Tag Archives: Day Dreams

Monty Banks ‘Peaceful Alley’ beside Pickford, Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd

Posted on May 31, 2024 by John Bengtson

Cheerful, dapper, always smiling, winking, performing pratfalls and dangerous stunts tirelessly in dozens of films, silent comedian/director Monty Banks is a revelation. Born Mario Bianchi in Italy in 1897, he started in films in 1916, before Buster Keaton, and made … Continue reading →

Posted in Los Angeles Historic Core, Monty Banks | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Buster Keaton’s San Francisco footsteps

Posted on December 30, 2023 by John Bengtson

Buster filmed scenes from Day Dreams (1922) and The Navigator (1924) across San Francisco. Most locations look remarkably unchanged a century later. My latest YouTube video reveals every SF locale with then and now views, intercut with scenes where sneaky … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Day Dreams, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

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 →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Mary Pickford | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Keaton and Hitchcock’s Vertigo Day Dreams

Posted on March 19, 2017 by John Bengtson

Filmed on location in San Francisco, Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Vertigo (1958) provides tantalizing mid-century glimpses of the City in sparkling VistaVision color. Remarkably, when Scottie (James Stewart) traces Madeleine (Kim Novak) by car back to his own apartment, they cross … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Daydreams, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Silent Witness – the House that Watched Over Chaplin and Keaton

Posted on September 20, 2016 by John Bengtson

The sturdy two-story home once located at 1022 Cole Avenue had a front row seat to some of the most remarkable scenes in early Hollywood history. Its rear dormer window looked down on the humble open air stage where Charlie … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Convict 13, Daydreams, Sherlock Jr., The Blacksmith, The Boat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 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 →

Posted in Buster Keaton, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments