Sunday, September 20, 2020

The Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd (and Houdini!) alley

Our great friend John Bengtson who runs the phenomenal blog Silent Locations has mounted an official campaign to name the the famous alley off Cahuenga near Hollywood Blvd. the "Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley". This is in tribute to the three masters of silent comedy who each used the alley in their films. Of course, Houdini also used the alley for a quick shot in The Grim Game. It was actually John Bengtson who made this discovery. 

This video further explains the alley. You can help by leaving a thumbs up on YouTube.

Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921), Buster Keaton’s Cops (1922), and Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last! (1923), were filmed in the heart of Hollywood at a humble alley south of Hollywood Boulevard. Each inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as “works of enduring importance to American culture." This six-way constellation of timeless movies and iconic stars is absolutely unique in Hollywood history. The alley deserves a name - Chaplin Keaton Lloyd Alley. The north-south alley already has a great name, EaCa Alley, but the cross arm at the top deserves a name too. 
Download a pdf Chaplin Keaton Lloyd brochure HERE
Learn more at Silent Locations
Houdini in the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley in The Grim Game (1919).

Good luck John!

4 comments:

  1. Well I agree with this - but Buster's gag is the stand-out, and I think it should be the Keaton Chaplin Lloyd Alley.

    I don't imagine it will go that way, though, since Chaplin is the only guy everyone definitely recognizes. I remember when Madame Tussaud's opened on Hollywood Boulevard, and I found that the entire silent era was represented by exactly one wax figure - and you can guess who that was.

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    1. The entire silent era represented by a single figure? I knew there was a reason I'd never been in that place. :p

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  2. Harry's name should have been the fourth on the title. He was part of silent film history and Hollywood gained from his work.

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    Replies
    1. Hmmm. That might be giving his movies a little too much credit.

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