Larchmont Boulevard was (and remains) a very popular place to film. Many of Harry Langdon’s antics from Saturday Afternoon (1926) were filmed at the corner of Larchmont and W. 1st Street.

Saturday Afternoon - looking south at the SW corner of W. 1st Street - Marc Wanamaker, Bison Archives
Larchmont appears in many other silent films, including Harold Lloyd’s Hot Water (1924) and For Heaven’s Sake (1926), Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. (1924), and Langdon’s His Marriage Wow (1925). Many 1927 – 1928 titles from the series of Weiss Brothers comedies featured on the Weiss-o-Rama DVD collection were also filmed on Larchmont.
For a detailed view of Larchmont as it appeared in the 1967 Bob Hope – Phyllis Diller comedy Eight on the Lam, check out this entry from the Dear Old Hollywood blogspot.
John,
Evidently, “Saturday Afternoon” and “For Heaven’s Sake” were shooting on the very same day, according to Film Daily:
Oct 4, 1925, p.1: SUCH IS FAME by “Danny”
Harold Lloyd was shooting some street car stuff. On Larchmont Ave. Cameras all about; reflectors, props, company and all. Half a block away Harry Langdon was working. Same outfit. And would you believe – not a soul stopped to see either of these great comedians at work. Nary a kid; nary a cop. Nobody.
If either of these outstanding stars were to shoot a street scene in New York, you would need the reserves. To hold off the crowds. Out here no one pays any attention to it.
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What a wonderful posting. Surprised I did not see it until now. I guess it is because I am preparing for another California trip and searching for new filming locations to visit. Those pictures above are spot on, you did a wonderful job.
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Thanks Trent – be sure to check out the written tours I have posted. Have fun on your upcoming trip. John
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Hi Michael – wow, thank you for the interesting news. Would you happen to have a scan of that article you could email to me? As I mentioned in my post, Larchmont was a very popular spot to film – it shows up all the time.
Cheers, John
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“Larchmont was a very popular spot to film – it shows up all the time.”
It sure does. As a fan of the 3 Stooges I know it very well. Some very popular scenes were filmed on Larchmont.
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The Larchmont Boulevard commercial district also shows up in a 1970 episode of the Marlo Thomas show “That Girl.” Marlo plays her character Ann Marie in a flashback with a metermaid’s job, along with guest star Dennis Weaver, and Larchmont does one of the least convincing portrayals of a Long Island city. It’s a beautiful day in southern California. At one point, the 1st St. sign is clearly visible (from almost exactly the perspective in the photo at the top of the page), and practically the whole block to the north is seen in an extended shot that follows Thomas driving her metermaid vehicle along. She also stands in nearly the exact spot that Larry Fine does in the photo on this Silent Locations post: https://silentlocations.com/2015/10/30/keaton-langdon-lloyd-on-larchmont-ebell-club-author-talk/
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Thanks Skip – I’ve seen Larchmont in The Rockford Files, Columbo, etc., and it likely appeared in dozens of other TV shows. A photogenic block close to the studios.
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James Garner says in his autobiography that one of the reasons they shot Rockford on location so often, other than authenticity, was that the studio charged him seven ways to Sunday for anything that happened on the studio lot. I’ve been assuming that was also somewhat applicable in the Silent Era, and that most location shooting was cheaper (or free except for paying the crew), but I really don’t know how much of a factor that was in deciding where to film.
Larchmont is pretty convenient, that’s for sure. I mentioned it mainly because the episode shows the street in a very good light, literally and figuratively, and if you know the blocks from the Stooges shorts and the silent classics, seeing nice long shots in full color is a treat. And the classical column streetlamps are still up at that time, too.
Thanks again, John!
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John – I’d be happy to. However, I looked all over your site here and could not find an “email me” or “contact me” link. If you send me an email – MikeH0714 (at) yahoo.com – I’ll reply with the article. Thanks, Michael
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