Tag Archives: Harold Lloyd

Douglas Fairbanks, Edge of Doom, and Film Noir

Posted on May 16, 2013 by John Bengtson

During Douglas Fairbanks’ 1916 short comedy The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (part of the Fairbanks Modern Musketeer DVD set from Flicker Alley), a police van races from HQ down a quaint, post Victorian era Los Angeles street.  Thirty-four years … Continue reading →

Posted in Douglas Fairbanks, Film Noir, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Author Appearance at TCM Classic Film Festival – Free Tour

Posted on April 13, 2013 by John Bengtson

Attached to this post is a self-guided 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 April 28, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. at Club TCM … Continue reading →

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

Cops and Safety Last! – the Cosmo Alley Connection

Posted on March 28, 2013 by John Bengtson

We learn early in Safety Last! (1923) that Harold Lloyd’s roommate Bill Strother can climb tall buildings when we watch him escape from a policeman by scaling a four-story apartment building (left).  [NOTE: “Skip,” a resourceful and eagle-eyed reader, was … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Cops, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Safety Last! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Chaplin – Keaton – Lloyd – One Block in Silent-Era Hollywood (update)

Posted on February 19, 2013 by John Bengtson

The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard was a popular film setting for silent-era comedies.  At the far end of this post is a link to download an animated 15 MB PowerPoint presentation showing thirteen (but not all) Chaplin, … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Cops, Girl Shy, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Hot Water, Keaton Studio, Keaton Tour, Lloyd Studio, Modern Times, Safety Last!, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Keaton – Wings – Noir – and the SP Depot

Posted on January 27, 2013 by John Bengtson

Wings, a 1927 World War I fighter pilot movie, was the first production to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.  To capture realistic point of view shots of the actors engaged in aerial dog fights, the two leads Charles … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, College, Film Noir | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Silent Cameos of the lost Southern Pacific Depot

Posted on January 15, 2013 by John Bengtson

Before the beautiful downtown Los Angeles Union Train Station opened in 1939, built on the site of the original Chinatown, the various railroads serving L.A. each operated from their own stations.  Union Station helped to reduce downtown noise and congestion … Continue reading →

Posted in Douglas Fairbanks, Girl Shy, Hal Roach Studios, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

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

Harold Lloyd – Film Noir – Criss Cross and the Hill Street Tunnel

Posted on October 15, 2012 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, and many other silent comedians filmed stunt comedy sequences by building sets on Court Hill overlooking the south end of the former Hill Street Tunnel.  As shown at left, filming a set against the street far … Continue reading →

Posted in Bunker Hill, Film Noir, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core, Los Angeles Tunnels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Harold Lloyd – By the Sad, Santa Monica Waves

Posted on September 25, 2012 by John Bengtson

During Harold Lloyd’s 1917 short film, By The Sad Sea Waves, Harold pretends to be a beach life guard in order to impress the ladies.  Filmed where David Hasselhoff would film Baywatch many decades later, By The Sad Sea Waves … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. Hollywood Vault (with Harold Lloyd too)

Posted on August 5, 2012 by John Bengtson

In his 1924 comedy Sherlock Jr., Buster Keaton portrays a daydreaming movie theater projectionist who fancies himself a great detective.  During the movie’s lengthy dream sequence, Buster’s character, after falling asleep on the job, finds himself living wild adventures on … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Sherlock Jr. | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

More Buster in Manhattan – The Cameraman, Part II

Posted on July 29, 2012 by John Bengtson

Bob Egan’s fascinating website PopSpotsNYC.com explores visual archeology similar to my own.  But instead of looking at silent-era comics, his site concerns places “where interesting events in the history of Pop Culture took place; like album cover shots, places where … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Manhattan, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin – Four Silent Jailbreaks

Posted on June 25, 2012 by John Bengtson

Jails and silent comedies!  A match made in heaven.  This post shows where (ONE) Laurel and Hardy filmed the jailbreak scene from The Second Hundred Years, (TWO) Charlie Chaplin filmed a prison release scene in Police, (THREE) Laurel and Hardy … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Two Hollywood Stunts – Lloyd and Keaton

Posted on June 16, 2012 by John Bengtson

Just a quick post here about this aerial view taken in 1922 as the prominent Security Bank Building, at the NE corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga, nears completion.  I could point out so many filming spots in this photo, … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Cops, Girl Shy, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A Tale of Two Train Wrecks (and One Airport) – by Buster Keaton

Posted on May 20, 2012 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton’s debut film One Week (1920) was hailed as the comedy sensation of the year.  It ended with a powerhouse one-two gag that still wows audiences today.   Buster attempts to move his newly built home which becomes stuck at … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, One Week | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Hollywood 1926 – The Big Picture and How the Pieces Fit

Posted on April 22, 2012 by John Bengtson

As much as I enjoy solving a movie location puzzle, and learning where a favorite scene was filmed, what I enjoy more is getting a sense of the context of how the movie was made.  I appreciate the craft that … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Studio, Hollywood Tour, Keaton Studio, Lloyd Studio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

How Harold Lloyd Filmed Girl Shy on Bunker Hill

Posted on April 11, 2012 by John Bengtson

The 2012 Turner Classic Film Festival in Hollywood will be screening Harold Lloyd’s first independently produced feature comedy Girl Shy (1924) on April 14, 2012 at the Egyptian Theater.  In that film, Harold discovers the woman he loves is about … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels Flight, Bunker Hill, Girl Shy, Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Thrill Pictures | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

How Harold Lloyd Filmed the Girl Shy Trolley Stunts

Posted on March 19, 2012 by John Bengtson

Following the great success of Safety Last! (1923), Harold Lloyd further cemented his reputation as a dare-devil comic with his first independently produced feature comedy Girl Shy (1924).  In that film, Harold discovers the woman he loves is about to … Continue reading →

Posted in Girl Shy, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Lloyd Thrill Pictures | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

How Harold Lloyd Filmed Safety Last!

Posted on February 29, 2012 by John Bengtson

The image of Harold Lloyd hanging desperately from the hands of a skyscraper clock during Safety Last! (1923) is one of the greatest icons in cinematic history.  Using maps, aerial views, and vintage photographs, my book Silent Visions shows how … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Safety Last! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 51 Comments

New York, Harold Lloyd, and Adam Sandler?!

Posted on February 6, 2012 by John Bengtson

After matching The Artist (2011) and Harold Lloyd in a prior post, how about pairing Harold and Adam Sandler for an encore?  I haven’t seen many of Sandler’s films, but once I realized Big Daddy was shot on location in … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Tour, Manhattan, New York, Speedy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Chaplin’s Modern (Los Angeles) Times

Posted on January 26, 2012 by John Bengtson

As I explain in my visual essay included in the Criterion Collection Blu-ray edition of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936), Chaplin filmed scenes for his first movie Making A Living (1914) beside the third Los Angeles Times Building that once … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, For Heaven's Sake, Harold Lloyd, Modern Times | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments