Tag Archives: Silent Comedies

Chaplin’s Modern (Los Angeles) Times

Posted on January 26, 2012 by John Bengtson

As I explain in my visual essay included in the Criterion Collection Blu-ray edition of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936), Chaplin filmed scenes for his first movie Making A Living (1914) beside the third Los Angeles Times Building that once … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, For Heaven's Sake, Harold Lloyd, Modern Times | Tagged Charlie Chaplin, For Heaven's Sake, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Times Building, Los Angeles Times history, Modern Times, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, The Los Angeles Times, then and now | 8 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

Charming Third Time for Seven Chances

Posted on December 10, 2011 by John Bengtson

Seven Chances is Buster Keaton’s latest Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber. During the film Buster eludes an army of angry jilted brides as he attempts to marry his sweetheart in time to inherit a fortune. After owning the film first … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Seven Chances, USC | Tagged Buster Keaton, Eleanor Keaton, Keaton Locations, Seven Chances, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, then and now | 10 Comments

Win a Copy of Silent Visions in TCM December Contest

Posted on December 8, 2011 by John Bengtson

My Harold Lloyd book Silent Visions is the Turner Classic Movies “Book Corner” selection for the month of December. Visit the TCM site below and you can register for a chance to win one of 15 copies of my book. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Harold Lloyd, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, then and now | Leave a comment

Laurel and Hardy – Home at Last

Posted on November 17, 2011 by John Bengtson

Comedy fans across the country celebrated the recent release of Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection, a 10 DVD set from RHI Entertainment that contains all of the duo’s sound era short films, and several feature films, that had otherwise … Continue reading →

Posted in Hal Roach Studios, Laurel and Hardy, Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Uncategorized | Tagged Laurel and Hardy film locations, Oliver Hardy, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Stan Laurel, then and now | 3 Comments

Chaplin – Keaton – Lloyd – One Block in Silent-Era Hollywood

Posted on November 4, 2011 by John Bengtson

The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard was a popular film setting for silent-era comedies. Attached below for download is a 15 MB PowerPoint presentation showing thirteen (but not all) Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd filming locations near this historic … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Cops, Girl Shy, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour, Hot Water, Keaton Studio, Keaton Tour, Lloyd Studio, Modern Times, Safety Last!, The Cameraman | Tagged Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Hollywood, Hollywood Tour, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, then and now | 5 Comments

Chaplin’s Kid Autos – They Were What ?!?

Posted on October 31, 2011 by John Bengtson

Inducted now into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, Kid Auto Races at Venice, Cal. was Charlie Chaplin’s second motion picture release, and the first release to feature his Little Tramp persona. It was filmed at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Venice | Tagged Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Keystone Studio, Keystone Tour, Kid Auto Races at Venice, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, then and now, Venice | 9 Comments

New Photos – Babe Ruth’s Orphanage Cameo in Speedy

Posted on October 8, 2011 by John Bengtson

Babe Ruth’s hilarious cameo appearance is one of the many highlights in Harold Lloyd’s final silent comedy Speedy (1928), which I am presenting at 3:10 pm on Sunday, October 21, 2012, and at 7:30 pm on Monday, October 22, at … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Manhattan, New York, Speedy | Tagged Babe Ruth, City College of New York, Harold Lloyd, Hebrew Orphan Asylum, Lou Gehrig, Manhattan, New York, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Speedy | 4 Comments

Buster Keaton and Film Noir? – It’s Also True

Posted on September 26, 2011 by John Bengtson

It’s now Buster Keaton’s turn, after Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin (see prior posts), to brush shoulders with film noir. The Glendale Southern Pacific station was barely three years old when Buster Keaton used it to portray the station for … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels Flight, Bunker Hill, Buster Keaton, College, Film Noir, For Heaven's Sake, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged angles flight, bunker hill, Buster Keaton, film noir, film noir locations, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies | 8 Comments

Cameo Squared – Lou Gehrig in Ruth’s Speedy Cameo

Posted on September 23, 2011 by John Bengtson

Eagle-eyed reader Kevin Dale not only recognized the setting of the very first shot of Charlie Chaplin’s career (see prior post), he also notified me of this amazing discovery. During the concluding scenes from Babe Ruth’s cameo appearance in Speedy … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Manhattan, New York, Speedy | Tagged Babe Ruth, Harold Lloyd, Lou Gehrig, Manhattan, New York, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Speedy | 3 Comments

Silent Era New York – Harold Lloyd’s Speedy – Part 1

Posted on September 17, 2011 by John Bengtson

I will be presenting Harold Lloyd’s final silent comedy Speedy (1928) at 3:10 pm on Sunday, October 21, 2012, and at 7:30 pm on Monday, October 22, at Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, New York, NY 10014, based … Continue reading →

Posted in Brooklyn, Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Tour, Manhattan, New York, Speedy | Tagged Brooklyn, Harold Lloyd, Manhattan, New York, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Speedy | 10 Comments

Stan, Ollie, and Harold – a Drive Through Bunker Hill

Posted on September 9, 2011 by John Bengtson

The Prelinger Archives has just posted some amazingly sharp movie footage of Bunker Hill and downtown Los Angeles taken in the late 1940s. The stock footage was intended to be projected behind actors filming a traveling car scene within an … Continue reading →

Posted in Bunker Hill, Duck Soup, Film Noir, For Heaven's Sake, Girl Shy, Hal Roach Studios, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, Lloyd Studio, Los Angeles Historic Core, Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel | Tagged bunker hill, film noir, film noir locations, Girl Shy, Hal Roach Studios, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, Oliver Hardy, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Stan Laurel, then and now | 25 Comments

Charlie Chaplin and Film Noir? – It’s Also True

Posted on September 3, 2011 by John Bengtson

Charlie Chaplin and and film noir? It’s also true. As with my prior post about Harold Lloyd, Chaplin also has a connection to The Turning Point (1952), a noir crime drama where William Holden plays a cynical reporter investigating a … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Chinatown, Film Noir, For Heaven's Sake, Harold Lloyd, Modern Times, The Turning Point | Tagged angles flight, Charlie Chaplin, film noir, film noir locations, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core, Modern Times, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies | 13 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

Buster and the Three Stooges at the Columbia Ranch – Part 2

Posted on August 6, 2011 by John Bengtson

As discussed in a prior post, Buster Keaton and the Three Stooges nearly crossed paths early in their respective film careers, and did cross paths (see second post) with Keaton’s General Nuisance (1941) and the Stooge’s Boobs in Arms(1940), two … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Columbia, Three Stooges | Tagged Buster Keaton, Columbia Movie Ranch, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Three Stooges, Warner Ranch | 11 Comments

View Academy Lecture on The General Locations

Posted on July 27, 2011 by John Bengtson

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has posted the PowerPoint presentation I gave on July 20, 2011 concerning Buster Keaton’s Civil War comedy The General (1927). You can watch the presentation here. You can find a complete report … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Keaton Studio, Keaton Tour, The General | Tagged Buster Keaton, Cottage Grove, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, The General | 2 Comments

New locations from The General

Posted on July 10, 2011 by John Bengtson

On July 20, 2011, Kevin Brownlow screened Buster Keaton’s Civil War comedy The General (1927) as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences “Summer of Silents” film series, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Before … Continue reading →

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 →