen was offered her opportunity by Al Christie, swim-suits not required.  Never one to turn away an obviously talented young actress, Al Christie reached a verbal agreement with Colleen for a salary of $200 a week, plus the right to make films outside the company, keeping any salary she made over $200 a week for herself. She was in front of the camera for the Christie Film Company before the end of the year.

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Christie Comedies

 

   It was while she was making Christie comedies that Colleen would begin to develop the comic timing that would later become her hallmark. While editing has always been important for the overall pacing of films, the timing of the actor is still vital. Even when she was simply the foil for the featured comedians (especially in Her Bridal Nightmare), a shot could still be ruined by a reaction that did not come at the correct moment or did not seem genuine.

   The Christie Film Company studio was owned and run by brothers Charles and Al, both Canadians who had come south to make their fortunes in the fledgling film industry of California. Charles Christie was the business administrator of their film company while Al was the creative end, writing and directing. Working at David Horsley’s Centaur Film Company, Al Christie cut his chops turning out single-reeler Mutt and Jeff films at a rate of one a week. By 1916 they had done well enough to establish their own production company specializing in short comedies and feature length films.

   The first two films for Christie to be released were A Roman Scandal, and Her Bridal Nightmare, released at the end of January. Ever on the prowl for her next role, Colleen had already found her next part. The day after Her Bridal Nightmare was released the Chicago Daily Tribune reported: “Colleen Moore, “the cunning youngster” who would play opposite Sessue Hayakawa in his coming release  The Bleeder. Sessue Hayakawa’s films were released through the Robertson-Cole company.

   Her next film with Christie was His Nibs, originally produced under the title The Smart Aleck. She was paired with Charles “Chic” Sales. It was an Exceptional Pictures production, released by the His Nibs Syndicate. Christie distributed the film. In the production, comedian Chic Sales played multiple roles: Theo. Bender, Wally “His Nibs” Craw, Mr. Percifer, Elmer Bender and several others. Set in a rural theater, the film was a spoof on popular genre films like those of Charles Ray. Colleen appeared in the film within the film as “the Girl,” just as she had done in her earlier roles.

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The Devil's Claim, When Dawn Came, and Dinty

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   Sessue Hayakawa’s film The Bleeder was released under the title The Devil's Claim. The film was produced by Hayworth Pictures Corporation, Sessue Hayakawa's own company, with its offices on the corner of Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard; after years of being shunted into stereotypical Asian roles, Sessue had formed his company to have control over his own material and productions.

In the film Colleen played Indira, a young Persian woman. Unlike her previous wholesome, milquetoast characters, Indira marked another personal departure for her as it was a more exotic character than any of her previous roles. It was a small part, but Colleen pulled off the character convincingly.  The film was released in early May 1920.

   Just prior to its release, Colleen appeared as the blind girl Mary Harrison in When Dawn Came.

   In the film, Colleen plays a young woman who was blind but, by the end of the film, was given sight by the hero, who has fallen in love with her. The film was a Hugh E. Dierker Photo Drama Production.

   Though Colleen was technically working for Al Christie, he was true to his word and more than happy to let her pursue her career, knowing that if her star was on the rise, any association with her would be good publicity and good for business. 

   In the three months after The Devil’s Claim had been released, director Marshall Neilan had begun a campaign to get Al Christie to release Colleen and go to work for him. The handsome actor-turned-director had made a name working with Mary Pickford, directing her in several films including Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and The Little Princess in 1917, plus Stella Maris, Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, M'Liss in 1918, and Daddy-Long-Legs in 1919. In 1920 he had formed Marshall Neilan Productions and made feature-length, most of them distributed through First National Pictures. First National had started life in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, an association of independent theater owners that expanded from mere exhibition to distribution of movies. In 1919 they reincorporated as Associated First National Pictures, Inc.

   “Mickey,” as Neilan was known, decided he wanted to team Colleen with Wes Barry, the freckle-faced child star, in his production of Dinty. Colleen's typical salary demand for work outside of the Christie studio was $500 a week, $300 over her base pay at Christie. Realizing how impressed Neilan was by her audition, she asked for $750 a week. Neilan agreed and offered her a new contracgt, telling her "hey Irish! My name is Mickey Neilan, Mickey... don't ever call me 'Mr. Neilan' again." It was a good deal for Colleen, a high-profile production. Al Christie, who Colleen would later write had become sweet on her, told her it was the lucky break she was waiting for. She went to Christie for his advice; he told her she should take the contract.

   However, Colleen had been hard at work for months, almost non-stop, as was pointed out by Grace Kingsley who wrote in the September 1920 Los Angeles Times that “Colleen can’t get a break.” She had expected that as soon as she was done working on Dinty, she would get a week-long break. She was still under contract to Christie to make the Christie comedy So Long Letty. However, there were production delays for the production of Dinty, as Neilan was needed elsewhere before his work was done. So Long Letty was also having its share of delays. It was the middle of July before work began on Letty, a comedy with the racy premise that featured a mismatched pair of married couples. Both husbands decided that the other’s wife was a better match than his own wife; they came up with a plan to drive their wives into the arms of the other man. However, the wives caught wind of the plot and put their own twist on it, finally convincing their husbands that they were already with their best match. Before the end of July, Neilan had returned to resume work on Dinty.