Introduction
This month it's back on location in the Los Angeles, California area.
Up first is a great look at a corner of the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles and how that filming location has changed over the decades as seen in a 1933 Charley Chase comedy. Next we look at a 1929 Our Gang / The Little Rascals movie and a 1927 Max Davidson comedy short that both give us a look at streetcars and the roads they shared cars with all over the Los Angeles area.
We wrap up the month with a look at the downtown core of Culver City, California and the historic Culver Hotel in 1932, then and now courtesy of The Taxis Boys comedy series.
Charley Chase - His Silent Racket (1933)
The Plot
Charley gets conned by James Finlayson into getting an ownership interest in Finlayson's struggling laundry business, just as local gangsters are trying to strong-arm their way into the business.
Who Was Charley Chase?
Charley Chase excelled in the genre of comedy shorts in the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, he filled the roles of writer, director and actor in dozens of movies - many of which he either had a supporting or starring role in. In the comedy short His Silent Racket we get to experience Charley Chase involved in all three roles - writer, director and star.
The Filming Location
The filming location then and now photo above is from a scene in His Silent Racket that was filmed at the intersection of Tabor Street and Motor Avenue on the west side of Los Angeles in the Palms neighborhood. This particular corner appeared in movies going back as far as the 1920s - the Our Gang / The Little Rascals 1929 movie Bouncing Babies makes great use of this corner. The corner is also seen in the 1976 Charlie's Angels TV series episode Target Angels.
In Case You Missed It
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Charley Chase - His Silent Racket - Filming Location - Quick Preview Video
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Charley Chase - His Silent Racket - Filming Locations Then and Now - Complete Documentary Video
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Charley Chase - His Silent Racket - Complete Filming Locations Photo Gallery
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Our Gang / The Little Rascals - Noisy Noises (1929)
The Plot
Joe is tasked with minding his baby brother, who refuses to go to sleep due to all the noise in the neighborhood.
The Los Angeles Filming Location
Noisy Noises is one of the last of the silent Our Gang / The Little Rascals movies, but in keeping with the series' tradition we get an ample helping of on location filming from the Los Angeles and Culver City, California area in 1929.
The filming location photo above gives us a rare view of the Pacific Electric Railway Culver City - Palms station with a train picking up passengers. The station was located on Venice Blvd just west of the Bagley Avenue intersection. This particular streetcar line went all the way to Venice Beach. Today, the station and the train tracks are long gone, replaced by even more traffic lanes (and traffic!) on Venice Blvd.
In Case You Missed It
Quick Preview Video: Watch an excerpt of the complete filming locations video from this movie here:
Our Gang / The Little Rascals - Noisy Noises - Filming Location - Quick Preview Video
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The Little Rascals - Noisy Noises - Complete Filming Locations Video
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The Little Rascals - Noisy Noises - Complete Filming Locations Photo Gallery
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Max Davidson - Why Girls Say No (1927)
The Plot
A Jewish father doesn't approve of her daughter's Irish suitor.
A Visit To Larchmont In Los Angeles
Max Davidson was the star of a series of very funny comedy short movies made in the late 1920s, and many of them filmed on location around the Los Angeles area. Why Girls Say No is notable because of the great views of the upscale Larchmont neighborhood of Los Angeles that were used as filming locations for the movie.
The scene in the then and now filming location photo above is from early in the movie and was filmed on the 100 block of North Larchmont Blvd. If you look closely, those horizontal lines in the middle of the street are train tracks belonging to the branch of the Los Angeles Railway system that served the Larchmont neighborhood, ending at Melrose Avenue a few blocks to the north.
The Three Stooges Connection
North Larchmont Blvd was a favorite filming location for The Three Stooges. They filmed several of their 1930s comedies on the 100 block of North Larchmont Blvd, including Hoi Polloi (1935).
In Case You Missed It
Quick Preview Video: Watch an excerpt of the complete filming locations video from this movie here:
Max Davidson - Why Girls Say No - Filming Location - Quick Preview Video
Member Exclusive - Full Then and Now Filming Locations Documentary Video and Photo Gallery
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Max Davidson - Why Girls Say No - Filming Locations Then and Now - Complete Documentary Video
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Max Davidson - Why Girls Say No - Complete Filming Locations Photo Gallery
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The Taxi Boys - Hot Spot (1932)
The Plot
Taxi driver Ben Blue has the lovely Muriel Evans in his cab. There's a slight mishap with Muriel's clothing (it gets burned up!) and Ben and his fellow taxi driver Billy Gilbert try to get Muriel back home as discreetly as possible.
The Importance Of The Taxi Boys Series Of Movies
The Taxi Boys series of comedy shorts only lasted for about two years in the early 1930s, but they were notable for three reasons:
- The series featured many of the great supporting comic actors that appeared in the Our Gang / The Little Rascals and Laurel and Hardy movies made during the same time.
- The series was directed by Del Lord, who would go on to direct the best comedy shorts of The Three Stooges just a few years later.
- And most interestingly, The Taxi Boys series filmed almost entirely on location, giving us great views of the Los Angeles area in the early 1930s.
The Filming Location
The filming location then and now photo above from Hot Spot shows us the corner of Washington Blvd and Van Buren Place in downtown Culver City, California. In the background is 9426 Washington Blvd (built in 1921).
There's also a rare look at the entrance to an underground pedestrian tunnel that used to run under Washington Blvd, emerging on the other side of the street at the Culver Hotel.
Today, this stretch of Van Buren Place and Washington Blvd is a pedestrian mall, and the tunnel under Washington Blvd - which may still exist - is no longer accessible.
In Case You Missed It
Quick Preview Video: Watch an excerpt of the complete filming locations video from this movie here:
The Taxi Boys - Hot Spot - Filming Location - 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 Taxi Boys - Hot Spot - Filming Locations Then and Now - Complete Documentary Video
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The Taxi Boys - Hot Spot - Complete Filming Locations Photo Gallery
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In case you missed it: My March 2026 featured filming locations then and now photos blog entry.
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