Tag Archives: Silent Comedians

The Little Tramp’s Screen Debut – Charlie Chaplin’s Kid Autos – They Were What ?!?

Posted on March 11, 2023 by John Bengtson

My latest YouTube video presents Charlie Chaplin’s screen debut of “The Little Tramp,” while explaining what exactly were “kid auto races.” Below, a few scenes from the video, and further below, my original post about the film from 2011. Inducted … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

SF Silent Film Festival Returns to Live Cinema with Chaplin’s City Lights

Posted on February 5, 2022 by John Bengtson

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival returns to presenting live cinema this February 19 at the Paramount Theater with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra accompanying Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece City Lights (1931), conducted by Timothy Brock. You may order tickets HERE. Along … Continue reading →

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Silent Movie Day celebrates the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley

Posted on October 9, 2021 by John Bengtson

On September 29, 2021, the inaugural National Silent Movie Day, Hollywood Heritage celebrated the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley with this beautiful plaque. This story by the Hollywood Partnership provides a good overview of that special day. https://hollywoodpartnership.com/post/first-ever-national-silent-movie-day-comes-to-hollywood It was crowded by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin - Keaton - Lloyd Alley, Hollywood History | Tagged , , , , | 14 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

Buster’s Brazen Bystanders

Posted on December 6, 2020 by John Bengtson

Bystanders appear frequently in the background of early films, a charming reminder of how the public witnessed the cinematic artform blossom, not only in theaters, but before their very eyes on the streets where they were made. The young girls … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Cops | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

CHASE! A Tribute to the Keystone Cops

Posted on August 29, 2020 by John Bengtson

CHASE! A Tribute to the Keystone Cops, honors these still universally recognized icons of silent comedy with an anthology of entertaining and informative essays assembled and edited by Lon & Debra Davis. Historian Sam Gill provides the foreword, joined by … Continue reading →

Posted in Keystone Studio, Trolleys | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Buster Keaton – Hard Luck, The Goat – closeups at Westlake Park

Posted on August 15, 2020 by John Bengtson

Vintage movies and photos are time machines. This rare 1923 photo reveals exactly where Buster Keaton flees from Big Joe Roberts during The Goat (1921) nearly a century ago. This detail looks SE at the 7th Street and Alvarado corner … Continue reading →

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Time Travelers: Uncovering Old LA in Keaton Comedies

Posted on July 18, 2020 by John Bengtson

Criterion’s The Cameraman Blu-ray is loaded with extras, including Oscar-nominated Daniel Raim’s 2020 documentary Time Travelers: Uncovering Old LA in Keaton Comedies, revealing newly discovered connections between Keaton’s MGM debut and the earliest films of his career. Raim’s recent works … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Culver City, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Caught on Camera – Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman in New York

Posted on June 20, 2020 by John Bengtson

The Criterion Collection’s stunning new Blu-ray release of Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman and Spite Marriage is loaded with bonus special features, including a new documentary Time Travelers I had the privilege of making with historian Marc Wanamaker and Oscar-nominated director … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Manhattan, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Arbuckle and Keaton Filmed in Culver City Years Before Laurel and Hardy

Posted on May 23, 2020 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd and Snub Pollard filmed comedies for producer Hal Roach at the Bradbury Mansion Rolin Studio, on Court Hill in downtown Los Angeles, for years before Roach opened his new studio in Culver City in 1920. (Read how they … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Culver City, Laurel and Hardy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Harold Lloyd’s Earliest Days Filming in Edendale

Posted on May 10, 2020 by John Bengtson

The cinematic roots for the three great kings of comedy, Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd, trace back to the earliest days of filmmaking. As reported HERE, Chaplin staged scenes from his 1914 Keystone films Those Love Pangs and Tillie’s Punctured Romance … Continue reading →

Posted in Edendale, Harold Lloyd, Keystone Studio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Buster Keaton – More Backlot Scenes From Our Hospitality

Posted on April 26, 2020 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton’s modest studio made it necessary for him to film many famous scenes at other studios with larger backlots. His pursuit through an archway by an army of police at the climax of Cops (1922) was filmed at the … Continue reading →

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Keaton’s The Cameraman on the Santa Monica Pier

Posted on March 28, 2020 by John Bengtson

For their first date in The Cameraman (1928) Buster Keaton and Marceline Day strip down and go swimming in a public pool, because, why not? As reported in my book Silent Echoes, their natatorium adventure was filmed inside the Venice … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, The Cameraman, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Three Good Fellows – Harold Lloyd, Doug MacLean, and Ben Model

Posted on March 15, 2020 by John Bengtson

Musician Ben Model is a silent film super-hero. Aside from his duties as resident accompanist for MoMA in New York, the Library of Congress, and performing at silent screenings around the county, his indie Undercrank Productions has released over 20 … Continue reading →

Posted in Ben Model, Doug MacLean, Harold Lloyd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Keaton’s Missing Scene and Cameraman Tricks

Posted on February 1, 2020 by John Bengtson

Early in The Cameraman (1928) neophyte newsreel photographer Buster Keaton submits his double-exposed mistake-filled audition movie footage to the M-G-M Newsreel General Offices in ‘New York,’ resulting in a complete disaster. At left, Buster watches in horror as his double-exposed … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Buster Keaton at the Selig Studio “Prison”

Posted on December 21, 2019 by John Bengtson

I only recently became aware of the Selig Polyscope Studio, the first permanent studio built in Los Angeles that opened in 1909 two blocks north from where the Keystone Studio would later open. Focusing on the facility’s distinctive walls and … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Convict 13, Edendale | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Buster Keaton’s Scarecrow Adobe

Posted on December 4, 2019 by John Bengtson

I’m delighted to host guest blogger Jeffrey Castel de Oro’s amazing post regarding the early California history appearing in Buster Keaton’s The Scarecrow. A friend for 20 years, Jeff has contributed many significant locations and photographs to all of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Culver City, The Scarecrow | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Chaplin’s Earliest Scenes Beside the Selig Studio

Posted on October 23, 2019 by John Bengtson

When Charlie Chaplin began his film career at the Keystone Studio in 1914, the Selig Polyscope studio (above) stood just two blocks to the north, sandwiched between Clifford and Duane Streets along Allesandro (now Glendale Boulevard) in Edendale. Opening in … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Edendale, Keystone Studio, Tillie's Punctured Romance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 18 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

The Office – Film Noir – and Harold Lloyd

Posted on June 19, 2019 by John Bengtson

What do the television show The Office, the 1950 film noir drama Edge of Doom, and Harold Lloyd’s final silent comedy Speedy (1928) have in common?  They all filmed scenes looking southwest down Witmer Street towards the front of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Noir, Harold Lloyd, Speedy, The Office, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments