Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton

by John Bengston, John Bengtson (Foreword)

A unique visual history of early Hollywood and other vintage locations as depicted in Buster Keaton's classic movies, this book combines images from Keaton's films with archival photographs, historic maps, and scores of dramatic �then” and �now” photos, revealing dozens of movie locations that lay undiscovered for nearly 80 years. Part time-machine, part detective story, it presents a fresh look at the matchless Keaton at work, as well as a captivating glimpse of Hollywood's most romantic era. More than a book for film, comedy, or history buffs, this book will appeal to anyone fascinated with solving puzzles or witnessing the awesome passage of time.

Genres: Film, Media Tie In, Nonfiction, History

232 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1999

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the most obsessive books ever. John Bengtson located every location Buster Keaton shot his films on, and re-photographed it, usually at the same angle or shot of the original film. So what we have is a book that is about Keaton and how he used real locations for his classic films, plus a visual history of Los Angeles, and what that location looks like now.

It's a stunning way of looking at space and what happens to that space. Strange enough a lot of the locations haven't changed, and some of course one would never recognize it in the film. This book is an extreme tour of a region via the eyes of Keaton and much later Mr. Bengston. The amount of work he did for this book is pretty much jaw-dropping 'wow.'

[David Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of Bengtson's remarkable books in which he identifies precise locations in a silent film comic's work based on background details, finds historic photos or maps to make his case, and visits the sites today. A surprising number are still around today, or at least as of 2000. A neat way to link Hollywood's reel and real history.

[Kyle O'Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow... the author did his homework. Very well-researched.

[Mikul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Shows locations and photos of buildings that are visible in Keaton's films. Before and after shots. Many buildings/locations are still here.

[Ross McLean]

This is one of the most impressive books I have ever read. Bengston does all this insane detective work to figure out where Keaton movies were filmed. He does stuff like circle a vent off in the background of film still, point out that building in an old aerial photograph and then show where Keaton must have put his camera on a map. He points out an unusual staircase and finds the building that it belonged to. He notices the alternating heights of palm trees and uses that as a starting point to piece together where a scene took place. I don't understand how one guy could have possibly done this, but he did and it's marvelous. In addition to providing insight into Keaton's films, it also turns them into a photographic record of Hollywood in the 1920's.

I'm not sure that I actually learned much from it and think you would have to have some existing knowledge of the city to retain many of the details. When I rewatch Keaton films, I now occasionally notice the distinctive fence boards outside Keaton's studio but that's about it. However, even that one detail is a cool piece of information to know and when the book is taken as a whole the project is so impressive that it is worth owning just as a physical piece of art on your bookshelf.

I live in Vancouver, which is another city with a big film industry and I'd love to see a similar project recreating a lost version of this city hidden in the background of films.