Category Archives: Hal Roach Studios

From Roach’s to Roaches – Stan & Ollie Meet Starsky & Hutch

Posted on April 1, 2018 by John Bengtson

Guest blogger Jim Dallape, creator with Robert Winslow of the remarkable Hal Roach Studios Backlot Tour, reports how TV’s Starsky & Hutch and Charlie’s Angles filmed in the same places as Laurel & Hardy and other Roach stars. Take it … Continue reading →

Posted in Charley Chase, Culver City, Hal Roach Studios, Laurel and Hardy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Charley Chase “Fast Work” Around Hollywood

Posted on February 7, 2018 by John Bengtson

Comedy fans are cheering the sparkling DVD release of 18 early Charley Chase talkie comedy shorts. Featuring Charley in top form, beautiful prints, and insightful bonus commentary, Charley Chase: At Hal Roach: The Talkies Volume One 1930-31, is simply fantastic. … Continue reading →

Posted in Charley Chase, Hal Roach Studios | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 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

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

Harold Lloyd Takes A Chance on Court Hill

Posted on January 1, 2014 by John Bengtson

The Criterion Collection Blu-ray release of Safety Last! contains many bonus features, including three razor-sharp early Harold Lloyd short films.  One such film, Take A Chance (1918) featured here (and now available on the Criterion Channel), provides rare views of … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Hill, Hal Roach Studios, Harold Lloyd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Silent Cameos of the lost Southern Pacific Depot

Posted on January 15, 2013 by John Bengtson

Before the beautiful downtown Los Angeles Union Train Station opened in 1939, built on the site of the original Chinatown, the various railroads serving L.A. each operated from their own stations.  Union Station helped to reduce downtown noise and congestion … Continue reading →

Posted in Douglas Fairbanks, Girl Shy, Hal Roach Studios, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 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

Laurel and Hardy – Home at Last

Posted on November 17, 2011 by John Bengtson

Comedy fans across the country celebrated the recent release of Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection, a 10 DVD set from RHI Entertainment that contains all of the duo’s sound era short films, and several feature films, that had otherwise … Continue reading →

Posted in Hal Roach Studios, Laurel and Hardy, Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 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