After my visit to The Music Box stairs in 1997 (that and previous visits were chronicled here), I had no association with them for more than eight years…except for my minimal involvement in 2002 with a documentary about the stairs that was put together by my good friend Jimmy Willey III. And when I say minimal, I mean microscopic. When I saw this documentary, I was not only amazed with how well it was put together, I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. I was extremely proud to have my name listed with “special thanks” although I think I only supplied Jimmy with one small fact during his production.
Credit where credit ain’t due
But my triumphant return to the Music Box stairs came on Monday, October 3, 2005. Jimmy and I had been to Culver City that day scouting the L&H film locations there and had made a few other pit stops along the way (see more about that day and an additional shot of the stairs here). Since it had been eight years since I had been to California, we really took our time drinking in all of these sites. In fact, this was certainly the most extensive walking tour of the Music Box stairs and area I had ever undertaken.
Staying there for at least an hour and using frame blow-ups to match up some unique landmarks, we were able to spot all kinds of things that we had never seen before. We even took a walk down an access sidewalk to see houses that can be seen in the film, but cannot be seen from the Vendome and Del Monte intersection (where the steps are located). They are now obscurred because more houses have been built up in front of them since the film was made in 1932.
Here are some examples of nearly-perfect location match-ups:
To the right of Stan is a boulevard running down the middle of the road. The boulevard has been removed but you can still see the outline of it!
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The house they park the horse in front of (just across the street from the stairs) is still intact
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In the image above, note the stairs behind Stan and the tiny sloping curb just beyond that and compare to the photo below
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Here’s a great shot of the garage next to the stairs. It is virtually unchanged! Even the little lantern-style light still remains and you can see where the window used to be.
Naturally we walked up the 133 stairs and visited the actual house at the ‘top of the stoop’ – rather than the proverbial one from the film, which was really filmed on a set back at the Hal Roach Studios. The house that is actually up there was used in the L&H silent Hats Off (or at least stills from it – the film itself no longer exists). One of my favorite photos that I snapped was of a man struggling to tote a floor scrubber up the stairs. Of all my visits, this was the only time I actually saw someone trying to lug any heavey piece of equipment up them.
A nice view down the stairs
A look up the stairs – at a man actually carrying something heavy to the top of the stoop
The Hats Off house in 2005 still holding together after repairs from the earthquake damage seen in the previous posting
And finally on this visit, although Jimmy had found it before, we were able to determine the approximate location of the scene of the film with the nursemaid and cop. Looking at the houses in the background and then exploring some of the ‘now-hidden’ houses, we could see that this shot was filmed in front of the park area just in front of the steps.
The house in the background -although now concealed by new houses- revealed the location of the cop and nursemaid scene
During my visit in February 2007, Jimmy and I returned once again on the 14th to visit the steps. We didn’t spend quite as much time, but I did once again relish being at the location. I even filmed my trek walking up the stairs with my digital camera. More details and another photo from my visit can be seen here.
Eerie on the steps in 2007
Another fall down the stairs as I had in 2005 – at the top of the posting
Struggling at the top of the stoop
When I returned to California in the Summer of 2007 for the Way Out West Tent 40th Anniversary Banquet and tour, our buses took us to the Music Box steps once again. It felt like we were invading the neighborhood and reminded me of our previous Sons invasion in 1980. I had grown accustomed to intimate tours of the area so it felt odd to be one among a huge crowd of people. I did take the chance to ‘educate’ some of the Sons visiting for the first time of the finer points of the area. More details and another photo of our visit can be seen here.
The Sons descend on Silverlake
A new aerial view taken from the steps of some of the background buildings
I didn’t do to much location scouting when I visited California in October of 2008, but one evening while driving to the Griffith Observatory, I made another quick visit to the steps on Tuesday, October 7. This occasion marks both the only time that I visited the steps at night and the only time that I didn’t walk up them. Instead, my friend Jimmy dropped me off at the top of the stoop, held onto my wallet for me, and then drove around to pick me up at the bottom. It was nice to have had this opportunity to at least walk the stairs in one directions, as a visit to California wouldn’t be the same without treading this famous location.
On my way down…at night…alone
Even the darkness won’t keep me away
My most recent picture of the plaque, which just keeps getting more and more scratched up – October 7, 2008
So as I have amply illustrated, this area of the Silverlake district is hallowed ground for me. It is easily one of the most memorable and dramatically unchanged of any of the Laurel and Hardy film locations. And since it is all on public property, we can view every inch of it.
Continue with L&H locations of 2005… (under construction)
Continue with L&H locations of February 2007… (under construction)
Continue with L&H locations of Summer 2007… (under construction)
Return to Tuesday in California 2008…
You’ll know the facts better than I will, but I visited the steps for the one and only time in 1994. I believe it was a weekend in the October or November(?)…and I was puzzled as to why there were balloons tied all the way up the railing.
Well, I later learned in what I think was an issue of the ITJ, that the very day I had been there was an anniversary of sorts. I had missed seeing Mr. Bann & Mr. Maltin at the steps by mere minutes! However, it was certainly good karma to be there on such an auspicious day.
Peter
February 3rd, 2008
Okay, so you counted 133 steps? I have 131 in my book. Hmm, my guess is that they haven’t added two more steps since the mid-1980s. Can you or Jimmy verify that it’s really 133? As you know, I’m doing a major revision of my Laurel & Hardy book and would like to ensure that I’ve got the right number!
Randy Skretvedt
February 4th, 2008
Very interesting and entertaining! I especially like the before and after photos that show how specific shots from the movie look today. I live in the L.A. area and visit the Music Box Steps every once in a while, but I’m fascinated with them and really enjoyed reading your page about them. Oh, I thought there were only 131 steps, too.
Grace
May 19th, 2008