Tag Archives: Lloyd Studio

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 →

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 Harold Lloyd, Hollywood, Hollywood Tour, Lloyd Studio, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, TCM, TCM Festival, then and now, Tillie's Punctured Romance, Why Worry? | 5 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 Bradbury Mansion, Court Hill, Harold Lloyd, Hill Street Tunnel, Lloyd Studio, Rolin Studio, Safety Last!, Silent Comedians, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Take A Chance, then and now | Leave a comment

A new version of Keaton’s The Blacksmith – part 3, Robin Hood’s castle and more surprises

Posted on August 23, 2013 by John Bengtson

As first reported in Variety in July (and again in Variety in October), and in my first and second posts, film historian Fernando Pena has discovered that a completely different version of Buster Keaton’s 1922 short The Blacksmith circulated overseas, … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, The Blacksmith | Tagged Buster Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks, Fernando Pena, Fritz Lang, Hollywood, Lloyd Studio, Metropolis, Pickford - Fairbanks Studio, Robin Hood, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, The Blacksmith, then and now, Variety | 7 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 →

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 Harold Lloyd, Hollywood, Hollywood Tour, How Harold Lloyd filmed Safety Last, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Man on the Clock, Safety Last!, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Stunt Climbing, then and now | 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 Hanging from a clock, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood, How Harold Lloyd filmed Safety Last, How Harold Lloyd filmed the clock, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Man on the Clock, Safety Last!, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Stunt Climbing, then and now | 10 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 Buster Keaton, Cops, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood, Hollywood Tour, Keaton Locations, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Man on the Clock, Safety Last!, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Stunt Climbing, then and now | 7 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 Buster Keaton, Chaplin Locations, Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood, Hollywood Tour, Keaton Locations, Keaton Studio, Lloyd Studio, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, then and now | 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 Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood, Hollywood Tour, Keaton Locations, Lloyd Locations, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Safety Last!, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Stunt Climbing, then and now | 17 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 Buster Keaton, Chaplin Studio, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood History, Hollywood Landmarks, Hollywood Studios, Hollywood Tour, Keaton Studio, Lloyd Studio, Pickford - Fairbanks Studio, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, then and now | 20 Comments

The Artist Locations Part 4, Bradbury, Chaplin, and Lloyd

Posted on January 20, 2012 by John Bengtson

During a pivotal scene in The Artist (2011), fading silent film star George Valentin and rising ingénue Peppy Miller pass each other on a staircase at the Kinograph Studios where they work, their career trajectories mirrored by their relative positions … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels Flight, Charlie Chaplin, Hal Roach Studios, Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Los Angeles Tunnels, Safety Last!, The Artist | Tagged angles flight, Bradbury Building, Bradbury Mansion, Broadway, bunker hill, Charlie Chaplin, Court Flight, Court Hill, funicular, Hal Roach, Harold Lloyd, High and Dizzy, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Man on the Clock, Safety Last!, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Stunt Climbing, The Artist, the artist filming locations, The Artist locations, then and now | 20 Comments

The Artist Locations Part 3, Harold Lloyd, and Safety Last!

Posted on January 14, 2012 by John Bengtson

After first posting about the location and studio connections between The Artist (2011) and Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford, and then posting about the connections between The Artist and Roger Rabbit and Buster Keaton, it’s time for Harold Lloyd to … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Lloyd Tour, Los Angeles Historic Core, Safety Last!, The Artist | Tagged Broadway, Feet First, Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Man on the Clock, Never Weaken, Orpheum Theater, Safety Last!, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Stunt Climbing, The Artist, the artist filming locations, The Artist locations | 10 Comments

Harold Lloyd and Film Noir? – It’s True

Posted on August 19, 2011 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd and film noir? It’s true. Lloyd filmed frequently on Bunker Hill and at other downtown locations, far more so than did Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton. After decades of accumulated grime and neglect, the benign settings appearing in … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels Flight, Bunker Hill, Film Noir, Harold Lloyd, Hot Water, Los Angeles Historic Core, The Turning Point | Tagged angles flight, bunker hill, film noir, film noir locations, Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Studio, Los Angeles Historic Core, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies | 15 Comments

Safety Last! Mr. Epstein’s Writing on the Wall

Posted on June 26, 2011 by John Bengtson

With a can of paint and a cooperative landlord, ladies tailor Jacob Epstein bought himself a bit of movie immortality. During the iconic skyscraper clock sequence in Harold Lloyd’s 1923 master thrill comedy Safety Last!, you can clearly see, visible … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Lloyd Tour, Los Angeles Historic Core, Safety Last! | Tagged Broadway, Feet First, Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Man on the Clock, Never Weaken, Safety Last!, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Stunt Climbing | 4 Comments

Harold Lloyd Safety Last! Downtown Tour

Posted on June 21, 2011 by John Bengtson

In conjunction with the sold-out Los Angeles Conservancy “Last Remaining Seats” screening of Safety Last! on June 29 at the Orpheum Theatre, I am posting here a self-guided walking tour of the downtown Los Angeles locations Harold Lloyd used in … Continue reading →

Harold Lloyd Hollywood Tour

Posted on April 7, 2011 by John Bengtson

Tour silent-era Hollywood with this PDF guide prepared in connection with my May 22, 2011 presentation of Harold Lloyd’s Never Weaken and Girl Shy for the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. The tour is … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Chaplin Studio, Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Girl Shy, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Keaton Studio, Keaton Tour, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Tour | Tagged Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Lloyd Studio, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies | 12 Comments