Tag Archives: Hollywood

Worth a Thousand Words – Patrick Mate’s Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley Cartoon

Posted on May 12, 2021 by John Bengtson

Award-winning animator and wickedly funny caricaturist Patrick Mate has joined the campaign to name the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley with this delightful cartoon, capturing the spirit of The Kid, Cops, and Safety Last! with a single image. A French-born DreamWorks Animation veteran … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin - Keaton - Lloyd Alley | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Buster Keaton’s Early Days on Los Feliz

Posted on March 6, 2021 by John Bengtson

Straight from their opening-scene wedding in One Week (1920), staged on the steps of the Congregational Sunday School at the SE corner of Lillian Way and Romaine (kitty-corner from the Keaton Studio), Buster and Sybil Seely drive west along Los … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Convict 13, One Week | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Buster, Harold, Mabel, and Doug, and the murder of Wm. Desmond Taylor!

Posted on October 25, 2020 by John Bengtson

This post contains a variety of odds and ends. To begin, thanks to Tommy Dangcil we can see exactly where Buster Keaton staged a scene from Cops (1922) in front of the grand stairway leading to the former First Baptist … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Doug MacLean, Harold Lloyd, Mabel Normand | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Time Travel to 1919 Hollywood

Posted on September 7, 2020 by John Bengtson

Imagine when Hollywood was still a town, with stately homes, dirt roads, orchards, and scores of vacant lots. Vintage photos are compelling, but silent films are true time machines, placing you at the spot to see and breathe a slice … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin - Keaton - Lloyd Alley, Hollywood History, Lyons and Moran | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Silent Hollywood’s Japanese Enclave

Posted on November 20, 2019 by John Bengtson

The great silent film comedians Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd filmed more frequently on the 1600 block of Cahuenga south of Hollywood Boulevard than at any other street in town. Keaton alone filmed scenes for eight different movies … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood History, Hollywood Tour, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 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 →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Sherlock Jr. | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hollywood Snapshots – a 1922 Time Machine

Posted on February 10, 2019 by John Bengtson

Facing a public relations nightmare in 1922 over recent scandals, the film community produced Hollywood Snapshots, a promotional film portraying screen folk as wholesome to middle America. Presented online by the National Film Preservation Foundation, Snapshots captures remarkable images of … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood History, Hollywood Tour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

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 →

Posted in Laurel and Hardy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Keaton’s Seven Chances – On The Clock

Posted on May 12, 2018 by John Bengtson

Late for church, during Seven Chances (1925) Buster Keaton must marry by 7:00 p.m. that evening in order to inherit a fortune. But what time is it? Having just lost his pocket watch down a sewer drain, Buster stops in … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Seven Chances | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Chaplin’s The Great Dictator – Author Presentation at the Alex

Posted on April 11, 2018 by John Bengtson

Charlie Chaplin’s brilliant and courageous challenge to tyranny, The Great Dictator (1940), remains sharply relevant today. I will be introducing this classic film at the beautiful Alex Theater in Glendale on Thursday, April 19, 2018, and signing copies of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Chaplin – Pavlova – Lois Weber – at the Castle Sans Souci

Posted on June 12, 2017 by John Bengtson

One highlight of the recently concluded San Francisco Silent Film Festival was the Library of Congress restored presentation of pioneering director Lois Weber’s powerful historic epic The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916), starring world-acclaimed ballet dancer Anna Pavlova in her … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Lois Weber, Tillie's Punctured Romance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Hollywood’s Silent Echoes – 2017 FIAF/FLC Tour

Posted on April 30, 2017 by John Bengtson

[Tour download] Late in 1921 a mob of angry police chased Buster Keaton down a narrow Hollywood alley towards Cahuenga Boulevard. Entering the street Buster saw to his right a corner where “America’s Sweetheart” Mary Pickford filmed a scene in … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Keaton’s The Goat – the geography of a gag

Posted on April 25, 2017 by John Bengtson

Particular yet pragmatic, Buster Keaton would travel hundreds of miles to find just the right setting for a joke, while also filming dozens of mundane locations within steps of his small studio in Hollywood. This post breaks down the geography … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Keaton Studio, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

The Chaplin – Keaton – Lloyd Hollywood Alley

Posted on October 26, 2016 by John Bengtson

Three of the greatest comedies of all time, Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921), Buster Keaton’s Cops (1922), and Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last! (1923), were filmed in the heart of Hollywood at the unnamed alley running just south of Hollywood Boulevard … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Chaplin - Keaton - Lloyd Alley, Charlie Chaplin, Cops, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Safety Last!, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Mostly Lost – Keaton Found (Stan Laurel too) at Hollywood and Western

Posted on March 3, 2016 by John Bengtson

This fun discovery from Buster Keaton’s The Goat (1921) was made possible thanks to Mostly Lost, the Library of Congress crowd-sourcing workshop to screen and identify orphan silent and early sound films, held at the Packard Campus in Culpeper Virginia. … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Houdini – The Grim Game – More Hollywood Connections

Posted on December 19, 2015 by John Bengtson

The climax to Harry Houdini’s debut feature film The Grim Game (1919) involved the real-life mid-air collision of two airplanes captured on film (discussed in my prior post HERE).  The extraordinary footage was worked into the story by filming the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cops, Harry Houdini, The Grim Game | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 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

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 , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments