Tag Archives: Silent Comedies

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Chaplin Leads the Gang to the Hollywood Police

Posted on March 31, 2014 by John Bengtson

As I explain in my book Silent Traces, Charlie Chaplin’s landmark short film Easy Street (1917) contains scenes filmed on extant Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles (see below), where he would return a few years later to film his … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Perry Mason at the Chaplin Studio – The Case of the Homecoming Kid

Posted on March 18, 2014 by John Bengtson

One of the most gratifying experiences to come from working on my Charlie Chaplin book Silent Traces was being given a private tour of the Chaplin Studios, at 1416 N. La Brea Avenue in Hollywood, now home to The Jim … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Studio, Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Mary Pickford and the Silent Stars Meet at One Hollywood Corner

Posted on February 21, 2014 by John Bengtson

America’s Sweetheart, Canadian-born Mary Pickford, was a staunch supporter of the World War I Liberty Bond campaign.  Aside from selling millions of dollars of bonds at various rallies across the country, she also encouraged bond sales by starring in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Laurel & Hardy Hit The Skids

Posted on January 26, 2014 by John Bengtson

During their ride home from the hospital in County Hospital (1932), Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (well, their stunt doubles) skid at a wide intersection beside a Gothic-windowed auto garage.  The zig-zag detailing remains on the garage wall. This unusual … Continue reading →

Posted in Culver City, Laurel and Hardy | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Buster Keaton and The Three Stooges – Round 6

Posted on January 20, 2014 by John Bengtson

In his 1926 self-directed feature comedy Battling Butler, Buster plays an effete millionaire who seeks to impress a girl by allowing her to mistakenly believe he is a champion boxer sharing the same name.  As might be guessed, the movie … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Film Noir, The Turning Point, Three Stooges | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

W.C. Fields in Palm Beach – It’s the Old Army Game

Posted on December 3, 2013 by John Bengtson

For a complete change of pace, here’s a Florida location highlighting W.C. Fields.  Field’s feature comedy It’s A Gift (1934) is known for many classic sequences, including the sleeping-porch scene where a pushy insurance salesman searching for “Carl La Fong” … Continue reading →

Posted in Florida, It's The Old Army Game, W.C. Fields | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

LA’s Early Hills, Tunnels Preserved in Noir – Silent Comedies

Posted on October 31, 2013 by John Bengtson

Once marked with hills and tunnels, the complicated landscape of early Los Angeles has changed so dramatically that it’s difficult to visualize how all of the pieces once fit together.  Massive landmarks such as Court Hill and the Broadway Tunnel … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Hill, Film Noir, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Los Angeles Tunnels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

More Discoveries From Keaton’s Cops

Posted on October 24, 2013 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton’s best-known short film Cops (1922) has always been one of my favorite movies.  I must have been twelve when I first bought an 8mm print of it, and have since watched it dozens of times.  Now that it … Continue reading →

Posted in Bunker Hill, Cops, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Johnny Depp and Buster Keaton at the Cops/Ed Wood alley

Posted on September 8, 2013 by John Bengtson

To go with the Hollywood’s Silent Echoes presentation I gave last month at the Cinecon 49 Classic Film Festival at the Egyptian Theater, I prepared a tour of nearly 50 silent-era Hollywood landmarks and film locations you can access HERE.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Cops, Hollywood Tour, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Harry Langdon – The Strong Man Part 3

Posted on September 5, 2013 by John Bengtson

Harry Langdon’s 1926 comedy feature The Strong Man contains many exterior scenes filmed in the Korea Town area of Los Angeles near Wilshire and MacArthur Park.  Harry plays a WWI veteran who returns to the States hoping to meet his … Continue reading →

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

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

Punky, Harold, and Harry – nine decades of film location history at Shatto Place

Posted on August 3, 2013 by John Bengtson

In a prior post I explain how the same setting on Witmer Street appears in a Harold Lloyd silent comedy, a 1950 film noir classic, and in the recent sitcom The Office.  Another post shows how early Buster Keaton comedies … Continue reading →

Posted in For Heaven's Sake, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Found – a new version of Keaton’s The Blacksmith – part 2, more surprises

Posted on July 27, 2013 by John Bengtson

As reported in Variety, and in my prior post, film historian Fernando Pena has topped his discovery of a complete version of the Fritz Lang 1927 epic Metropolis with a 9.5 mm print of Buster Keaton’s 1922 short The Blacksmith … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, The Blacksmith | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Found – a new version of Keaton’s The Blacksmith and the tales it tells

Posted on July 20, 2013 by John Bengtson

As reported in Variety, lightning struck twice for film historian Fernando Pena.  The same gentleman from Argentina who discovered a complete version of the Fritz Lang 1927 epic Metropolis has now unveiled a 9.5 mm print of Buster Keaton’s 1922 … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Keaton Studio, The Blacksmith | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

The Last Edition 1925 – filmed in San Francisco (and LA)

Posted on July 18, 2013 by John Bengtson

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival begins Thursday, July 18.  I will be signing books at the festival on Sunday, July 21, following the Kings of Comedy presentation at 10:00 a.m., and before the Safety Last! screening at 8:30 p.m.  … Continue reading →

Posted in San Francisco, The Last Edition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Keaton Tour, Lloyd Tour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 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