Tag Archives: Buster Keaton

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 →

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Arbuckle and Keaton Filmed in Culver City Years Before Laurel and Hardy

Posted on May 23, 2020 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd and Snub Pollard filmed comedies for producer Hal Roach at the Bradbury Mansion Rolin Studio, on Court Hill in downtown Los Angeles, for years before Roach opened his new studio in Culver City in 1920. (Read how they … Continue reading →

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Buster Keaton – More Backlot Scenes From Our Hospitality

Posted on April 26, 2020 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton’s modest studio made it necessary for him to film many famous scenes at other studios with larger backlots. His pursuit through an archway by an army of police at the climax of Cops (1922) was filmed at the … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Buster, Harold, and Stymie at the Venice Pier

Posted on March 1, 2020 by John Bengtson

A prior post explains Buster Keaton and Orson Welles crossed paths filming in Venice, California. But what about Buster and Our Gang superstar Stymie Beard? Above Buster in The High Sign (1920) and Orson directing A Touch of Evil (1958). … Continue reading →

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Mary Pickford, the Talmadge Sisters, and Buster Keaton at the Brunton Studio

Posted on February 15, 2020 by John Bengtson

The Hoodlum (1919), Mary Pickford’s second independent production, followed her triumphant debut self-production Daddy Long Legs (1919). DDL brims with so much Los Angeles history and locations it took two lengthy posts to cover them all, HERE and HERE, and … Continue reading →

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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 →

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

Silent Comedy’s Crazy Corner

Posted on January 18, 2020 by John Bengtson

Quick – what are some essential elements for a silent comedy? A park bench? An angry cop? A banana peel? If you think about it, one absolutely essential geographic element is the humble street corner. It doesn’t matter what the … Continue reading →

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Happy “Roaring Twenties” New Year at Keaton’s Bungalow

Posted on January 7, 2020 by John Bengtson

Happy New Year everyone! For some reason 2020 and its prior century silent-era counterpart resonate with me more so than 2019-1919 ever did. The Roaring Twenties are with us again. This widely viewed classic photo of Buster making his 1929 … Continue reading →

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Buster Keaton at the Selig Studio “Prison”

Posted on December 21, 2019 by John Bengtson

I only recently became aware of the Selig Polyscope Studio, the first permanent studio built in Los Angeles that opened in 1909 two blocks north from where the Keystone Studio would later open. Focusing on the facility’s distinctive walls and … Continue reading →

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Buster Keaton’s Scarecrow Adobe

Posted on December 4, 2019 by John Bengtson

I’m delighted to host guest blogger Jeffrey Castel de Oro’s amazing post regarding the early California history appearing in Buster Keaton’s The Scarecrow. A friend for 20 years, Jeff has contributed many significant locations and photographs to all of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Culver City, The Scarecrow | Tagged , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Schindler

Posted on August 20, 2019 by John Bengtson

Several years ago, following my introduction of Sherlock Jr. at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles architect John Trautmann approached me to ask if I had noticed the famous Schindler house which appears in the background as Buster speeds … Continue reading →

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Chaplin, Keaton, and Lois Weber’s “Suspense” in Beverly Hills

Posted on May 13, 2019 by John Bengtson

The beautiful new Kino Lorber Blu-ray release Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers features dozens of early films created by women, many unseen for decades. One highlight is Lois Weber’s home invasion thriller Suspense (1913). As shown in a prior post, the film provides … Continue reading →

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Buster’s Paramount Backlot Plunge

Posted on March 21, 2019 by John Bengtson

I’m pleased to update this post to announce that the 2019 San Francisco Silent Film Festival will conclude Sunday May 5, with a 8:00 pm screening of Buster Keaton’s second feature comedy Our Hospitality (1923), to be accompanied by the … 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 →

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Harry Langdon – His Marriage Wow

Posted on January 23, 2019 by John Bengtson

Harry Langdon plays a nervous groom and newlywed in his 1925 comedy short His Marriage Wow (1925), available as part of The Mack Sennett Collection: Volume 1 Blu-ray, and the out of print Lost and Found: The Harry Langdon Collection. … Continue reading →

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Keaton’s Bungalow Outside MGM

Posted on November 11, 2018 by John Bengtson

When Buster Keaton joined MGM in 1928, he rented a bungalow near, but off site from, the MGM campus, infuriating studio head Louis B. Mayer, as Keaton was (one of) the only star(s) to rent space off of the lot. … Continue reading →

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Oliver Hardy at the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley

Posted on October 31, 2018 by John Bengtson

The block of Cahuenga south of Hollywood Boulevard was the most popular spot in town to film silent movies. As I’ve written in numerous tours and posts, everyone filmed there, from Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, to Charlie Chaplin, Buster … Continue reading →

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Buster Keaton and W.C. Fields in Astoria

Posted on October 19, 2018 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton and W.C. Fields filmed alongside the same Astoria apartment building, nine years apart. Who knew? While working on a post connecting Fields’ It’s The Old Army Game with Keaton’s The Cameraman (1928) and Harold Lloyd’s Speedy (1928) (all … Continue reading →

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Buster Keaton’s Kennel on the MGM lot

Posted on September 23, 2018 by John Bengtson

As one of MGM’s biggest stars, Buster Keaton once had a private bungalow dressing room on the studio lot, jokingly dubbed “Keaton’s Kennel.” A reader correctly wrote long ago that the Kennel stood along the north side of the lot, … Continue reading →

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