Immensely
popular and prolific, Harold Lloyd sold more movie tickets during the
Golden Age of Comedy than any other comedian. From Coney Island to
Catalina Island, and from Brooklyn to Beverly Hills, Lloyd’s
movies captured visions of silent-era America unequaled on the silver
screen.
A
stunning work of cinematic archeology, Silent
Visions
describes the historical settings found in such Lloyd classics as
Safety
Last!,
Girl
Shy,
and Speedy,
and matches them with archival photographs, vintage maps, and scores
of then-and-now comparison photographs, illuminating both Lloyd’s
comedic genius, and the burgeoning Los Angeles and Manhattan
landscapes preserved in the background of his films.
The
book represents John Bengtson’s completion of his trilogy of
works focusing on the three great geniuses of silent film comedy
(Keaton, Chaplin, and Lloyd) in what Oscar-winning historian Kevin
Brownlow calls “a new art form.”
John
Bengtson is a business
lawyer, a film historian, and the author of Silent
Echoes and Silent
Traces. Bengtson has lectured
as a keynote speaker at events hosted by the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian
Theatre in Hollywood, and the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and
has provided commentary and bonus programs for several silent comedy
DVD releases. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his two daughters.
Kevin Brownlow is an Academy award-winning film historian, documentarian, filmmaker,
and author.
“First
Keaton, then Chaplin, and now Harold Lloyd. There is no end to the
magic John Bengtson creates when he investigates the real locations
of celebrated movie sequences. Simply amazing.” —Kenneth
Turan, Los Angeles Times
“With
his usual unerring precision, John Bengtson shows us how
Harold Lloyd turned New York and Los Angeles into his very own romper
room. Silent Visions is a
wonderful amalgam of film history and urban history. Bengtson’s
detective work in tracking down these movie locations has
the same exhilaration and fanatic attention to detail as Lloyd's
classic comedies.” —Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor
“John
Bengtson has done it again: part detective, part historian, this
dedicated silent-film enthusiast has opened a window to the past for
all of us. After revisiting the wonderful Harold Lloyd comedies shot
on location, this volume makes me want to embark on a walking tour of
downtown Los Angeles (not to mention Manhattan and Coney
Island).” —Leonard Maltin, Entertainment
Tonight
“Harold
Lloyd fans will agree that this is a most remarkable book. Even
after all this time, I have a new appreciation as to how these films
were made. My grandfather would be so pleased.” —Suzanne
Lloyd
“Drawing from early 20th century maps, as well as archival photographs and film stills, Bengtson develops a comprehensive view of 1920s Los Angeles and New York. This book will delight fans of early 20th century architecture and film.” —Publishers Weekly
“Through meticulous research using maps, historic photos, and even insurance records, Bengtson seeks out the real-life places where the bespectacled funnyman enacted his often death-defying pratfalls. You’ll be entertained.” —Chris Nichols, Los Angeles Magazine
“Plenty of baseball lore, silent-film slapstick, and NYC nostalgia.” —David Edelstein, New York Magazine
“A photographic feat. Carefully selected frame blow-ups share page space with present-day views of actual locations to reveal the remarkable density and complexity of [Speedy’s] making, as well as a timeline of New York.” —Bruce Bennett, Wall Street Journal
“Matching frame stills, publicity shots, and archival photos with old maps and new pictures of the same locations, Bengtson takes the reader on an archaeological dig of sorts. For Lloyd fans, Bengtson’s book is a must, and for historic architecture and urban design buffs, the book is likewise indispensible. An unusual and commendably obsessive undertaking!” —Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
