Tag Archives: Harold Lloyd

The Three Stooges, Birth of a Nation, Forest Lawn Trees

Posted on April 17, 2015 by John Bengtson

The former Lasky Ranch, bordering Griffith Park near Burbank, and future site of the Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Memorial Park which opened in 1952, is steeped in movie history.  Once part of the Spanish-era Rancho Providencia, the Lasky Ranch was … Continue reading →

Posted in Three Stooges | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

The Artist and its Amazing Ties to Chaplin, Pickford, Keaton and Lloyd

Posted on March 3, 2015 by John Bengtson

Tonight marks the Turner Classic Movie Channel premiere of the 2011 multi-Oscar-winning Best Picture The Artist. Depicting the silent movie era, and filmed on location in Hollywood, the movie has many amazing connections to early Hollywood history and its biggest … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford, The Artist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Even More Speedy – New York Locations

Posted on December 31, 2014 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd’s final silent comedy Speedy, filmed on location in New York during the summer of 1927, is a goldmine of vintage Manhattan locations.  While my book Silent Visions devotes 100 pages to the dozens of NYC (and Los Angeles) … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Manhattan, Speedy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

How Charlie Chaplin Filmed The Bank

Posted on November 13, 2014 by John Bengtson

Charlie Chaplin’s Essanay comedy The Bank (1915) marks his final cinematic footsteps in downtown Los Angeles.  While Broadway, and other nearby Historic Core streets appear in several of his early Keystone films, including Making A Living, His Favorite Pastime, The … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How James Cagney Filmed Lady Killer

Posted on November 2, 2014 by John Bengtson

Eight downtown Los Angeles landmarks appear behind James Cagney during the opening scenes of Lady Killer (1933), yet only three survive to tell their tale. In this delightful pre-Code comedy/drama, Cagney plays Dan Quigley, a wise-cracking New York movie theater … Continue reading →

Posted in James Cagney, Pre-Code | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

How Charlie Chaplin Filmed The Adventurer

Posted on October 17, 2014 by John Bengtson

Decades before Bugs Bunny delighted audiences by tunneling into madcap predicaments, escaped convict Charlie Chaplin tunneled to freedom in The Adventurer (1917) on a Malibu beach within the shadow of Castle Rock and Haystack Rock, prominent coastal landmarks that stood … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Silent Era Hollywood Tour – Cinecon 50 – Author Presentation

Posted on August 27, 2014 by John Bengtson

Attached to this post is a self-guided written tour to Hollywood silent film locations and studios that I have prepared in connection with the “Hollywood’s Silent Echoes” presentation I will be giving Friday, August 29, 2014, at 10:55 a.m. at … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Keaton Tour, Lloyd Tour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Harold Lloyd’s Why Worry? TCM Hollywood Connection

Posted on April 10, 2014 by John Bengtson

In honor of the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival screening of Harold Lloyd’s 1923 feature comedy Why Worry? at the Egyptian Theater on Friday, April 11 at 7:15 pm, here are a couple of quick views from the conclusion of … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Chaplin Leads the Gang to the Hollywood Police

Posted on March 31, 2014 by John Bengtson

As I explain in my book Silent Traces, Charlie Chaplin’s landmark short film Easy Street (1917) contains scenes filmed on extant Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles (see below), where he would return a few years later to film his … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Pickford and the Silent Stars Meet at One Hollywood Corner

Posted on February 21, 2014 by John Bengtson

America’s Sweetheart, Canadian-born Mary Pickford, was a staunch supporter of the World War I Liberty Bond campaign.  Aside from selling millions of dollars of bonds at various rallies across the country, she also encouraged bond sales by starring in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Harold Lloyd Takes A Chance on Court Hill

Posted on January 1, 2014 by John Bengtson

The Criterion Collection Blu-ray release of Safety Last! contains many bonus features, including three razor-sharp early Harold Lloyd short films.  One such film, Take A Chance (1918) featured here (and now available on the Criterion Channel), provides rare views of … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Hill, Hal Roach Studios, Harold Lloyd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

LA’s Early Hills, Tunnels Preserved in Noir – Silent Comedies

Posted on October 31, 2013 by John Bengtson

Once marked with hills and tunnels, the complicated landscape of early Los Angeles has changed so dramatically that it’s difficult to visualize how all of the pieces once fit together.  Massive landmarks such as Court Hill and the Broadway Tunnel … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Hill, Film Noir, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Los Angeles Tunnels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

The Kid – Cops – Safety Last! Three comic masterpieces filmed at a common Hollywood alley you can still visit today

Posted on August 10, 2013 by John Bengtson

Charlie Chaplin encountered the abandoned infant who will become his son in The Kid (1921) along an alley running east-west between Cosmo and Cahuenga just south of and parallel to Hollywood Boulevard.  A gang of police would later chase Buster … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Chaplin - Keaton - Lloyd Alley, Charlie Chaplin, Cops, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Safety Last!, The Kid, The Last Edition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 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

Silent Era Hollywood Tour – Cinecon 49 – Author Presentation

Posted on July 11, 2013 by John Bengtson

Attached to this post is a self-guided written tour to Hollywood silent film locations and studios that I have prepared in connection with the “Hollywood’s Silent Echoes” presentation I will be giving Friday, August 30, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. at … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Keaton Tour, Lloyd Tour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Solved at Last! – the Safety Last! Mystery Building

Posted on June 25, 2013 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd filmed his stunt-climbing “thrill” comedies on the rooftops of eight buildings in the downtown Los Angeles Historic Core.  Remarkably, seven of these eight buildings are still standing.  (In all Lloyd employed 17 buildings in one way or another … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Safety Last! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

How Harold Lloyd filmed the Safety Last! finale (at three places)

Posted on June 20, 2013 by John Bengtson

Safe at last, Harold stumbles over a parapet wall into the arms of his fiance Mildred Davis, capping his hair-raising climb up the 13 story “Bolton Building” in Safety Last! Seeking the perfect angle for each shot, Lloyd staged this … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Safety Last! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 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

How Harold Lloyd Filmed Safety Last (the parts on the ground)

Posted on May 22, 2013 by John Bengtson

The alleys at the SE corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga are certainly the most historically significant silent film locations in town.  The yellow arrow above marks the alley entrance from which Buster Keaton grabs a passing car one-handed in … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Cops, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Safety Last! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments