Tag Archives: Hollywood

Wonderful Wanda Wiley … Who?

Wonderful Wanda Wiley was a spirited, athletic silent film comedienne, whose charm and girl-next-door appeal made her the female equivalent of Harold Lloyd’s “All-American Boy” (sometimes she even wore glasses). [Fun update – Wanda and Harold share the same April … Continue reading

Posted in Hollywood History, Wanda Wiley | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Charlie Chaplin’s One A.M. Mystery

Charlie Chaplin’s 1916 Mutual comedy short One A.M. was unique in many ways. Charlie plays a drunken bon-vivant, returning home after a night on the town. Except for a brief exterior scene with his taxi driver Albert Austin, Charlie plays … Continue reading

Posted in Chaplin Studio, Charlie Chaplin, Hollywood History, Lyons and Moran | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

The Roaring Road – rare ‘new’ views of early Hollywood

Above, a rare time capsule glimpse looking east from Cahuenga toward the towering Taft Building at the SE corner of Hollywood and Vine, before the neighboring Broadway (B. H. Dyas) Building was built on the SW corner in 1928. The … Continue reading

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Step by silent footstep – how the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley was revealed

Step by silent footstep, clues from a dozen silent films collectively reveal a century-old secret, the humble Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley where three timeless comedies were made. This video has been upgraded with a beautiful score composed and performed by Jon C. … Continue reading

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Hollywood Heritage Celebrates the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley

Hollywood and “the movies” have been synonymous for over 100 years. Handprints in cement and the Walk of Fame honor stars from the past. But only now, with the exciting Hollywood Heritage campaign, will Hollywood celebrate its direct geographic connections … Continue reading

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

Solved! Buster Keaton’s Mystery Colegrove Building

Buster Keaton was a pragmatic filmmaker, and it’s been fun discovering how often he would shoot simple scenes nearby, or even across the street from his small Hollywood studio once standing at 1025 Lillian Way. Appearing as both a receiving … Continue reading

Posted in Buster Keaton, Hollywood History, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

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

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

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Buster Keaton’s Early Days on Los Feliz

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!

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

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 , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Silent Hollywood’s Japanese Enclave

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

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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Hollywood Snapshots – a 1922 Time Machine

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Oliver Hardy at the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley

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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Keaton’s Seven Chances – On The Clock

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

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

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

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

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

[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

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 , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The Chaplin – Keaton – Lloyd Hollywood Alley

Hollywood Heritage will celebrate the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley on 9-29-2021, National Silent Movie Day, with a GoFundMe campaign for a plaque and even a mural. Three of the greatest comedies of all time, Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921), Buster Keaton’s Cops … Continue reading

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