John Bengtson

In this visual essay John Bengtson, author of Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton, provides a tour of where Seven Chances was filmed, comparing archival images with contemporary photos, and sharing stories of Mrs. Eleanor Keaton's visit to the Seven Chances church.

Four visual essays by Silent Echoes author John Bengtson identifying Buster Keaton's shooting locations for his many short films produced between 1920-1923, many in the streets surrounding his former Hollywood studio, the same studio where, a few years earlier, Charlie Chaplin had made his brilliant series of Mutual shorts.

This visual essay by John Bengtson, author of Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton, reveals the locations where Keaton's 1927 comedy feature College was filmed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and Orange County. A compilation of short films produced between 1917-1922. Coney Island (1917), Back Stage (1919), Convict 13 (1920) and Daydreams (1922).

This visual essay by John Bengtson, author of Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton, reveals the locations where Keaton's 1924 comedy feature Sherlock Jr. was filmed in Hollywood and Orange County.

This visual essay by John Bengtson, author of Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton, reveals the locations where Keaton's 1923 comedy feature Three Ages was filmed in Hollywood, USC, and Los Angeles.

This visual essay by John Bengtson, author of Silent Visions: Discovering Early Hollywood and New York Through the Films of Harold Lloyd, looks at the locations used for the college and football scenes in The Freshman, and features rare behind-the-scenes still from Lloyd's archive.

Documentary on Hollywood in the time of Chaplin.

In this short documentary produced for the Criterion Collection, Oscar-winning visual-effects expert Craig Barron and film writer John Bengtson, author of Silent Visions, discuss the unique stunts, locations, and effects seen in Harold Lloyd's comedy masterpiece Safety Last! (1923).

Time Travelers, a new documentary by Daniel Raim featuring interviews with John Bengtson and film historian Marc Wanamaker, reveals newly discovered connections between Buster Keaton’s MGM debut and the earliest films of his career.

In this visual essay John Bengtson, author of Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton, pinpoints the locations used in the filming of The General and offers glimpses of how they look today.

In this visual essay, John Bengtson, author of Silent Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Charlie Chaplin, tours the locations used in Modern Times through photographs, vintage maps, and film clips, revealing what Chaplin's camera captured of the backdrop to the silent era and how things have changed.

Documentary on Hollywood in the time of Chaplin.