The graceful arch bridge that once spanned the narrow lake in Hollenbeck Park has appeared in numerous silent films. USC Digital Library.

Perhaps its most celebrated appearance is with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy during their early talkie short Men ‘O War (1929), when the bridge appears at back while they flirt with Gloria Greer and Anne Cornwall.

Years earlier, in 1920 Harold Lloyd attempted to end it all by leaping from the bridge during Haunted Spooks (above left, looking north), and returned in 1924 to film this scene from Girl Shy (above right), looking south toward the bridge.

Harold also posed beside the arched bridge for this early 1915 Lonesome Luke comedy Great While It Lasted.

Hollenbeck Park appears in splendid detail throughout the 1920 Snub Pollard comedy Run ‘Em Ragged, hosted on YouTube by Leeweegie1960, including views of the bridge starting at 15:14 HERE.

During the 1916 comedy Picture Pirates, Ben Turpin (center in above left image) and his cohorts flee the police. Some cops lose their trail by running over the bridge instead, the earliest footage I’ve seen of the bridge from this angle. Once again hosted by Joseph Blough’s wonderful YouTube channel, you can watch the scene starting at 06:07 HERE. Looking west from the lake’s east side, this scene was filmed in the morning. (Filming on the west side of the lake looking east is more common as it provides for a longer shooting day). Scientists may prove me wrong, but to my eye morning scenes in silent films appear bright and cool (see above), while afternoon scenes appear warm. Flawed science or not, based on whether a scene looks cool or warm, morning or afternoon, and therefore west or east, has provided accurate geographic clues from which I have discovered many locations.

Final views of the arched bridge, this time in the 1920 Kewpie Morgan comedy The Heart Snatcher, above left. Hosted by the Eye Filmmuseum YouTube channel you can watch the scene, beginning at 08:45 HERE. Above right, Snub Pollard in The Butterfly Hunter, hosted by Extreme Mysteries YouTube channel, the scene starting at 0:58 HERE.

Further south, the 6th Street bridge for automobiles that once spanned the park and the lake below, also appears in numerous films. Whenever a hero or a comedian leaps from a bridge during a silent movie it was likely filmed here. The bridge was the optimal height for the leap to appear thrilling on screen without inconveniently killing the performer. USC Digital Library.

To begin, look who’s back. That’s Ben Turpin (above left, on the right) once again in Picture Pirates, leaping off the bridge to escape the police. (I can’t say whether someone doubled for Ben during the jump or not). You can watch the scene starting at 06:28 HERE.

Another thrilling stunt, from the Looser Than Loose DVD set Larry Semon: An Underrated Genius, during Scamps and Scandals (1919) Larry Semon (or perhaps his double) dives from the 6th Street Bridge. Notice Larry beside the same telephone pole next to Ben Turpin above. Just for fun they installed a platform on the pole to make the dive that much higher. While the image could be more clear, the dive really took place, ending with a convincing splash in the water.

Next, during the Our Gang 1928 comedy The Ol’ Gray Hoss, the dismissive big kids tell young Wheezer to go jump in a lake, which he promptly obeys by falling from the 6th Street Bridge.

The terrified big kids, who dive after Wheezer, safely but embarrassingly land head first in a deep pool of mud. Wheezer, an the other hand, catches his suspenders on a post and is retrieved safe, clean, and dry. The Ol’ Gray Hoss is hosted on YouTube by Leeweegie1960, with bridge scene starting at 24:36 HERE.

Just for fun, the 1957 Doris Day movie musical The Pajama Game was also filmed at Hollenbeck, with views looking south toward the 6th Street bridge.

Wrapping up, the narrow north end of the lake once had a much smaller arched bridge, near the bandstand gazebo. This bridge was torn down long ago, and rarely appears in archival photos.

The bridge and the gazebo appear with Roscoe Arbuckle and Mabel Normand during their 1915 comedy Fatty, Mabel and the Law, hosted on YouTube by the Al St. John Official YouTube Channel with the bridge scene starting at 3:20 HERE. The low bridge was likely demolished well before 1924, but the bandstand gazebo, also now demolished, appears in the 1929 film Men ‘O War, above right.

This post provides merely an overview of early silent movies filmed beside the now lost Hollenbeck Park bridges. Now that you know what to look for, you will likely recognize these distinctive bridges in other silent films. Giant institutional buildings such as the Hollenbeck Home For Aged People, and the Santa Fe Coast Lines Hospital, stood across from the park, and appear in the background of other films too.

Check out my latest YouTube video – Caught on Film, How Buster Keaton Made The Cameraman, with a score by Jon Mirsalis. Hidden details throughout the film reveal Buster’s journey, leaving his studio behind, visiting familiar locations, and crossing paths with his friend and mentor Roscoe Arbuckle. Please also check the many other Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd videos posted on my YouTube Channel.

Below, an aerial view looking north at Hollenbeck Park, now hemmed in on the west by the Golden State Freeway.