One of the foremost independents of the early 1920s, Tiffany Pictures was founded in 1921 by Mae Murray and her husband, director Robert Z. Leonard, to produce Murray vehicles for distribution through MGM. Following Murray and Leonard’s divorce in 1925, the company saw its fortunes dwindle and was eventually taken over by John Stahl, who renamed it Tiffany-Stahl Productions. With distribution now chiefly through the Sono Art-World Wide combine, Tiffany entered the early sound era with an emphasis on low-budget westerns starring Ken Maynard and Bob Steele, before imploding in 1932. Its sound-era short subjects were primarily distinguished by the Chimp Comedies series, which paralleled MGM’s concurrent Dogville films by featuring lip-synched animals in parodies of contemporary features.