Introduction
Filming locations from 1925 through 1982 are covered this month, starting off in London, England with a stunning then and now photo from the 1982 music video for the song Golden Brown by the punk rock band (at least up until they wrote this song) The Stranglers.
Then we head out to the Los Angeles area and take a look at filming location from an early Our Gang / The Little Rascals "talkie" comedy, The First Seven Years. We then visit a beautiful Beverly Hills park with Laurel and Hardy in their 1932 feature film Pack Up Your Troubles.
Our last filming location is from the 1925 Charley Chase comedy His Wooden Wedding, filmed on the streets of downtown Culver City, California.
The Stranglers - Golden Brown (Music Video) (1982)
The Plot
Punk rock band The Stranglers came up with a most UN-punk song in Golden Brown which prominently features a harpsichord!
The band is dressed in tuxedos in what appears to be a swanky club (though we never see the audience) set in Cairo in the 1920s. When they aren't performing, they are searching for something (we don't know what!).
The Arab Hall In Leighton House As Filming Location
For this music video, Leighton House in London was chosen as the filming location, and more specifically the Arab Hall. You can read more about this remarkable room by clicking here: Leighton House - Arab Hall
EVERYONE can view the complete filming locations then and now documentary video by clicking here:
The Stranglers - Golden Brown - Filming Locations Documentary Video
The Spandau Ballet Connection
When The Stranglers released this music video for Golden Brown in 1982, another English band - Spandau Ballet - likely took notice and used the Arab Hall at Leighton House as the filming location for the music video for their song, Gold, in 1983.
EVERYONE can view the filming locations video documentary for Gold by clicking here:
Spandau Ballet - Gold - Music Video Filming Locations Documentary
Member Exclusive - Full Then and Now Filming Locations Photo Gallery
If you have made a small donation and are a current member, you can view the complete filming locations photo gallery by clicking here to Login and then clicking here:
The Stranglers - Golden Brown - Complete Filming Locations Photo Gallery
Not Yet A Member?
If you make a very small donation to the site, you'll unlock over 150 full-length filming locations then and now videos and over 2,000 filming locations then and now photos.
Click here to donate and become a member now!
Our Gang / The Little Rascals - The First Seven Years (1930)
The Plot
Jackie Cooper and Donald Haines are vying for Mary Ann's affections, and she propose that the two have a duel and whoever wins gets to be her boyfriend.
A Once Beautiful Los Angeles Westside Neighborhood As Filming Location
The Our Gang / The Little Rascals movie The First Seven Years is an early "talkie" film in the series, with most of the movie filmed outdoors on location. This time, the filming location was the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Back in 1930 when this movie was made, the Palms had a very small town look about it. Single family homes featuring beautiful lawns flanked the tree-lined streets. Then, in the 1950s, the City of Los Angeles rezoned the Palms neighborhood for "multi-family units" which meant that one by one, the beautiful homes dating back to the early 1900s were demolished and in their place, architecturally uninspiring apartment buildings took their place.
The then and now filming location photo above shows Mary Ann on the front lawn of 3415 Mentone Avenue. Today, the lawn has been paved over as part of the parking lot for the apartment building (built in 1968) that now occupies the site. The tree seen in this movie was cut down in the 1970s. The small patch of grass visible near the center of the photo is where the tree used to stand.
In Case You Missed It
Quick Preview Video: Watch an excerpt from the complete filming locations video from this movie here:
Our Gang / The Little Rascals - The First Seven Years - Filming Locations - Quick Preview Video
Member Exclusive - Full Then and Now Filming Locations Documentary Video and Photo Gallery
If you have made a small donation and are a current member, you can view the ENTIRE filming locations video by clicking here to Login and then clicking here:
The Little Rascals - The First Seven Years - Complete Filming Locations Video
And don't miss the complete photo gallery of filming locations then and now here:
The Little Rascals - The First Seven Years - Complete Filming Locations Photo Gallery
Make A Small Donation Now To Become A Member!
If you make a very small donation to the site, you'll unlock over 150 full-length filming locations then and now videos and over 2,000 filming locations then and now photos.
Click here to donate and become a member now!
Laurel and Hardy - Pack Up Your Troubles (1932)
The Plot
The Big War (World War I) has been declared and recruiters are scouring the local park for able-bodied men to enlist. Laurel and Hardy look like "two good prospects" to the recruiter and before they know it, they're in the Army!
A Beverly Hills Park Frozen In Time
This scene in the then and now filming location photo above was filmed at the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, California.
The park was a popular filming location in the silent movie era and also appeared in TV series and contemporary films like 2016's La La Land (which will be covered here on the site in the future). Charlie Chaplin's 1921 movie The Idle Class also filmed here.
In Case You Missed It
Quick Preview Video: Watch an excerpt from the complete filming locations video from this movie here:
Laurel and Hardy - Pack Up Your Troubles - Filming Locations - Quick Preview Video
Member Exclusive - Full Then and Now Filming Locations Documentary Video and Photo Gallery
If you have made a small donation and are a current member, you can view the ENTIRE filming locations video by clicking here to Login and then clicking here:
Laurel and Hardy - Pack Up Your Troubles - Complete Filming Locations Video
And don't miss the complete photo gallery of filming locations then and now here:
Laurel and Hardy - Pack Up Your Troubles - Complete Filming Locations Photo Gallery
Become A Site Member Now!
If you make a very small donation to the site, you'll unlock over 150 full-length filming locations then and now videos and over 2,000 filming locations then and now photos.
Click here to donate and become a member now!
Charley Chase - His Wooden Wedding (1925)
The Plot
It's Charley's wedding day, but he gets a tip at the last minute that his bride-to-be has a wooden leg!
Filming Location As Time Capsule
Charley Chase starred in a very popular series of short comedy films in the 1920s and 1930s, many of them filmed in the downtown core of Culver City, California.
In this filming location then and now photo from the movie, the camera is on the Culver Blvd side of the historic Culver Hotel, looking west. The hotel - which is now over 100 years old - has been beautifully restored and is exactly as it was when this movie was filmed in 1925.
What isn't the same is Culver Blvd. In the top photo, the poles visible held the wires used by the Pacific Electric Railway which at the time ran right down the middle of Culver Blvd. In those days, Culver City residents could hop on a train to the beach or east to downtown Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, the network of Pacific Electric Railway lines were abandoned in the 1950s. The tracks running down the middle of Culver Blvd were still in place (though mostly covered over by asphalt) as late as the 1980s. We catch a glimpse of them in the 1977 episode Moving Violation of the TV series CHiPs.
In Case You Missed It
Quick Preview Video: Watch an excerpt from the complete filming locations video from this movie here:
Charley Chase - His Wooden Wedding - Filming Locations - Quick Preview Video
Member Exclusive - Full Then and Now Filming Locations Documentary Video and Photo Gallery
If you have made a small donation and are a current member, you can view the ENTIRE filming locations video by clicking here to Login and then clicking here:
Charley Chase - His Wooden Wedding - Filming Locations Then and Now - Complete Documentary Video
And don't miss the complete photo gallery of filming locations then and now here:
Charley Chase - His Wooden Wedding - Complete Filming Locations Photo Gallery
Help Support This Site - Become A Member!
If you make a very small donation to the site, you'll unlock over 150 full-length filming locations then and now videos and over 2,000 filming locations then and now photos.
Click here to donate and become a member now!
Support the site with a small donation to become a member and enjoy full, unrestricted access to the extensive collection of filming location content!
In case you missed it: My March 2025 featured filming locations then and now photos blog entry.
Return To Filming Locations Blog Main Page