Tag Archives: Safety Last!

Rooftop Vistas from Silent Film – Hal Roach’s “Radio Mad”

Posted on July 1, 2023 by John Bengtson

Imagine visiting an apartment rooftop a century ago, the things you’d see. Overflowing with LA history, the Hal Roach comedy Radio Mad (1924) also reveals novel views of silent films such as Safety Last! and A Woman of Paris (below), … Continue reading →

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New revelations about Safety Last! and The Kid

Posted on November 12, 2022 by John Bengtson

Two recent YouTube videos revealing new details from Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last!, and Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid, are now uploaded to my YouTube Channel. The channel includes a playlist of other video presentations hosted by museums and other groups. Hang … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin - Keaton - Lloyd Alley, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Safety Last!, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Hollywood Heritage Celebrates the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley

Posted on August 14, 2021 by John Bengtson

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, thanks to the wonderful Hollywood Heritage organization, Hollywood celebrated its direct geographic connections … Continue reading →

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

The nearly last – Safety Last – joke

Posted on July 18, 2019 by John Bengtson

Surviving his heroic climb up a skyscraper during Safety Last!, Harold Lloyd falls into the arms of his loving fiancé Mildred Davis, waiting for him on the rooftop. As reported in another post, this satisfying conclusion was actually filmed from … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core, Safety Last! | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Laurel & Hardy’s Liberty Rooftop

Posted on January 6, 2019 by John Bengtson

Shortly after the San Francisco Silent Film Festival presented Laurel & Hardy’s high-rise comedy Liberty (1929), accompanied by Jon Mirsalis, TCM broadcast the 1933 MGM drama Day of Reckoning, starring Richard Dix. The Dix film was full of surprises. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Laurel and Hardy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

The Chaplin – Keaton – Lloyd Hollywood Alley

Posted on October 26, 2016 by John Bengtson

Hollywood Heritage celebrated the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley on 9-29-2021, National Silent Movie Day, by dedicating a special plaque (see below). Three of the greatest comedies of all time, Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921), Buster Keaton’s Cops (1922), and Harold Lloyd’s Safety … Continue reading →

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

Amazing New Keaton Discoveries – My Wife’s Relations

Posted on July 24, 2016 by John Bengtson

An astonishing new Keaton stunt, Buster’s return visit to a classic apartment house, and yet another surprise appearance of the Cops – The Kid – Safety Last! Hollywood alley – the Lobster Films restoration of My Wife’s Relations (1922), with … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, The Goat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Saving the Best for (Safety) Last!

Posted on June 14, 2016 by John Bengtson

There is no better way to experience Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last! than in a giant 1920’s movie palace packed with audience members gasping and shrieking at every turn. The Los Angeles Conservancy screens this classic thrill comedy on Saturday, June … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Tour, Los Angeles Historic Core, Safety Last! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Reflections on Keaton’s Cops at the SF Silent Film Festival

Posted on May 28, 2016 by John Bengtson

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival starts next week, with another wide and varied lineup of classic silent films accompanied with live musical performances. Comedy fans will be especially interested in the Saturday morning program, introduced by Leonard Maltin, where … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Cops | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

How Roscoe Arbuckle Filmed His Safety Last! Moment (Before Harold Lloyd Did)

Posted on December 30, 2015 by John Bengtson

Early in Roscoe Arbuckle’s charming feature comedy The Life of the Party (1920), his character, instantly smitten by a female visitor to his high-rise law offices, stumbles backward through an open window, and hangs precipitously several stories in the air. … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core, Roscoe Arbuckle, Safety Last! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Three On A Match – ‘G’ Men – Ann Dvorak connection

Posted on May 9, 2015 by John Bengtson

This post comes with a shout-out to Christina Rice, Senior Librarian overseeing the invaluable Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection, and author of Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel, the wonderful biography about the spirited actress who played many standout roles … Continue reading →

Posted in Los Angeles Historic Core, Pre-Code | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 all of film history.  Using maps, aerial views, and vintage photographs, my book Silent Visions … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Safety Last! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 48 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments