Introduction
A most unusual 1982 song by the punk rock band The Stranglers gets us started this month as we visit the London filming location for their song Golden Brown.
Then we're off to the Los Angeles area to look at filming locations then and now from three classic comedy movies from the 1920s and 1930s, starting with the 1930 Our Gang / The Little Rascals comedy The First Seven Years.
Next up, it's a visit to a beautiful Beverly Hills park with Laurel and Hardy at one of the filming locations used in their 1932 feature Pack Up Your Troubles.
A Charley Chase silent movie from 1925, His Wooden Wedding takes us to downtown Culver City, California to wrap things up this month, with some great then and now views of a landmark Southern California hotel.
The Stranglers - Golden Brown (1982)
The Plot
Don't be scared off by the fact that this is a music video made by a punk rock band - because this song is anything BUT punk rock. A harpsichord features prominently in the song - perhaps the ONLY time you'll find any rock band using this instrument.
The band is all dressed up in tuxedos, performing their song in a fancy space on "Radio Cairo" - and while they're not performing, they're searching for... something (we never really know what!).
The Filming Location: Leighton House In London
The former home of the artist Sir Frederic Leighton, the ornate Arab Hall at Leighton House museum sets the perfect mood for the music video.
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The Stranglers - Golden Brown - COMPLETE Music Video Filming Locations
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Our Gang / The Little Rascals - The First Seven Years (1930)
The Plot
Jackie Cooper has affections for Mary Ann, but she's not interested. And further complicating matters - Donald Haines is also interested in Mary Ann. She suggests that the two of them duel it out with real swords and the winner gets to be her boyfriend.
The Rural Westside Of Los Angeles
This is one of the early "talking" / sound movies in Our Gang / The Little Rascals series. When this movie was being filmed in late 1929, many of the other movies of the time were being made inside sound stages at the studios, because film crews had not yet become comfortable with filming outdoors on location.
This Our Gang / The Little Rascals movie on the other hand is filmed MOSTLY outdoors, on location in the Palms neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles. Clearly the team at the Hal Roach Studios mastered the new sound equipment much more quickly than other studios and because of that, they managed to create a fascinating time capsule of the area prior to the massive development that resulted in every inch built up and paved over.
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Our Gang / The Little Rascals - The First Seven Years - Filming Locations - Quick Preview Video
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Laurel and Hardy - Pack Up Your Troubles (1932)
The Plot
This Laurel and Hardy movie is set during World War I. Army recruiters are scouring the city park looking for able bodied men to enlist. Laurel and Hardy, enjoying the sunny afternoon sitting on a park bench, are spotted and after trying (unsuccessfully) to evade the recruiter, they end up in the Army on the front lines.
A Single Scene Filmed At Two Historic Parks
The recruiter scene in the park is the focus of this Laurel and Hardy movie location then and now Quick Preview Video. This scene was actually shot at TWO parks, starting out at Palisades Park overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, California, with the rest of the scene filmed at the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills.
Charlie Chaplin also used the Will Rogers Memorial Park as a filming location in his movie The Idle Class (1921). There's a Quick Preview Video that includes the park location here:
Charlie Chaplin - The Idle Class - Quick Preview Filming Locations Then and Now Video
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Laurel and Hardy - Pack Up Your Troubles - Filming Locations - Quick Preview Video
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Laurel and Hardy - Pack Up Your Troubles - Complete Filming Locations Video
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Charley Chase - His Wooden Wedding (1925)
The Plot
Wedding bells are ringing for Charley Chase, however a jealous friend tells Charley that his bride-to-be has a wooden leg!
Filming Location Time Capsule At The Culver Hotel
A frequent filming location used by Charley Chase (as well as Laurel and Hardy and even Charlie's Angels in the 1970s!) was the Culver Hotel in downtown Culver City, California. This then and now filming location Quick Preview Video gives us some great views of the Culver Blvd side of the hotel. Fortunately, the hotel still stands today (beautifully restored) as you'll see in this then and now movie location video.
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Charley Chase - His Wooden Wedding - Filming Locations - Quick Preview Video
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In case you missed it: My March 2025 featured filming locations then and now videos blog entry.
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