Author Archives: John Bengtson

Cagney and Keaton Crossing Paths in Inglewood

Posted on April 6, 2015 by John Bengtson

James Cagney’s crime-busting thriller “G” Men (1935) and Buster Keaton’s debut short film One Week (1920) both contain exciting scenes filmed in Inglewood.  Cagney portrays a new FBI recruit who helps the bureau capture notorious bank robber Danny Leggett, played … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, James Cagney, One Week | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How Laurel & Hardy Filmed Perfect Day – New Discoveries

Posted on March 21, 2015 by John Bengtson

Built in 1925, this charming bungalow at 3120 Vera Avenue near Culver City appearing in the 1929 comedy Perfect Day is one of the most popular and easily recognizable of all Laurel & Hardy film locations. Author Randy Skretvedt reports … Continue reading →

Posted in Culver City, Hal Roach Studios, Laurel and Hardy, Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

The Artist and its Amazing Ties to Chaplin, Pickford, Keaton and Lloyd

Posted on March 3, 2015 by John Bengtson

Tonight marks the Turner Classic Movie Channel premiere of the 2011 multi-Oscar-winning Best Picture The Artist. Depicting the silent movie era, and filmed on location in Hollywood, the movie has many amazing connections to early Hollywood history and its biggest … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford, The Artist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How Laurel and Hardy Filmed Another Fine Mess

Posted on February 1, 2015 by John Bengtson

In 2001 Piet Schreuders wrote to me from his home in Amsterdam postulating (correctly) about the tunnel appearing at the conclusion of Laurel and Hardy’s 1930 comedy short Another Fine Mess. Apart from being an internationally acclaimed graphic designer, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Laurel and Hardy, Los Angeles Tunnels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Mid City Views – How Hal Roach’s Taxi Boys filmed Taxi for Two

Posted on January 18, 2015 by John Bengtson

The 1932 Hal Roach Studio comedy Taxi for Two provides a fascinating glimpse of early Washington Blvd., and the mid-city neighborhood that sprung up south of Hollywood halfway between Culver City and downtown Los Angeles. Directed by Del Lord, one … Continue reading →

Posted in Culver City, Hal Roach Studios | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Even More Speedy – New York Locations

Posted on December 31, 2014 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd’s final silent comedy Speedy, filmed on location in New York during the summer of 1927, is a goldmine of vintage Manhattan locations.  While my book Silent Visions devotes 100 pages to the dozens of NYC (and Los Angeles) … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Manhattan, Speedy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Big Parade – Historic Views of the Home Front

Posted on December 1, 2014 by John Bengtson

Although most of The Big Parade (1925) is set in the war-torn villages and battlefields of France, the acclaimed World War I drama also provides historic views of early downtown Los Angeles and Orange County. Told from the soldier’s point … Continue reading →

Posted in Los Angeles Tunnels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How Charlie Chaplin Filmed The Bank

Posted on November 13, 2014 by John Bengtson

Charlie Chaplin’s Essanay comedy The Bank (1915) marks his final cinematic footsteps in downtown Los Angeles.  While Broadway, and other nearby Historic Core streets appear in several of his early Keystone films, including Making A Living, His Favorite Pastime, The … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How Barbara Stanwyck Filmed Night Nurse

Posted on November 6, 2014 by John Bengtson

Directed by William Wellman, Night Nurse (1931) is a classic pre-Code Warner Bros. production, loaded with gratuitous scenes of women undressing, men slapping women around, drunken mothers ignoring their children, women innocently sharing a bed, and a bootlegger who not … Continue reading →

Posted in Pre-Code | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How James Cagney Filmed Lady Killer

Posted on November 2, 2014 by John Bengtson

Eight downtown Los Angeles landmarks appear behind James Cagney during the opening scenes of Lady Killer (1933), yet only three survive to tell their tale. In this delightful pre-Code comedy/drama, Cagney plays Dan Quigley, a wise-cracking New York movie theater … Continue reading →

Posted in James Cagney, Pre-Code | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

How Charlie Chaplin Filmed The Adventurer

Posted on October 17, 2014 by John Bengtson

Decades before Bugs Bunny delighted audiences by tunneling into madcap predicaments, escaped convict Charlie Chaplin tunneled to freedom in The Adventurer (1917) on a Malibu beach within the shadow of Castle Rock and Haystack Rock, prominent coastal landmarks that stood … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Cagney and Harlow on The Public Enemy’s Miracle Mile

Posted on September 29, 2014 by John Bengtson

Thanks to the Turner Classic Movie Channel’s Pre-Code Festival this past month, I’ve been able to catch many great films for the first time, including the topic of this post, The Public Enemy (1931). Much has been written about this … Continue reading →

Posted in James Cagney, Pre-Code | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

How Buster Keaton Filmed The General

Posted on September 26, 2014 by John Bengtson

I had the honor of introducing Buster Keaton’s 1926 masterpiece The General at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s inaugural “A Day of Silents Festival.” Presented below are the informational slides prepared for that screening by festival Artistic Director Anita … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, The General | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Keaton’s The General on location in Cottage Grove

Posted on September 8, 2014 by John Bengtson

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival special one-day “Silent Autumn” event opens Saturday morning, September 20, 2014, with a trio of classic Laurel & Hardy silent shorts, and features a 7:00 p.m. screening of Buster Keaton’s 1926 Civil War masterpiece … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, The General | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Silent Era Hollywood Tour – Cinecon 50 – Author Presentation

Posted on August 27, 2014 by John Bengtson

Attached to this post is a self-guided written tour to Hollywood silent film locations and studios that I have prepared in connection with the “Hollywood’s Silent Echoes” presentation I will be giving Friday, August 29, 2014, at 10:55 a.m. at … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Keaton Tour, Lloyd Tour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Charlie Chaplin’s Echo Park Home – 100 Years Later

Posted on August 12, 2014 by John Bengtson

As I explain in my book Silent Traces, Charlie Chaplin filmed several early comedies in Echo Park, just a few blocks south of the Keystone Studio where he began his film career 100 years ago. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it turns out … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Keystone Studio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Chaplin’s First Scene – a Very Busy Place to Film

Posted on June 13, 2014 by John Bengtson

One of my earliest posts (reprinted below), reports that the site of Chaplin’s first scene, from his initial movie Making a Living (1914), was discovered by Kevin Dale to have been filmed in front of a residential porch adjacent to … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Keystone Studio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Max Linder Shines Again in Seven Years Bad Luck

Posted on May 19, 2014 by John Bengtson

Dapper Max Linder, the pioneering French silent film comedian affectionately dubbed “The Professor” by Charlie Chaplin, will be taking the spotlight soon. Max’s 1921 feature comedy Seven Years Bad Luck will be screened at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, … Continue reading →

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Keaton’s Heart in San Francisco – The Navigator

Posted on May 12, 2014 by John Bengtson

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s upcoming A Day of Silents, February 2, 2025, begins with a screening of Buster Keaton’s 1924 classic The Navigator, a personal favorite of Buster, and one of his most successful films. Early on The … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Chaplin – Caught In the Rain 100 Years Ago by the 2nd St Tunnel

Posted on May 4, 2014 by John Bengtson

Charlie Chaplin’s lucky 13th Keystone Studio movie Caught in the Rain was released May 4, 1914, one hundred years ago today. Although Chaplin credits this film in his autobiography as his first directorial effort, Chaplin biographer David Robinson suggests otherwise, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bunker Hill, Charlie Chaplin, Keystone Studio, Los Angeles Historic Core, Los Angeles Tunnels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments