Tag Archives: Silent Comedies

Harold – Buster – and Bergdorf Goodman – NYC Then and Now

Posted on June 19, 2011 by John Bengtson

Towards the end of Harold Lloyd’s manic taxi-ride driving Babe Ruth up 5th Avenue in New York during Speedy (released in 1928, but filmed during the summer of 1927), they approach W 57th Street, and the final of five traffic … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Manhattan, Speedy, The Cameraman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Rare Chaplin Scenes in Downtown Los Angeles

Posted on June 14, 2011 by John Bengtson

In my book Silent Traces, I explain how during His Musical Career (1914) Charlie Chaplin and Mack Swain play piano movers who filmed scenes in front of an actual piano store, the Wiley B. Allen Co., located at 416 – … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Keystone Studio, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Stan Laurel in Chaplin’s Footprints

Posted on June 11, 2011 by John Bengtson

Stan Laurel may have crossed paths with Buster Keaton (see former post), but for a time early in his career the English comedian was Charlie Chaplin’s understudy and room-mate, when they were both music hall entertainers touring the United States … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Chinatown, Stan Laurel, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Buster and the Three Stooges at the Columbia Ranch – Part 1

Posted on June 8, 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.  But they definitely crossed paths during the early 1940s when they both made short subjects for Columbia Pictures on … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Columbia, Three Stooges | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

College Days for Harold and Buster

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Bengtson

Neither Harold Lloyd nor Buster Keaton attended college (were there any silent stars who did?), yet they each made campus comedy feature films.  Lloyd’s The Freshman (1925) was a smash hit, while Keaton made his modest College (1927) as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, College, Exposition Park, Harold Lloyd, The Freshman, USC | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Buster … Shemp, Moe and Larry – Cops and Soup to Nuts

Posted on May 29, 2011 by John Bengtson

Shemp Howard, along with brother Moe Howard and family friend Larry Fine (originally known as Ted Healy’s Southern Gentlemen), began their show business career in the 1920s as protégés of the Broadway entertainer.  In 1930, Healy and the trio appeared … Continue reading →

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

Harold Lloyd – lasting impressions at Grauman’s Chinese

Posted on May 21, 2011 by John Bengtson

The short Harold Lloyd walking tour I gave prior to my presentation at the Egyptian Theater included a stop at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. There, on November 21, 1927, Harold Lloyd became the fifth celebrity, and the first comedian, to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Tour | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Harold Lloyd Brooklyn – Speedy Tour

Posted on May 16, 2011 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd Brooklyn – Speedy Tour – Film Forum October 21, 22, 2012 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,  … Continue reading →

Posted in Brooklyn, Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Tour, Manhattan, New York, Speedy | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Harold Lloyd on Deadman’s Island

Posted on May 7, 2011 by John Bengtson

It sounds like an adventure befitting Indiana Jones, but in the waning days of 1916 Harold Lloyd filmed his sixth “Lonesome Luke” production on Deadman’s Island near San Pedro.  Rising up from the extreme tip of Terminal Island, the spectral … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Chaplin’s Beverly Wilshire Cigar

Posted on May 3, 2011 by John Bengtson

During one of my favorite jokes from City Lights, Charlie spies a cigar butt on the sidewalk while driving around in his millionaire friend’s luxury car.  Charlie leaps from the car, grabs the butt before another bum can take it, … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, City Lights | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Stan Laurel in Buster’s Footprints

Posted on April 22, 2011 by John Bengtson

One of my all time favorite Keaton location discoveries was finding these statues appearing in Buster Keaton’s short film Hard Luck (1921).  During the scene, Buster eludes the police by posing among the statues of a park monument.  The scene … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Buster Keaton Steamboat Bill, Jr. locations

Posted on April 18, 2011 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton filmed his final independent production Steamboat Bill, Jr. in Sacramento, California.  By the time Keaton and company came to town, Sacramento had become a popular location for Hollywood films.  Historian Paul Frobose discovered these Sacramento locations, and has … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Keaton Studio, Keaton Tour, Steamboat Bill, Jr. | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Meet Buster in Goatland at the Silver Spray Pier

Posted on April 16, 2011 by John Bengtson

Believe it or not, renting goat carts to travel around the Southern California beach amusement piers was once a popular entertainment. In this scene from the Roscoe Arbuckle – Buster Keaton comedy The Cook (1918) (Milestone Film & Video), Buster … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Langdon on Larchmont

Posted on April 15, 2011 by John Bengtson

Larchmont Boulevard was (and remains) a very popular place to film.  Many of Harry Langdon’s antics from Saturday Afternoon (1926) were filmed at the corner of Larchmont and W. 1st Street. Larchmont appears in many other silent films, including Harold … Continue reading →

Posted in Harry Langdon | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Harry Langdon in The Strong Man

Posted on April 12, 2011 by John Bengtson

One of the great set pieces from Harry Langdon’s The Strong Man (1926) takes place as Harry attempts to transport a femme fatale up a flight of stairs into her apartment.  With a suspicious cop on her tail, “Lily” of … Continue reading →

Posted in Harry Langdon, The Strong Man | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Chaplin – A Film Johnnie at the Bryson

Posted on April 10, 2011 by John Bengtson

The remarkable image quality of the new Chaplin at Keystone collection from Flicker Alley makes it possible to identify several more scenes from Charlie’s earliest films.  As shown here, the extant Bryson Apartments (2701 Wilshire Blvd.) stood in for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Keystone Studio | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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 , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Chaplin Medley of Then and Now Images

Posted on April 7, 2011 by John Bengtson

This 27 MB PowerPoint slide-show features over a dozen famous Chaplin filming locations, fading back and forth between vintage and contemporary images.  The ghostly transitions are quite effective.  The slides are animated, so please pause long enough before clicking to … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Chaplin’s Very First Scene – Now a Jack-in-the-Box

Posted on April 5, 2011 by John Bengtson

Following the release of the Chaplin at Keystone DVD Collection, for which I prepared a bonus feature program, Kevin Dale contacted me wondering if Chaplin had filmed the opening scene from his inaugural film Making a Living in front of … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, Keystone Studio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tour of Chaplin’s The Kid

Posted on April 5, 2011 by John Bengtson

Attached below is a PowerPoint presentation showing the historic settings in Chinatown and the Plaza de Los Angeles where Chaplin filmed his early masterpiece The Kid (1921).  The file is about 60MB, and you will need a PowerPoint viewer to … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments