Tag Archives: then and now

Houdini – Keaton – The Grim Game – Cops

Posted on November 19, 2015 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton writes in his autobiography that famed magician and escape artist Harry Houdini gave him his nickname after witnessing 6-month old Keaton tumble unhurt down a flight of stairs. While likely more myth than fact,* Harry and Bess Houdini … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Cops, Harry Houdini, The Grim Game | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Keaton – Langdon – Lloyd on Larchmont – Ebell Club Author Talk

Posted on October 30, 2015 by John Bengtson

Developed along a street car line (always ripe for slapstick antics), Larchmont Boulevard has been a popular movie location for nearly 100 years.  Harold Lloyd filmed there as early as 1917.  During my luncheon talk at the Ebell Club on … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ginger, Buster, and Groucho, Lon Chaney and Loretta Young, all at the Jewett Estate

Posted on October 7, 2015 by John Bengtson

As reported in a recent post, Buster Keaton in Cops, Harpo and Groucho Marx in Duck Soup, and the 1947 murder noir classic Born to Kill, and the 1980s soap opera Dynasty (see YouTube at end of post), all filmed … Continue reading →

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San Francisco’s Silent Echoes – Presidio Officers’ Club Talk

Posted on September 13, 2015 by John Bengtson

Buster Keaton in Pacific Heights? Charlie Chaplin at Fisherman’s Wharf? Harold Lloyd at UC Berkeley? The great silent comedians did not limit themselves to filming in Hollywood, as I will discuss during my San Francisco’s Silent Echoes presentation this Thursday, … Continue reading →

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New Chaplin Discovery – Cinecon Talk and Guided Tour

Posted on August 27, 2015 by John Bengtson

While preparing my upcoming talk for Cinecon 51 I just realized that Chaplin filmed this rustic church scene from The Pilgrim (1923) in Newhall, near where friend Douglas Fairbanks filmed much of Wild and Woolly in 1917, beside the original … Continue reading →

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

Chaplin, Sinatra, The Pilgrim and Noir

Posted on August 8, 2015 by John Bengtson

Classic movies filmed on location provide historic views of the past. Moreover, later films shot at a popular location also provide fresh perspectives of earlier movies filmed at the same spot. A case in point is the Saugus train station … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Film Noir, The Pilgrim | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Groucho, Buster, and Noir – at the Pasadena Jewett Estate

Posted on July 5, 2015 by John Bengtson

From Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers, to noir classics and the 1980s soap opera Dynasty, the lavish Jewett estate located at 1145 Arden Road (originally 1201) in Pasadena has portrayed cinematic wealth and grandeur for nearly a century. Designed … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Duck Soup, Film Noir, Jewett Estate, Marx Brothers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Charlie Chaplin City Lights Tour – Author Presentation

Posted on June 8, 2015 by John Bengtson

As part of the Los Angeles Conservancy Last Remaining Seats film series, on June 13, 2015 I will be introducing Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece City Lights at the spectacular Los Angeles Theater where the film premiered January 30, 1931.  Although the … Continue reading →

Posted in Chaplin Tour, Charlie Chaplin, City Lights, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Harold Lloyd’s Speedy – Five Fun Facts

Posted on May 28, 2015 by John Bengtson

This Saturday morning, May 30, Harold Lloyd’s granddaughter Suzanne Lloyd and I will be introducing Lloyd’s final silent comedy Speedy (1928) at the Castro Theater as part of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s 20th anniversary program. Live musical accompaniment … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, New York, Speedy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Three Stooges, Birth of a Nation, Forest Lawn Trees

Posted on April 17, 2015 by John Bengtson

The former Lasky Ranch, bordering Griffith Park near Burbank, and future site of the Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Memorial Park which opened in 1952, is steeped in movie history.  Once part of the Spanish-era Rancho Providencia, the Lasky Ranch was … Continue reading →

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Cagney and Keaton Crossing Paths in Inglewood

Posted on April 6, 2015 by John Bengtson

James Cagney’s crime-busting thriller “G” Men (1935) and Buster Keaton’s debut short film One Week (1920) both contain exciting scenes filmed in Inglewood.  Cagney portrays a new FBI recruit who helps the bureau capture notorious bank robber Danny Leggett, played … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, James Cagney, One Week | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How Laurel & Hardy Filmed Perfect Day – New Discoveries

Posted on March 21, 2015 by John Bengtson

Built in 1925, this charming bungalow at 3120 Vera Avenue near Culver City appearing in the 1929 comedy Perfect Day is one of the most popular and easily recognizable of all Laurel & Hardy film locations. Author Randy Skretvedt reports … Continue reading →

Posted in Culver City, Hal Roach Studios, Laurel and Hardy, Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

The Artist and its Amazing Ties to Chaplin, Pickford, Keaton and Lloyd

Posted on March 3, 2015 by John Bengtson

Tonight marks the Turner Classic Movie Channel premiere of the 2011 multi-Oscar-winning Best Picture The Artist. Depicting the silent movie era, and filmed on location in Hollywood, the movie has many amazing connections to early Hollywood history and its biggest … Continue reading →

Posted in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford, The Artist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How Laurel and Hardy Filmed Another Fine Mess

Posted on February 1, 2015 by John Bengtson

In 2001 Piet Schreuders wrote to me from his home in Amsterdam postulating (correctly) about the tunnel appearing at the conclusion of Laurel and Hardy’s 1930 comedy short Another Fine Mess. Apart from being an internationally acclaimed graphic designer, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Laurel and Hardy, Los Angeles Tunnels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Mid City Views – How Hal Roach’s Taxi Boys filmed Taxi for Two

Posted on January 18, 2015 by John Bengtson

The 1932 Hal Roach Studio comedy Taxi for Two provides a fascinating glimpse of early Washington Blvd., and the mid-city neighborhood that sprung up south of Hollywood halfway between Culver City and downtown Los Angeles. Directed by Del Lord, one … Continue reading →

Posted in Culver City, Hal Roach Studios | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Even More Speedy – New York Locations

Posted on December 31, 2014 by John Bengtson

Harold Lloyd’s final silent comedy Speedy, filmed on location in New York during the summer of 1927, is a goldmine of vintage Manhattan locations.  While my book Silent Visions devotes 100 pages to the dozens of NYC (and Los Angeles) … Continue reading →

Posted in Harold Lloyd, Manhattan, Speedy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Big Parade – Historic Views of the Home Front

Posted on December 1, 2014 by John Bengtson

Although most of The Big Parade (1925) is set in the war-torn villages and battlefields of France, the acclaimed World War I drama also provides historic views of early downtown Los Angeles and Orange County. Told from the soldier’s point … Continue reading →

Posted in Los Angeles Tunnels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How Charlie Chaplin Filmed The Bank

Posted on November 13, 2014 by John Bengtson

Charlie Chaplin’s Essanay comedy The Bank (1915) marks his final cinematic footsteps in downtown Los Angeles.  While Broadway, and other nearby Historic Core streets appear in several of his early Keystone films, including Making A Living, His Favorite Pastime, The … Continue reading →

Posted in Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Los Angeles Historic Core | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How Barbara Stanwyck Filmed Night Nurse

Posted on November 6, 2014 by John Bengtson

Directed by William Wellman, Night Nurse (1931) is a classic pre-Code Warner Bros. production, loaded with gratuitous scenes of women undressing, men slapping women around, drunken mothers ignoring their children, women innocently sharing a bed, and a bootlegger who not … Continue reading →

Posted in Pre-Code | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How James Cagney Filmed Lady Killer

Posted on November 2, 2014 by John Bengtson

Eight downtown Los Angeles landmarks appear behind James Cagney during the opening scenes of Lady Killer (1933), yet only three survive to tell their tale. In this delightful pre-Code comedy/drama, Cagney plays Dan Quigley, a wise-cracking New York movie theater … Continue reading →

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