There are certain movie sets of the past that I yearn to be a visitor on. ‘Kane’, of course. ‘Casablanca’, most definitely. But if I were to choose a silent film to watch being filmed it would without a doubt be ‘Big Business’. The film is probably L&H’s most famous and revered silent comedy and it’s still a joy to behold. But in addition to it remaining ridiculously funny it also provides a kind of ghost ‘meta-film’ alongside the movie itself; it’s verite shooting style brings us to the streets of sunny Los Angeles in early 1929–10281 Dunleer Drive in Cheviot Hills to be exact–and we see the many as yet unbuilt upon llots around the handful of little bungalows, the already misty and mephitic air, the weirdly empty streets that still basically look the same…we’re in on the shoot, in other words, participating in the making of a slapstick comedy as well as watching the finished product. Supposedly, producer Hal Roach bought the hero house  from a studio worker so he could destroy it in the film. According to Roach, a mistake was made regarding the address, and the cast and crew demolished the wrong house. The owners of that home happened to be away on vacation and returned just as filming was being completed. (Stan later said that Roach’s story was a fabrication.) By the way, there are several different prints of ‘Big Business’ available on YouTube, a couple of them sharper and snazzier than this one. But I chose this one as it features the original synchronized score, which I’m finding to be one of the true delights of the silent L&H’s. Welcome to L.A. in 1929..it’s a good deal nicer (or at least emptier) than L.A. in 2025.