Category Archives: Charlie Chaplin

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 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 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 →

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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

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

Chaplin – 100 Years Ago on Sunset Boulevard

Posted on April 23, 2014 by John Bengtson

“Sunset Boulevard” – few words evoke the mystique and glamour of Southern California more than the name of this historic street that wends its way west from the heart of downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean. As discussed here, … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Cops, Keystone Studio, Tillie's Punctured Romance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Chaplin Leads the Gang to the Hollywood Police

Posted on March 31, 2014 by John Bengtson

As I explain in my book Silent Traces, Charlie Chaplin’s landmark short film Easy Street (1917) contains scenes filmed on extant Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles (see below), where he would return a few years later to film his … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Perry Mason at the Chaplin Studio – The Case of the Homecoming Kid

Posted on March 18, 2014 by John Bengtson

One of the most gratifying experiences to come from working on my Charlie Chaplin book Silent Traces was being given a private tour of the Chaplin Studios, at 1416 N. La Brea Avenue in Hollywood, now home to The Jim … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Studio, Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Mary Pickford and the Silent Stars Meet at One Hollywood Corner

Posted on February 21, 2014 by John Bengtson

America’s Sweetheart, Canadian-born Mary Pickford, was a staunch supporter of the World War I Liberty Bond campaign.  Aside from selling millions of dollars of bonds at various rallies across the country, she also encouraged bond sales by starring in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

New City Lights Release – Discoveries and Assumptions

Posted on November 13, 2013 by John Bengtson

Here’s a new location discovery to celebrate the Criterion Collection Blu-ray release of Charlie Chaplin’s 1931 masterpiece City Lights.  The scenes where Charlie reports to work as a street sweeper, and where he also learns there is money to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Studio, Charlie Chaplin, City Lights | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Johnny Depp and Buster Keaton at the Cops/Ed Wood alley

Posted on September 8, 2013 by John Bengtson

To go with the Hollywood’s Silent Echoes presentation I gave last month at the Cinecon 49 Classic Film Festival at the Egyptian Theater, I prepared a tour of nearly 50 silent-era Hollywood landmarks and film locations you can access HERE.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Cops, Hollywood Tour, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Kid – Cops – Safety Last! Three comic masterpieces filmed at a common Hollywood alley you can still visit today

Posted on August 10, 2013 by John Bengtson

Charlie Chaplin encountered the abandoned infant who will become his son in The Kid (1921) along an alley running east-west between Cosmo and Cahuenga just south of and parallel to Hollywood Boulevard.  A gang of police would later chase Buster … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Chaplin - Keaton - Lloyd Alley, Charlie Chaplin, Cops, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Safety Last!, The Kid, The Last Edition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

How Charlie Chaplin made The Kid (older post)

Posted on June 11, 2013 by John Bengtson

In an early post I uploaded a PowerPoint presentation highlighting some of the historic settings in Chinatown and the Plaza de Los Angeles where Chaplin filmed his early masterpiece The Kid (1921).  You can download the 60 MB file here. … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Chinatown, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Chaplin – Keaton – Lloyd – One Block in Silent-Era Hollywood (update)

Posted on February 19, 2013 by John Bengtson

The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard was a popular film setting for silent-era comedies.  At the far end of this post is a link to download an animated 15 MB PowerPoint presentation showing thirteen (but not all) Chaplin, … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Cops, Girl Shy, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Hot Water, Keaton Studio, Keaton Tour, Lloyd Studio, Modern Times, Safety Last!, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Front and Back Cameos – 100 years of a Hollywood landmark

Posted on December 27, 2012 by John Bengtson

Toberman Hall has stood at 6410-6414 Hollywood Boulevard (each oval above) since 1907.  Its original two-story neighbor to the left, at the southwest corner of Cahuenga and Hollywood Boulevard (pictured in the black & white images above) was expanded into … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, The Goat, Tillie's Punctured Romance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Charlie Chaplin – The Kid’s Tearful Olvera Street Reunion

Posted on August 17, 2012 by John Bengtson

The heart-tugging reunion in The Kid (1921) played between Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp and his “adopted” son (Jackie Coogan) remains one of the most emotionally charged scenes in all of film history.  Remarkably, the setting for this iconic scene remains … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Charlie Chaplin, Ron Swanson, and Parks and Recreation

Posted on August 9, 2012 by John Bengtson

Location filming has been staged in Los Angeles now for well over a century.  It should come as no surprise then that contemporary television shows share exterior settings that once appeared in classic films.  In one prior post I explain … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Chaplin’s Studio Pay Day

Posted on July 1, 2012 by John Bengtson

As documented in my Keaton book, and elsewhere on this blog (Mr. Keaton’s Neighborhood), Buster Keaton filmed over four dozen scenes and simple insert shots on the streets adjacent to his small studio.  In a similar vein, as described in … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Studio, Charlie Chaplin, Hollywood Tour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin – Four Silent Jailbreaks

Posted on June 25, 2012 by John Bengtson

Jails and silent comedies!  A match made in heaven.  This post shows where (ONE) Laurel and Hardy filmed the jailbreak scene from The Second Hundred Years, (TWO) Charlie Chaplin filmed a prison release scene in Police, (THREE) Laurel and Hardy … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments