Category Archives: Film Noir

The Office – Film Noir – and Harold Lloyd

Posted on June 19, 2019 by John Bengtson

What do the television show The Office, the 1950 film noir drama Edge of Doom, and Harold Lloyd’s final silent comedy Speedy (1928) have in common?  They all filmed scenes looking southwest down Witmer Street towards the front of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Noir, Harold Lloyd, Speedy, The Office, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Keaton’s Battling Butler – A Knockout Finish to the SF Silent Film Festival

Posted on May 21, 2018 by John Bengtson

The 2018 San Francisco Silent Film Festival closes Sunday, June 3 with a screening of Buster Keaton’s self-directed comedy Battling Butler (1926), hosted by Leonard Maltin, and honoring recently deceased festival Board member, beloved television writer and director Frank Buxton, … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Film Noir, The Turning Point, Three Stooges | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Chaplin, Sinatra, The Pilgrim and Noir

Posted on August 8, 2015 by John Bengtson

Classic movies filmed on location provide historic views of the past. Moreover, later films shot at a popular location also provide fresh perspectives of earlier movies filmed at the same spot. A case in point is the Saugus train station … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Film Noir, The Pilgrim | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Groucho, Buster, and Noir – at the Pasadena Jewett Estate

Posted on July 5, 2015 by John Bengtson

From Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers, to noir classics and the 1980s soap opera Dynasty, the lavish Jewett estate located at 1145 Arden Road (originally 1201) in Pasadena has portrayed cinematic wealth and grandeur for nearly a century. Designed … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Duck Soup, Film Noir, Jewett Estate, Marx Brothers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Buster Keaton and The Three Stooges – Round 6

Posted on January 20, 2014 by John Bengtson

In his 1926 self-directed feature comedy Battling Butler, Buster plays an effete millionaire who seeks to impress a girl by allowing her to mistakenly believe he is a champion boxer sharing the same name.  As might be guessed, the movie … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Film Noir, The Turning Point, Three Stooges | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

LA’s Early Hills, Tunnels Preserved in Noir – Silent Comedies

Posted on October 31, 2013 by John Bengtson

Once marked with hills and tunnels, the complicated landscape of early Los Angeles has changed so dramatically that it’s difficult to visualize how all of the pieces once fit together.  Massive landmarks such as Court Hill and the Broadway Tunnel … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Hill, Film Noir, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Los Angeles Tunnels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Douglas Fairbanks, Edge of Doom, and Film Noir

Posted on May 16, 2013 by John Bengtson

During Douglas Fairbanks’ 1916 short comedy The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (part of the Fairbanks Modern Musketeer DVD set from Flicker Alley), a police van races from HQ down a quaint, post Victorian era Los Angeles street.  Thirty-four years … Continue reading →

Posted in Douglas Fairbanks, Film Noir, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Keaton – Wings – Noir – and the SP Depot

Posted on January 27, 2013 by John Bengtson

Wings, a 1927 World War I fighter pilot movie, was the first production to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.  To capture realistic point of view shots of the actors engaged in aerial dog fights, the two leads Charles … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, College, Film Noir | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Harold Lloyd – Film Noir – Criss Cross and the Hill Street Tunnel

Posted on October 15, 2012 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, and many other silent comedians filmed stunt comedy sequences by building sets on Court Hill overlooking the south end of the former Hill Street Tunnel.  As shown at left, filming a set against the street far … Continue reading →

Posted in Bunker Hill, Film Noir, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core, Los Angeles Tunnels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Buster Keaton and Film Noir? – It’s Also True

Posted on September 26, 2011 by John Bengtson

It’s now Buster Keaton’s turn, after Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin (see prior posts), to brush shoulders with film noir. The Glendale Southern Pacific station was barely three years old when Buster Keaton used it to portray the station for … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels Flight, Bunker Hill, Buster Keaton, College, Film Noir, For Heaven's Sake, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Stan, Ollie, and Harold – a Drive Through Bunker Hill

Posted on September 9, 2011 by John Bengtson

The Prelinger Archives has just posted some amazingly sharp movie footage of Bunker Hill and downtown Los Angeles taken in the late 1940s.  The stock footage was intended to be projected behind actors filming a traveling car scene within an … Continue reading →

Posted in Bunker Hill, Duck Soup, Film Noir, For Heaven's Sake, Girl Shy, Hal Roach Studios, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, Lloyd Studio, Los Angeles Historic Core, Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 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 , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Harold Lloyd and Film Noir? – It’s True

Posted on August 19, 2011 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd and film noir?  It’s true.  Lloyd filmed frequently on Bunker Hill and at other downtown locations, far more so than did Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton.  After decades of accumulated grime and neglect, the benign settings appearing in … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels Flight, Bunker Hill, Film Noir, Harold Lloyd, Hot Water, Los Angeles Historic Core, The Turning Point | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments