The Freshman (1925 film)
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"The biggest hit from Harold Lloyd, The Freshman saw the icon of silent comedy perfect his screen persona as the nebbish everyman. Sharply satirising the class hierarchies of America’s educational institutions, this empathetic masterwork is a non-stop parade of flawlessly executed comic set-pieces."
— MUBI's take
The Freshman (1925 film)
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This film has been preserved in the National Film Registry in 1990.
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The Freshman is a 1925 comedy film that tells the story of a college freshman trying to become popular by joining the school football team. It stars Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Brooks Benedict, and James Anderson. It remains one of Lloyd's most successful and enduring films.
Why It Rocks
- Harold Lloyd considered playing a college character back in 1915, back when he was imitating Chaplin. This film allows Lloyd to capitalize on the increasing prominence of colleges in popular culture during the 20s and 30s while maintaining the fans he had amassed from his earlier work.
- Lloyd's character Harold Lamb is the naive son of a small-town bookkeeper, whose's created an imaginary version of college after reading self-help books and studying a film called The College Hero, and had even created a catchphrase for himself. He’s a central target for humiliation from his classmates, which serves as the engine that drives the plot. Though karma and his eventual redemption through heroic action is one of the most durable and popular narrative strategies available to filmmakers.
- Lloyd does his best work with Jobyna Ralston who plays a sensible maid and the film's love interest; and with Joseph Harrington who plays an alcoholic tailor that serves as a primary comic relief.
- The big dance known as the "Fall Frolic" is structured like Lloyd's old two-reelers, to the point where it could be extracted intact. The humor comes from the fact that the tailor was unable to finish Harold's suit in time and only basted it together, which causes the suit to disintegrate piece by piece despite his efforts to make quick repairs.
- Unforgettable climax with the football game which was shot during an actual game between UC Berkeley and Stanford University in November 1924.
- This film has proven to be a lasting influence on comedians, both for its characterizations and for its structure.
- Buster Keaton’s College owes a lot to this film, with the two comics dealing with similar material in very different manners
- Lamb’s introductory jig was appropriated by Yasujiro Ozu’s characters in Days of Youth
- In Horse Feathers, the Marx Brothers mock a lot of what Lloyd’s character stands for here, even while repeating his football gags.
Bad Qualities
- Lloyd's character doesn't get to interact with students much in the film. He's forced into giving a cringe-inducing speech to the student body and wasting his money treating hangers-on to ice cream and parties, but mostly the students are anonymous.