Tag Archives: Silent Movies

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 , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , | 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 →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Keaton Studio, Keaton Tour, The General | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Lloyd Tour, Los Angeles Historic Core, Safety Last! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

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’s Manhattan cigar

Posted on May 26, 2011 by John Bengtson

I’m excited to report that my new Harold Lloyd book Silent Visions is now available.  Nearly five years in the making, it is such a relief to finally have the book in hand.  As shown below, the book includes nearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Tour, Manhattan, New York, Speedy | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 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