Category Archives: Charlie Chaplin

Chaplin, Arbuckle and The Rounders

Posted on June 12, 2012 by John Bengtson

I’ve always enjoyed the comic interplay between Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle during their classic Keystone short The Rounders (1914).  Charlie and Roscoe play a couple of good time inebriates, or “rounders,” who empty their wives’ pocketbooks in order … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Los Angeles Historic Core, Roscoe Arbuckle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Help Please? – Silent Jailbreak – SOLVED

Posted on March 22, 2012 by John Bengtson

My friend Steve Vaught, who writes a wonderful blog about historic Hollywood and Southern California architecture at Paradise Leased, recently appealed to his readers, with great success, for help identifying certain classic Hollywood homes.  So I thought I would give … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

The Artist – Locations 1 of 5, Chaplin, and Pickford (repost)

Posted on February 16, 2012 by John Bengtson

Set in Hollywood during 1927 to 1932, The Artist depicts the romance between a fading silent film star and a rising “talkie” ingénue.  The Artist has received glowing reviews and numerous awards, and is noteworthy for being presented in black … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, One Week, The Artist, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Artist Locations Part 5 – Chaplin’s City Lights

Posted on January 28, 2012 by John Bengtson

The Los Angeles Theater, located at 615 S. Broadway in the Los Angeles Theater District, has a remarkable connection to two of the most audacious hit movies in Hollywood history, Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights (1931), and Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, City Lights, Los Angeles Historic Core, The Artist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Chaplin’s Modern (Los Angeles) Times

Posted on January 26, 2012 by John Bengtson

As I explain in my visual essay included in the Criterion Collection Blu-ray edition of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936), Chaplin filmed scenes for his first movie Making A Living (1914) beside the third Los Angeles Times Building that once … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, For Heaven's Sake, Harold Lloyd, Modern Times | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Artist Locations Part 4, Bradbury, Chaplin, and Lloyd

Posted on January 20, 2012 by John Bengtson

During a pivotal scene in The Artist (2011), fading silent film star George Valentin and rising ingénue Peppy Miller pass each other on a staircase at the Kinograph Studios where they work, their career trajectories mirrored by their relative positions … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels Flight, Charlie Chaplin, Hal Roach Studios, Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Los Angeles Tunnels, Safety Last!, The Artist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

The Artist – Locations, Chaplin, and Pickford

Posted on December 29, 2011 by John Bengtson

Set in Hollywood during 1927 to 1932, The Artist depicts the romance between a fading silent film star and a rising “talkie” ingénue.  The Artist has received glowing reviews and numerous awards, and is noteworthy for being presented in black … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, One Week, The Artist, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Chaplin – Keaton – Lloyd – One Block in Silent-Era Hollywood

Posted on November 4, 2011 by John Bengtson

The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard was a popular film setting for silent-era comedies.  Attached below for download is a 15 MB PowerPoint presentation showing thirteen (but not all) Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd filming locations near this historic … 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 , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Chaplin’s Kid Autos – They Were What ?!?

Posted on October 31, 2011 by John Bengtson

Inducted now into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, Kid Auto Races at Venice, Cal. was Charlie Chaplin’s second motion picture release, and the first release to feature his Little Tramp persona.  It was filmed at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Charlie Chaplin and Film Noir? – It’s Also True

Posted on September 3, 2011 by John Bengtson

Charlie Chaplin and and film noir?  It’s also true.  As with my prior post about Harold Lloyd, Chaplin also has a connection to The Turning Point (1952), a noir crime drama where William Holden plays a cynical reporter investigating a … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Chinatown, Film Noir, For Heaven's Sake, Harold Lloyd, Modern Times, The Turning Point | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Rare Chaplin Scenes in Downtown Los Angeles

Posted on June 14, 2011 by John Bengtson

In my book Silent Traces, I explain how during His Musical Career (1914) Charlie Chaplin and Mack Swain play piano movers who filmed scenes in front of an actual piano store, the Wiley B. Allen Co., located at 416 – … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Keystone Studio, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Stan Laurel in Chaplin’s Footprints

Posted on June 11, 2011 by John Bengtson

Stan Laurel may have crossed paths with Buster Keaton (see former post), but for a time early in his career the English comedian was Charlie Chaplin’s understudy and room-mate, when they were both music hall entertainers touring the United States … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Chinatown, Stan Laurel, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Chaplin’s Beverly Wilshire Cigar

Posted on May 3, 2011 by John Bengtson

During one of my favorite jokes from City Lights, Charlie spies a cigar butt on the sidewalk while driving around in his millionaire friend’s luxury car.  Charlie leaps from the car, grabs the butt before another bum can take it, … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, City Lights | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Chaplin – A Film Johnnie at the Bryson

Posted on April 10, 2011 by John Bengtson

The remarkable image quality of the new Chaplin at Keystone collection from Flicker Alley makes it possible to identify several more scenes from Charlie’s earliest films.  As shown here, the extant Bryson Apartments (2701 Wilshire Blvd.) stood in for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Keystone Studio | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Harold Lloyd Hollywood Tour

Posted on April 7, 2011 by John Bengtson

Tour silent-era Hollywood with this PDF guide prepared in connection with my May 22, 2011 presentation of Harold Lloyd’s Never Weaken and Girl Shy for the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. The tour is … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Chaplin Studio, Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Girl Shy, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Keaton Studio, Keaton Tour, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Tour | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Chaplin Medley of Then and Now Images

Posted on April 7, 2011 by John Bengtson

This 27 MB PowerPoint slide-show features over a dozen famous Chaplin filming locations, fading back and forth between vintage and contemporary images.  The ghostly transitions are quite effective.  The slides are animated, so please pause long enough before clicking to … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Chaplin’s Very First Scene – Now a Jack-in-the-Box

Posted on April 5, 2011 by John Bengtson

Following the release of the Chaplin at Keystone DVD Collection, for which I prepared a bonus feature program, Kevin Dale contacted me wondering if Chaplin had filmed the opening scene from his inaugural film Making a Living in front of … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Keystone Studio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tour of Chaplin’s The Kid

Posted on April 5, 2011 by John Bengtson

Attached below is a PowerPoint presentation showing the historic settings in Chinatown and the Plaza de Los Angeles where Chaplin filmed his early masterpiece The Kid (1921).  The file is about 60MB, and you will need a PowerPoint viewer to … Continue reading →

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

Details Behind Video Tour of Chaplin Keystone Locations

Posted on April 4, 2011 by John Bengtson

I highly recommend the Chaplin at Keystone DVD collection presented by Flicker Alley.  Watching these beautiful restorations of Chaplin’s earliest films made during 1914 at the Keystone Studio is a revelation.  For years only nearly unwatchable copies of these films … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Keystone Studio | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment