Der Schlauberger

A brash, self-centered Army cadet arrives at WEST POINT with a dangerous wise guy attitude towards the Corps.

In a role obviously tailor-made for him, William Haines shines in this highly enjoyable tale of honor & friendship. A grade-A scene stealer, Haines during the first half of the film is up to his usual Silly Billy behavior, which under normal circumstances should have gotten him confined to the guardhouse. The last half, however, becomes very serious, leading up to Haines' moral redemption and giving him a fine opportunity to exhibit his acting talents. If WEST POINT does not quite reach the caliber of Haines' previous TELL IT TO THE MARINES (1926), this is doubtless due to the absence here of a costar of the charisma & quality of Lon Chaney for Haines to interact with. However, this tribute to the Army is very effective entertainment and should be appreciated on its own merit.

Joan Crawford appears as Haines' love interest, playing the virginal daughter of the local innkeeper. Joan is pert & pretty and especially shines in her first scenes, when she meets Haines on a Hudson River ferry and is subjected to his usual immature antics. Haines & Crawford made five silent feature films together and were tremendous friends for life. He was the much bigger celebrity at this period and gave her many hints for getting ahead in Hollywood. A superstar herself by the early 1930's, she reciprocated after his ouster from MGM in 1932 by encouraging his career change to interior decoration.

Little William Bakewell is effectively cast as a Plebe who idolizes Haines; their relationship is actually given more of a sentimental treatment than that of Haines & Crawford.

The film was made with the full cooperation of the War Department. Extensive location filming at the Academy helps tremendously with the production's ambiance, which was given splendid production values by MGM.

WEST POINT has been recently restored and given a rousing new score by David Davidson.

William Haines was undoubtedly one of the best actors of the silent screen and to prove my point all you have to do is watch WEST POINT, starring Haines and Joan Crawford. Although it's a silent, I saw it with a marvelous musical score by David Davidson that hit the mark all the way and in what appears to be a restoration that puts it in mint condition. It gets the comic treatment most of the time with Haines as a spoiled rich boy being tamed to become a good cadet and win the girl in the end as well as the respect of his team mates. His assurance in broad comedy is a delight to behold, mugging in a way that Cary Grant would envy--a very appealing performance.

Fun to see William Bakewell in an early role too. As host Robert Osborne pointed out, he probably got his biggest moment of fame in GONE WITH THE WIND as the soldier on horseback who tells Scarlett O'Hara she better get out of Atlanta quickly. Here he plays the hero-worshipper friend of Haines, a not too subtle characterization as contrasted to Haines' ability with silent screen technique.

Enjoyable fluff, with titles that seem more modern in their slang than most silent films manage to do. Nothing new here, but it's still fresh in its appeal.

Joan Crawford is barely recognizable long before her make-over as a full-fledged star but does well with an ingenue role. The film belongs to Haines and he makes the most of it.

William Haines (as Brice Wayne) is a cocky West Point cadet, and star football player, who alienates his teammates with his arrogance, and lack of team spirit. His steadfast pal, William Bakewell (as Tex McNeil), can't defend Mr. Haines without ending up in the hospital; and, girlfriend Joan Crawford (as Betty Channing) grows more distant as Haines juvenile behavior becomes more and more tiresome. What will it take for Mr. Haines to win Ms. Crawford's heart? Will Mr. Bakewell regain his health? Can Haines straighten up in time to help his teammates win the big game?

"West Point" is a typical Haines film vehicle; it is worth checking out to see the popular actor's performance, and enjoyable screen presence. It is neither his most satisfying characterization, nor his best film; but, Haines is still great. Crawford's emoting is less polished, in an early role. Surprisingly, Bakewell offers the film's strongest performance (highlighted by his hospital bed scene). Edward Sedgwick's direction makes the most of Haines' silliness, and David Davidson's soundtrack is wonderful (albeit sounding too seasonal, at times).

****** West Point (12/31/27) Edward Sedgwick ~ William Haines, William Bakewell, Joan Crawford

West Point is where America's next generation of land forces officers are trained. Brice Wayne (William Haines) is an arrogant playboy who immediately falls for local gal Betty Channing (Joan Crawford) as he becomes a new cadet. He gets onto the football team.

This silent film starts with Haines being annoyingly arrogant. In time, I do grow to accept him. Despite that, his violent outbursts keep me from fully embracing him. This type of humor works better with sound. Brice needs to win me over and his voice would help. This does have Joan Crawford in her silent era and I do eventually like Brice.

William Haines plays a wealthy young man named Brice Wayne. No, this isn't an early Batman movie. That's Bruce Wayne. This is Brice and he's a class clown type, always making bad jokes and pissing people off. To make matters worse, he's stupendously arrogant and thinks he is God's gift to football and pretty much everything else. So obviously this will lead to him learning some humility, saving the day, and getting the girl (Joan Crawford). Despite the predictable clichéd plot, it's hard to dislike. Crawford is fine but does little to impress. Haines is a mixed bag but enjoyable to watch. At times his he is brash and irritating. At other times I couldn't help but smile at his antics. He had a great screen presence and made a thoroughly unlikeable character work.