Books by John Bengtson
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Top Posts & Pages
- How Harold Lloyd Filmed Safety Last!
- Silent Comedy’s Crazy Corner
- Green Acres, Pickfair, Chaplin's Breakaway Home, and Keaton's Italian Villa
- Harold Lloyd - Film Noir - Criss Cross and the Hill Street Tunnel
- How Buster Keaton Filmed The General
- Keaton's Sherlock Jr. Hollywood Vault (with Harold Lloyd too)
- Harold Lloyd - lasting impressions at Grauman's Chinese
- Laurel & Hardy's Liberty Rooftop
- Solved at Last! - the Safety Last! Mystery Building
- Chaplin Keaton Lloyd Alley
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Author Interviews – Reviews
- Academy Interview July 2011
- AMPAS Lecture on The General
- City Brights SF Gate Review
- Publishers Weekly Review
- KPCC Interview
- Interview on Movie Mom
- Philadelphina Inquirer
- Los Angeles Times interview
- Los Angeles Magazine Review
- MOMI article on New York and Speedy
- New York Times (see page 5)
- Author’s Modern Times Program
- Wall Street Journal
- Associated Press
- Examiner – Best 2011 Silent Film Books
- The Commentary Track
- Leonard Maltin Movie Crazy
- LA Observed
- Film Forum New York
- New York Times – Keaton Review
- 2013 Club TCM in Hollywood
- LA Times 2013
- John Bengtson on IMDB
- Talking Buster Keaton – Neighbors @ 24:30
- Talking Buster Keaton – The Blacksmith @ 11:30
- Nitrateville Radio Interview
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Recent Posts
- Silent Comedy’s Crazy Corner
- Happy “Roaring Twenties” New Year at Keaton’s Bungalow
- Buster Keaton at the Selig Studio “Prison”
- Buster Keaton’s Scarecrow Adobe
- Silent Hollywood’s Japanese Enclave
- How Mary Pickford Filmed Daddy-Long-Legs Part Two
- Chaplin’s Earliest Scenes Beside the Selig Studio
- Harpo, Chico, and James Cagney at the Brunswig Mansion
- Early Thrill Comedies – Who Was First?
- Harry Houdini Solves a Charlie Chaplin Mystery!
- How Mary Pickford Filmed Daddy-Long-Legs Part One
- Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Schindler
- The nearly last – Safety Last – joke
- The Office – Film Noir – and Harold Lloyd
- Chaplin, Keaton, and Lois Weber’s “Suspense” in Beverly Hills
- Alice Howell Early Hollywood Views
- The Hollywood Heritage in Lois Weber’s Suspense
- Harold Lloyd’s The Kid Brother Was Close to Home
- Buster’s Paramount Backlot Plunge
- Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman
- Green Acres, Pickfair, Chaplin’s Breakaway Home, and Keaton’s Italian Villa
- Silent Echoes LA Bus Tours and Podcast
- Hollywood Snapshots – a 1922 Time Machine
- Harry Langdon – His Marriage Wow
- Laurel & Hardy’s Liberty Rooftop
- Before the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley
- Chaplin falls for The Kid – every scene now identified
- Keaton’s Bungalow Outside MGM
- Oliver Hardy at the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley
- Buster Keaton and W.C. Fields in Astoria
- Buster Keaton’s Kennel on the MGM lot
- Buster Keaton’s Blue Blazes in Astoria
- It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields in New York with Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd
- It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks in Ocala Florida – Part Three – Fields Chased Around Town
- W.C. Fields Running Wild in New York
- It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks in Ocala Florida – Part Two – Louise Strolls Around Town
- It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks in Ocala Florida – Part One
- It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks Bring Magazines to Life
- New Buster Keaton Self-Guided Tours
- Ghosts of the Past – the Regent Apartments – costar with Chaplin, Weber, Sennett and Roach
- Keaton’s Battling Butler – A Knockout Finish to the SF Silent Film Festival
- Keaton’s Seven Chances – On The Clock
- The Surviving Sherlock Jr. Bungalow
- Chaplin’s The Great Dictator – Author Presentation at the Alex
- From Roach’s to Roaches – Stan & Ollie Meet Starsky & Hutch
- Restoration Premiere of Soft Shoes – Crossing Paths with Chaplin, Laurel, and Lloyd
- The Surviving Keaton Studio Neighbors
- The Surviving Chaplin “The Circus” Tree
- Charley Chase “Fast Work” Around Hollywood
- The “Never Give A Sucker An Even Break” Car Chase – Part 2
- The “Never Give A Sucker An Even Break” Car Chase – Part 1
- Farewell – a sudden lost Our Gang landmark
- The Red Kimono – A Vast Record of Early Los Angeles
- Another Lois Weber First – Using Locations
- Keaton’s “What No Beer?” Barrel Avalanche
- Arbuckle – Keaton at the Bronx Biograph Studio
- Buster’s Manhattan Apartment – The Cameraman Part III
- Arbuckle – Keaton – the Good Night Nurse Hot Springs
- Chaplin’s San Jose Day Making A Night Out
- Buster Keaton’s Haunted House
- Chaplin – Pavlova – Lois Weber – at the Castle Sans Souci
- Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman leads the San Francisco Silent Film Festival
- Hollywood’s Silent Echoes – 2017 FIAF/FLC Tour
- Keaton’s The Goat – the geography of a gag
- Buster with a Bullitt – Keaton and Steve McQueen’s SF Stunts
- Keaton and Orson Welles – A High Sign Touch of Evil
- Keaton and Hitchcock’s Vertigo Day Dreams
- Keaton’s Cops and Go West – Peeking Over the School Fence
- Chaplin – Inside “The Kid” Maternity Hospital
- Where Roscoe Arbuckle Filmed His Brooklyn Vitaphone Shorts
- Marc Wanamaker and Bruce Torrence – Hollywood’s Photo History Heroes
- Buster Keaton, Seven Chances, and Warren Beatty?
- Buster Keaton, The General, and Animal House?
- How Chaplin Filmed The Champion – on Location in Niles
- The Chaplin – Keaton – Lloyd Hollywood Alley
- Chaplin’s The Tramp – ‘New’ Views of One of Cinema’s Most Iconic Scenes
- Silent Witness – the House that Watched Over Chaplin and Keaton
- The Modern Times – Citizen Kane – Humphrey Bogart Factory Gate
- Cinecon 2016 Silent Echoes Hollywood Walking Tours
- Amazing New Keaton Discoveries – My Wife’s Relations
- Saving the Best for (Safety) Last!
- Reflections on Keaton’s Cops at the SF Silent Film Festival
- Columbo and the Silent Clowns – Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd
- How Harold Lloyd Filmed Bumping Into Broadway
- Buster in Cops Cruising Santa Monica Boulevard
- Chaplin – Keaton Studio Connections – The Fireman and Convict 13
- How Mabel Normand filmed her Safety Last! Moment (Before Harold Lloyd Did)
- Mostly Lost – Keaton Found (Stan Laurel too) at Hollywood and Western
- The Kid – Charlie Chaplin’s Onscreen Fans
- Chaplin on South Central – Making It Work
- How Charlie Chaplin filmed The Kid
- How Roscoe Arbuckle Filmed His Safety Last! Moment (Before Harold Lloyd Did)
- Houdini – The Grim Game – More Hollywood Connections
- Houdini – The Grim Game’s historic LA landmarks
- Houdini – Keaton – The Grim Game – Cops
- Keaton – Langdon – Lloyd on Larchmont – Ebell Club Author Talk
- Ginger, Buster, and Groucho, Lon Chaney and Loretta Young, all at the Jewett Estate
- San Francisco’s Silent Echoes – Presidio Officers’ Club Talk
- New Chaplin Discovery – Cinecon Talk and Guided Tour
- Chaplin, Sinatra, The Pilgrim and Noir
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Categories
- Angels Flight
- Astoria
- Beverly Hills
- Brooklyn
- Bunker Hill
- Buster Keaton
- Chaplin – Keaton – Lloyd Alley
- Chaplin Studio
- Chaplin Tour
- Charley Chase
- Charlie Chaplin
- Chinatown
- City Lights
- College
- Columbia
- Convict 13
- Cops
- Court Hill
- Daydreams
- Doug Fairbanks
- Douglas Fairbanks
- Duck Soup
- Exposition Park
- Film Noir
- Florida
- For Heaven's Sake
- Girl Shy
- Hal Roach Studios
- Harold Lloyd
- Harry Houdini
- Harry Langdon
- Hollywood History
- Hollywood Tour
- Hot Water
- It's The Old Army Game
- James Cagney
- Jewett Estate
- Keaton Studio
- Keaton Tour
- Keystone Studio
- Laurel and Hardy
- Leave It To Beaver
- Lloyd Studio
- Lloyd Thrill Pictures
- Lloyd Tour
- Lois Weber
- Los Angeles Historic Core
- Los Angeles Tunnels
- Louise Brooks
- Manhattan
- Marx Brothers
- Mary Pickford
- Modern Times
- New York
- Ocala Florida
- Oliver Hardy
- One Week
- Orson Welles
- Pre-Code
- Roscoe Arbuckle
- Safety Last!
- San Francisco
- Seven Chances
- Sherlock Jr.
- Speedy
- Stan Laurel
- Steamboat Bill, Jr.
- The Artist
- The Blacksmith
- The Boat
- The Cameraman
- The Freshman
- The General
- The Goat
- The Grim Game
- The Kid
- The Last Edition
- The Office
- The Pilgrim
- The Scarecrow
- The Strong Man
- The Turning Point
- Three Stooges
- Tillie's Punctured Romance
- TV Shows
- Uncategorized
- USC
- Venice
- W.C. Fields
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- Follow Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd film locations (and more) on WordPress.com
Silent Locations – Chaplin – Keaton – Lloyd (and more)- Silent Comedy’s Crazy Corner
- Happy “Roaring Twenties” New Year at Keaton’s Bungalow
- Buster Keaton at the Selig Studio “Prison”
- Buster Keaton’s Scarecrow Adobe
- Silent Hollywood’s Japanese Enclave
- How Mary Pickford Filmed Daddy-Long-Legs Part Two
- Chaplin’s Earliest Scenes Beside the Selig Studio
- Harpo, Chico, and James Cagney at the Brunswig Mansion
- Early Thrill Comedies – Who Was First?
- Harry Houdini Solves a Charlie Chaplin Mystery!
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Category Archives: Los Angeles Historic Core
Early Thrill Comedies – Who Was First?
Thrill comedies featuring a star hanging from the side of a tall building have long been a staple of silent films. The photo at left from Play Ball (1925) eloquently explains the brilliant technique with a single image. Starting with … Continue reading
Harry Houdini Solves a Charlie Chaplin Mystery!
Harry Houdini helped to discover where Charlie Chaplin filmed crucial scenes for his very first movie Making a Living (1914). The initial scene of Charlie’s entire career (below), discovered by Kevin Dale and reported HERE, was staged in front of … Continue reading
Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Harry Houdini, Los Angeles Historic Core
Tagged Chaplin Locations, Charlie Chaplin, City Lights, Harry Houdini, Hill Street, Los Angeles Athletic Club, Los Angeles Express, Los Angeles Historic Core, Los Angeles Tribune, Making a Living, Olive Street, Silent Movie Locations, Ville de Paris
10 Comments
The nearly last – Safety Last – joke
Surviving his heroic climb up a skyscraper during Safety Last!, Harold Lloyd falls into the arms of his loving fiancé Mildred Davis, waiting for him on the rooftop. As reported in another post, this satisfying conclusion was actually filmed from … Continue reading
The “Never Give A Sucker An Even Break” Car Chase – Part 1
Universal’s 1941 production Never Give A Sucker An Even Break features W.C. Fields in his final starring role. Directed by Edward Cline (Buster Keaton’s early co-writer/director) the movie ends with a frantic Keystone Kops-style car chase around the produce/warehouse district … Continue reading
Posted in Los Angeles Historic Core, W.C. Fields
Tagged 6th Street Bridge, 7th Street Bridge, Alameda Street, East 6th Street, East 7th Street, Industrial Street, Los Angeles Historic Core, Mateo Street, Mesquit Street, Mill Street, Never Give A Sucker An Even Break, Produce Street, Santa Fe Avenue, then and now, W.C. Fields, Wholesale Street
10 Comments
Saving the Best for (Safety) Last!
There is no better way to experience Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last! than in a giant 1920’s movie palace packed with audience members gasping and shrieking at every turn. The Los Angeles Conservancy screens this classic thrill comedy on Saturday, June … Continue reading
Chaplin on South Central – Making It Work
This image of Charlie Chaplin struggling with a cart load of tools and supplies in a Dickensian warehouse district is one of the most visually arresting of his entire career. Surrounded by horse-drawn wagons and early automobiles, the Little Tramp … Continue reading
