"Only Me"

 

An inebriated Lupino Lane is trying to figure out where he is in this first shot of  the 15 minute short "Only Me" (Educational Pictures, 1929). We soon learn where he is even if he doesn't. Silent film detective John Bengtson points out that he's on the 9th St. side of the La Brea Theatre, 857 S. La Brea Ave., and looking up at the marquee.

 

The tale revolves around Lupino trying to get to the theatre, a young guy in a box seat who likes playing practical jokes and the beleaguered performers onstage. Lupino plays something like 24 characters, with the assistance of his brother Wallace in some shots. He also directed. 

 

 

 

We get a close look at  theatre's marquee, which they're calling the Palace.

 

 

 

A wider shot of the marquee with Lupino now on the La Brea side of the building.

 

 

He wants to go to the Palace Theatre, not realizing he's already there. He hails a cab and the cabbie does a doughnut in the intersection and returns him to the spot where he picked him up. 

 

 

Back at the theatre and checking out show information on a rocking sign -- and the beginning of a fight with it. 

 

A shot in front of the boxoffice -- note the address.

 

 

 

The end of the fight with the sign. 

 

 

 

Time to buy a ticket.

At the La Brea Theatre boxoffice. Where he does a double take on encountering a cashier who looks almost like he does.

 

 The interiors were done elsewhere. Here we're in the auditorium and he's hopping into a box. 

 

 

 

A wider view of their auditorium set. 

 

Thanks to John Bengtson for spotting the theatre in the film and providing several of the the screenshots. Visit his Silent Locations blog to keep up with his latest investigations.

See the page about the La Brea Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It was a 1926 design by Richard D. King for the Chotiner circuit. The building survives but it's been churched.  

On IMDb: "Only Me"

The film can be seen as the second half of Episode 32 of Ben Model and Steve Massa's Silent Film Watch Party. Their print comes from a restoration by Lobster Films and Blackhawk Films.

Silent Film Watch Party: website | vault of episodes | current program on YouTube |