Category Archives: The Goat

Solved! Buster Keaton’s Mystery Colegrove Building

Posted on July 30, 2021 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton was a pragmatic filmmaker, and it’s been fun discovering how often he would shoot simple scenes nearby, or even across the street from his small Hollywood studio once standing at 1025 Lillian Way. Appearing as both a receiving … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Hollywood History, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Mary Pickford’s “A Beast at Bay” a century before LAX

Posted on December 27, 2020 by John Bengtson

Mary Pickford’s A Beast at Bay (1912), directed by D.W. Griffith, portends his 1916 feature Intolerance, overlaps with later films starring Mabel Normand, Douglas Fairbanks, and Buster Keaton, and reveals the future site of LAX (!), the Los Angeles International … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Mary Pickford, One Week, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Buster Keaton – Hard Luck, The Goat – closeups at Westlake Park

Posted on August 15, 2020 by John Bengtson

Vintage movies and photos are time machines. This rare 1923 photo reveals exactly where Buster Keaton flees from Big Joe Roberts during The Goat (1921) nearly a century ago. This detail looks SE at the 7th Street and Alvarado corner … Continue reading →

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Silent Hollywood’s Japanese Enclave

Posted on November 20, 2019 by John Bengtson

The great silent film comedians Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd filmed more frequently on the 1600 block of Cahuenga south of Hollywood Boulevard than at any other street in town. Keaton alone filmed scenes for eight different movies … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood History, Hollywood Tour, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Surviving Keaton Studio Neighbors

Posted on March 12, 2018 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton unwittingly documented the urbanization of the once agricultural Colegrove region of Hollywood in the background of his films. As reported in my book Silent Echoes, the quaint Cahuenga Valley Lemon Growers Exchange warehouse once stood across the street … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Keaton Studio, The Goat, The Scarecrow | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Keaton’s The Goat – the geography of a gag

Posted on April 25, 2017 by John Bengtson

Particular yet pragmatic, Buster Keaton would travel hundreds of miles to find just the right setting for a joke, while also filming dozens of mundane locations within steps of his small studio in Hollywood. This post breaks down the geography … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Keaton Studio, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Amazing New Keaton Discoveries – My Wife’s Relations

Posted on July 24, 2016 by John Bengtson

An astonishing new Keaton stunt, Buster’s return visit to a classic apartment house, and yet another surprise appearance of the Cops – The Kid – Safety Last! Hollywood alley – the Lobster Films restoration of My Wife’s Relations (1922), with … Continue reading →

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Mostly Lost – Keaton Found (Stan Laurel too) at Hollywood and Western

Posted on March 3, 2016 by John Bengtson

This fun discovery from Buster Keaton’s The Goat (1921) was made possible thanks to Mostly Lost, the Library of Congress crowd-sourcing workshop to screen and identify orphan silent and early sound films, held at the Packard Campus in Culpeper Virginia. … Continue reading →

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Front and Back Cameos – 100 years of a Hollywood landmark

Posted on December 27, 2012 by John Bengtson

Toberman Hall has stood at 6410-6414 Hollywood Boulevard (each oval above) since 1907.  Its original two-story neighbor to the left, at the southwest corner of Cahuenga and Hollywood Boulevard (pictured in the black & white images above) was expanded into … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, The Goat, Tillie's Punctured Romance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Bones of the Past – the Bones TV Pilot and Buster Keaton

Posted on May 13, 2012 by John Bengtson

Since my daughter has been enjoying the Fox Network crime drama Bones on Netflix, I thought I’d check out the pilot to see what the show was about.  Ostensibly set in Washington DC, the show teams up socially awkward forensic … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, The Goat, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Keaton – Cops – and the First Baptist Church of Hollywood

Posted on March 30, 2012 by John Bengtson

During the frenzied chase at the conclusion of Buster Keaton’s most famous short comedy Cops (1922), Buster grabs hold of a passing car one-handed that whisks him out of frame away from a mob of police (above).  As I explain … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Cops, Hollywood Tour, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Keaton’s Highland Goat Garage

Posted on March 11, 2012 by John Bengtson

During the frantic chase in Buster Keaton’s 1921 short film The Goat, Buster attempts to flee the police by leaping onto the rear spare tire of a departing car, only to find himself sitting instead on a freestanding auto garage … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Hollywood Tour, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments