Category Archives: The Cameraman

Time Travelers: Uncovering Old LA in Keaton Comedies

Posted on July 18, 2020 by John Bengtson

Criterion’s The Cameraman Blu-ray is loaded with extras, including Oscar-nominated Daniel Raim’s 2020 documentary Time Travelers: Uncovering Old LA in Keaton Comedies, revealing newly discovered connections between Keaton’s MGM debut and the earliest films of his career. Raim’s recent works … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Culver City, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Caught on Camera – Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman in New York

Posted on June 20, 2020 by John Bengtson

The Criterion Collection’s stunning new Blu-ray release of Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman and Spite Marriage is loaded with bonus special features, including a new documentary Time Travelers I had the privilege of making with historian Marc Wanamaker and Oscar-nominated director … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Manhattan, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Keaton’s The Cameraman on the Santa Monica Pier

Posted on March 28, 2020 by John Bengtson

For their first date in The Cameraman (1928) Buster Keaton and Marceline Day strip down and go swimming in a public pool, because, why not? As reported in my book Silent Echoes, their natatorium adventure was filmed inside the Venice … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, The Cameraman, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Keaton’s Missing Scene and Cameraman Tricks

Posted on February 1, 2020 by John Bengtson

Early in The Cameraman (1928) neophyte newsreel photographer Buster Keaton submits his double-exposed mistake-filled audition movie footage to the M-G-M Newsreel General Offices in ‘New York,’ resulting in a complete disaster. At left, Buster watches in horror as his double-exposed … Continue reading →

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Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman

Posted on March 18, 2019 by John Bengtson

I’m pleased to update this post to announce the 2019 San Francisco Silent Film Festival kicks off this year on Wednesday, May 1, with a 7:00 pm screening of Buster Keaton’s 1928 comedy triumph The Cameraman, in a beautiful new … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Manhattan, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Buster’s Manhattan Apartment – The Cameraman Part III

Posted on August 14, 2017 by John Bengtson

In a prior post, Bob Egan flexed his Manhattan research skills to locate Marceline Day’s now lost apartment in Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman, 35 West 58th Street. Now Bob has located Buster’s midtown apartment as well, 201 East 52nd Street. … Continue reading →

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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

More Buster in Manhattan – The Cameraman, Part II

Posted on July 29, 2012 by John Bengtson

Bob Egan’s fascinating website PopSpotsNYC.com explores visual archeology similar to my own.  But instead of looking at silent-era comics, his site concerns places “where interesting events in the history of Pop Culture took place; like album cover shots, places where … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Manhattan, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 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

Harold – Buster – and Bergdorf Goodman – NYC Then and Now

Posted on June 19, 2011 by John Bengtson

Towards the end of Harold Lloyd’s manic taxi-ride driving Babe Ruth up 5th Avenue in New York during Speedy (released in 1928, but filmed during the summer of 1927), they approach W 57th Street, and the final of five traffic … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Manhattan, Speedy, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments