Category Archives: TV Shows

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

Columbo and the Silent Clowns – Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd

Posted on May 16, 2016 by John Bengtson

I’ve been enjoying watching Peter Falk as Columbo on Netflix, and am transfixed by the time travel elements of this now decades-old series. The population of Los Angeles has nearly doubled since the time of filming, and there’s something quaint, … Continue reading →

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Leave it to Santa Monica – Beaver and Harold Lloyd

Posted on August 17, 2013 by John Bengtson

Although Leave it to Beaver takes place in “Mayfield,” set in an undetermined state, I show in a prior post how Skokie, Illinois stood in for Mayfield during a scene from “Beaver’s Fortune” (Season 3: Episode 10; first broadcast December … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Hot Water, Leave It To Beaver, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Punky, Harold, and Harry – nine decades of film location history at Shatto Place

Posted on August 3, 2013 by John Bengtson

In a prior post I explain how the same setting on Witmer Street appears in a Harold Lloyd silent comedy, a 1950 film noir classic, and in the recent sitcom The Office.  Another post shows how early Buster Keaton comedies … Continue reading →

Posted in For Heaven's Sake, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Leave it to Harold (and Beaver) at the Long Beach Pike

Posted on June 16, 2013 by John Bengtson

In a prior post I wrote how an idyllic Skokie, Illinois street once stood in for Mayfield on Leave It to Beaver.  Although that episode has no connection to silent movies, I was surprised to see that the Season 5, … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Leave It To Beaver, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Leave it to Skokie, and Beaver, and Ward’s Joke Letter

Posted on March 4, 2013 by John Bengtson

This post has nothing to do with silent movies (these posts connecting Beaver to Long Beach and to Santa Monica do), but I’ve really been enjoying watching Leave it to Beaver on Netflix instant streaming.  When they showed this idyllic … Continue reading →

Posted in Leave It To Beaver, TV Shows | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Charlie Chaplin, Ron Swanson, and Parks and Recreation

Posted on August 9, 2012 by John Bengtson

Location filming has been staged in Los Angeles now for well over a century.  It should come as no surprise then that contemporary television shows share exterior settings that once appeared in classic films.  In one prior post I explain … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

Michael Scott (?!) and the Mayfair Hotel – admittedly OT

Posted on May 10, 2011 by John Bengtson

Fans of The Office television show cheered when Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) and Holly Flax (Amy Ryan) finally rekindled their romance with a rooftop kiss at the conclusion of Episode 15, Season 7, entitled The Search.  During the show, an … Continue reading →

Posted in The Office, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments