Search Results for: ben model

Ben Model presents Edward Everett Horton: 8 Silent Comedies

Posted on November 6, 2021 by John Bengtson

With now this third post, let me repeat, musician Ben Model is a silent film SUPER-HERO. Aside from his duties as resident accompanist for MoMA in New York, the Library of Congress, and performing at silent screenings around the country, … Continue reading →

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Three Good Fellows – Harold Lloyd, Doug MacLean, and Ben Model

Posted on March 15, 2020 by John Bengtson

Musician Ben Model is a silent film super-hero. Aside from his duties as resident accompanist for MoMA in New York, the Library of Congress, and performing at silent screenings around the county, his indie Undercrank Productions has released over 20 … Continue reading →

Posted in Ben Model, Doug MacLean, Harold Lloyd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Silk Hat Raymond Griffith at Swanky Fremont Place

Posted on May 28, 2023 by John Bengtson

Ben Model is a silent film SUPER-HERO. Now the subject of four posts at this site, Ben’s indie Undercrank Productions has released dozens of rare silent movies to home audiences. His latest Blu-ray production now for sale, Raymond Griffith: The … Continue reading →

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Wonderful Wanda Wiley … Who? Part Two – lost on Beaudry

Posted on May 6, 2023 by John Bengtson

Wonderful Wanda Wiley is my favorite rediscovered silent film comedienne. Her charm, girl-next-door appeal, and athletic stunt-work are on great display in her 1927 comedy short A Thrilling Romance. Wanda portrays a struggling novelist, buried by stacks of rejection letters. … Continue reading →

Posted in Wanda Wiley | 6 Comments

Wonderful Wanda Wiley … Who?

Posted on January 14, 2023 by John Bengtson

Wonderful Wanda Wiley was a spirited, athletic silent film comedienne, whose charm and girl-next-door appeal made her the female equivalent of Harold Lloyd’s “All-American Boy” (sometimes she even wore glasses). [Fun update – Wanda and Harold share the same April … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood History, Wanda Wiley | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

The Kid – Chaplin’s Silent Footsteps tour now on YouTube

Posted on July 13, 2021 by John Bengtson

The 2021 Chaplin Days online festival hosted by the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum includes my all-new video tour of Charlie’s century-old masterpiece The Kid (1921), revealing locations and the incredible visual history hidden in the background of the film. … Continue reading →

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Early Hollywood Visual Tour at HippFest 2021

Posted on March 16, 2021 by John Bengtson

Scotland’s HippFest Silent Film Festival starts tomorrow, Wednesday March 17 through Sunday March 21. Hosted virtually this year, the festival usually plays in Scotland’s oldest purpose-built cinema The Hippodrome in Bo’ness. The programs will be available through a new streaming … Continue reading →

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Buster, Harold, Mabel, and Doug, and the murder of Wm. Desmond Taylor!

Posted on October 25, 2020 by John Bengtson

This post contains a variety of odds and ends. To begin, thanks to Tommy Dangcil we can see exactly where Buster Keaton staged a scene from Cops (1922) in front of the grand stairway leading to the former First Baptist … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Doug MacLean, Harold Lloyd, Mabel Normand | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Time Travel to 1919 Hollywood

Posted on September 7, 2020 by John Bengtson

Imagine when Hollywood was still a town, with stately homes, dirt roads, orchards, and scores of vacant lots. Vintage photos are compelling, but silent films are true time machines, placing you at the spot to see and breathe a slice … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin - Keaton - Lloyd Alley, Hollywood History, Lyons and Moran | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Silent Comedy’s Crazy Corner

Posted on January 18, 2020 by John Bengtson

Quick – what are some essential elements for a silent comedy? A park bench? An angry cop? A banana peel? If you think about it, one absolutely essential geographic element is the humble street corner. It doesn’t matter what the … Continue reading →

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Alice Howell Early Hollywood Views

Posted on April 28, 2019 by John Bengtson

We all owe Ben Model a huge debt of gratitude for releasing his fantastic new Alice Howell Collection DVD, featuring 12 shorts starring the delightful (and mostly forgotten) comedienne, sourced from archival materials from the Library of Congress, BFI, DFI, … Continue reading →

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Harry Langdon – His Marriage Wow

Posted on January 23, 2019 by John Bengtson

Harry Langdon plays a nervous groom and newlywed in his 1925 comedy short His Marriage Wow (1925), available as part of The Mack Sennett Collection: Volume 1 Blu-ray, and the out of print Lost and Found: The Harry Langdon Collection. … Continue reading →

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It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks in Ocala Florida – Part Two – Louise Strolls Around Town

Posted on July 12, 2018 by John Bengtson

This next post about the wonderful new Kino Lorber Blu-ray release of It’s The Old Army Game is authored mostly by noted Louise Brooks author and expert Thomas Gladysz, with (my comments) limited to the Ocala Florida historic settings appearing … Continue reading →

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It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks in Ocala Florida – Part One

Posted on July 4, 2018 by John Bengtson

If you love W.C Fields, Louise Brooks, silent comedy, or time-traveling via a beautiful vintage movie, you’ve got to get the wonderful new Kino Lorber Blu-ray release of It’s The Old Army Game (1926). In only his sixth onscreen role, … Continue reading →

Posted in It's The Old Army Game, Louise Brooks, Ocala Florida, W.C. Fields | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Kid, Cops, Intolerance revealed in a 125 year old photo

Posted on October 29, 2022 by John Bengtson

When the great silent comedians filmed the streets of LA one hundred or more years ago, many of those settings were already decades old. Focusing on a single vintage photo, let’s explore one of the most fascinating film locations in … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Harold Lloyd’s “Hot Water” Sherlock turkey troubles

Posted on October 15, 2022 by John Bengtson

Wrangling a live turkey on a trolley, forced to walk it home, overlapping Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr., even more visual history is now revealed from Harold Lloyd’s Hot Water (1924). Newlywed Harold’s day is shattered when his better half calls … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Hot Water, Lyons and Moran, Sherlock Jr. | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Harold Lloyd’s “Hot Water” “Happy Days” Home

Posted on September 3, 2022 by John Bengtson

Harold’s home stands on two different blocks and TV’s Happy Days Cunningham home appears nearby. So many new locales from Hot Water (1924) were found and shared by eagle-eyed reader Zebra 3, a self-described film location hobbyist, who shares what … Continue reading →

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SF Silent Film Festival Returns to Live Cinema with Chaplin’s City Lights

Posted on February 5, 2022 by John Bengtson

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival returns to presenting live cinema this February 19 at the Paramount Theater with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra accompanying Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece City Lights (1931), conducted by Timothy Brock. You may order tickets HERE. Along … Continue reading →

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Arbuckle and Keaton Filmed in Culver City Years Before Laurel and Hardy

Posted on May 23, 2020 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd and Snub Pollard filmed comedies for producer Hal Roach at the Bradbury Mansion Rolin Studio, on Court Hill in downtown Los Angeles, for years before Roach opened his new studio in Culver City in 1920. (Read how they … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Culver City, Laurel and Hardy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

How Laurel and Hardy Filmed Duck Soup

Posted on April 12, 2020 by John Bengtson

Although they had appeared onscreen together in The Lucky Dog (1921), the Hal Roach short Duck Soup (1927) marks the first time Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were paired as comedy leads. They play a couple of hoboes who flee … Continue reading →

Posted in Beverly Hills, Bunker Hill, Duck Soup, Laurel and Hardy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments