Tag Archives: then and now

Harold Lloyd’s The Kid Brother Was Close to Home

Posted on March 24, 2019 by John Bengtson

It’s time to celebrate the wonderful new Blu-ray release of Harold Lloyd’s classic comedy The Kid Brother by the Criterion Collection. Considered by many to be Lloyd’s masterpiece, this release is simply stunning, a beautiful clear crisp print, a choice … Continue reading →

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

Buster’s Paramount Backlot Plunge

Posted on March 21, 2019 by John Bengtson

I’m pleased to update this post to announce that the 2019 San Francisco Silent Film Festival will conclude Sunday May 5, with a 8:00 pm screening of Buster Keaton’s second feature comedy Our Hospitality (1923), to be accompanied by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman

Posted on March 18, 2019 by John Bengtson

I’m pleased to update this post to announce the 2019 San Francisco Silent Film Festival kicks off this year on Wednesday, May 1, with a 7:00 pm screening of Buster Keaton’s 1928 comedy triumph The Cameraman, in a beautiful new … Continue reading →

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

Hollywood Snapshots – a 1922 Time Machine

Posted on February 10, 2019 by John Bengtson

Facing a public relations nightmare in 1922 over recent scandals, the film community produced Hollywood Snapshots, a promotional film portraying screen folk as wholesome to middle America. Presented online by the National Film Preservation Foundation, Snapshots captures remarkable images of … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood History, Hollywood Tour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Before the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley

Posted on December 6, 2018 by John Bengtson

The beautiful new Kino Lorber Blu-ray release Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers is a revelation, a six-disc set featuring dozens of early films created by women, many unseen for decades. One of the biggest surprises was witnessing the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd alley appear … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin - Keaton - Lloyd Alley, Hollywood Tour, Lois Weber | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Chaplin falls for The Kid – every scene now identified

Posted on November 24, 2018 by John Bengtson

Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece The Kid (1921) tells the story of the Little Tramp discovering, trying to avoid, and eventually falling in love with an abandoned infant, played out scene by scene at the end of this post. As I write … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin - Keaton - Lloyd Alley, Charlie Chaplin, For Heaven's Sake, Harold Lloyd, The Kid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Oliver Hardy at the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley

Posted on October 31, 2018 by John Bengtson

The block of Cahuenga south of Hollywood Boulevard was the most popular spot in town to film silent movies. As I’ve written in numerous tours and posts, everyone filmed there, from Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, to Charlie Chaplin, Buster … Continue reading →

Posted in Laurel and Hardy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Buster Keaton and W.C. Fields in Astoria

Posted on October 19, 2018 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton and W.C. Fields filmed alongside the same Astoria apartment building, nine years apart. Who knew? While working on a post connecting Fields’ It’s The Old Army Game with Keaton’s The Cameraman (1928) and Harold Lloyd’s Speedy (1928) (all … Continue reading →

Posted in Astoria, Buster Keaton, New York, W.C. Fields | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields in New York with Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd

Posted on August 8, 2018 by John Bengtson

The wonderful new Kino Lorber Blu-ray release of W. C Fields and Louise Brooks in It’s The Old Army Game (1926) is a must-have for any Fields, Brooks, or silent comedy fan. As I’ve reported at length in several prior … Continue reading →

Posted in It's The Old Army Game, Manhattan, New York, W.C. Fields | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

W.C. Fields Running Wild in New York

Posted on July 21, 2018 by John Bengtson

Having studied the new Blu-ray release of W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks in It’s The Old Army Game (1926) (with more posts to come), let’s focus on the beautiful Kino Lorber Blu-ray release of Fields’ Running Wild (1927), another wonderful … Continue reading →

Posted in Astoria, New York, W.C. Fields | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks in Ocala Florida – Part Two – Louise Strolls Around Town

Posted on July 12, 2018 by John Bengtson

This next post about the wonderful new Kino Lorber Blu-ray release of It’s The Old Army Game is authored mostly by noted Louise Brooks author and expert Thomas Gladysz, with (my comments) limited to the Ocala Florida historic settings appearing … Continue reading →

Posted in It's The Old Army Game, Louise Brooks, Ocala Florida, W.C. Fields | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks in Ocala Florida – Part One

Posted on July 4, 2018 by John Bengtson

If you love W.C Fields, Louise Brooks, silent comedy, or time-traveling via a beautiful vintage movie, you’ve got to get the wonderful new Kino Lorber Blu-ray release of It’s The Old Army Game (1926). In only his sixth onscreen role, … Continue reading →

Posted in It's The Old Army Game, Louise Brooks, Ocala Florida, W.C. Fields | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Keaton’s Battling Butler – A Knockout Finish to the SF Silent Film Festival

Posted on May 21, 2018 by John Bengtson

The 2018 San Francisco Silent Film Festival closes Sunday, June 3 with a screening of Buster Keaton’s self-directed comedy Battling Butler (1926), hosted by Leonard Maltin, and honoring recently deceased festival Board member, beloved television writer and director Frank Buxton, … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Film Noir, The Turning Point, Three Stooges | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Keaton’s Seven Chances – On The Clock

Posted on May 12, 2018 by John Bengtson

Late for church, during Seven Chances (1925) Buster Keaton must marry by 7:00 p.m. that evening in order to inherit a fortune. But what time is it? Having just lost his pocket watch down a sewer drain, Buster stops in … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Seven Chances | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Surviving Sherlock Jr. Bungalow

Posted on April 21, 2018 by John Bengtson

A bungalow that appears in Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. (1924), and in his early short film Convict 13 (1920), is still standing today at 4908 McKinley Avenue, when it was moved 11 miles away from Buster’s studio in 1926, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Keaton Studio, Sherlock Jr. | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Chaplin’s The Great Dictator – Author Presentation at the Alex

Posted on April 11, 2018 by John Bengtson

Charlie Chaplin’s brilliant and courageous challenge to tyranny, The Great Dictator (1940), remains sharply relevant today. I will be introducing this classic film at the beautiful Alex Theater in Glendale on Thursday, April 19, 2018, and signing copies of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

From Roach’s to Roaches – Stan & Ollie Meet Starsky & Hutch

Posted on April 1, 2018 by John Bengtson

Guest blogger Jim Dallape, creator with Robert Winslow of the remarkable Hal Roach Studios Backlot Tour, reports how TV’s Starsky & Hutch and Charlie’s Angels filmed in the same places as Laurel & Hardy and other Roach stars. Take it … Continue reading →

Posted in Charley Chase, Culver City, Hal Roach Studios, Laurel and Hardy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

The Surviving Keaton Studio Neighbors

Posted on March 12, 2018 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton unwittingly documented the urbanization of the once agricultural Colegrove region of Hollywood in the background of his films. As reported in my book Silent Echoes, the quaint Cahuenga Valley Lemon Growers Exchange warehouse once stood across the street … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Keaton Studio, The Goat, The Scarecrow | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Surviving Chaplin “The Circus” Tree

Posted on February 22, 2018 by John Bengtson

Paul Ayers, attorney, SoCal historian, and Altadena hiking trail expert and restorer, has shared many remarkable location discoveries over the years, including the finale from Charlie Chaplin’s The Circus (1928). Stemming from Paul’s discoveries, we now know a tree that … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Paul Ayers, Sherlock Jr. | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Charley Chase “Fast Work” Around Hollywood

Posted on February 7, 2018 by John Bengtson

Comedy fans are cheering the sparkling DVD release of 18 early Charley Chase talkie comedy shorts. Featuring Charley in top form, beautiful prints, and insightful bonus commentary, Charley Chase: At Hal Roach: The Talkies Volume One 1930-31, is simply fantastic. … Continue reading →

Posted in Charley Chase, Hal Roach Studios | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments