Buster Keaton, der Student

Here Keaton plays Ronald the bookworm. He graduates from high school, apparently the valedictorian, and gives a graduation speech on the evils of athletics. The girl he loves - Mary - tells him she won't consider him as a suitor unless he changes his attitude. Ronald enters Clayton College where his endeavors in a number of sports - and jobs - are rich with gags. The villain of the picture is played by Harold Goodwin, who was actually a lifetime friend of Keaton's.

"College" is no doubt one of Keaton's weaker features. It was made right after his pride and joy, "The General", failed miserably at the box office. Thus, Keaton wasn't really in the mood to exert himself either physically or creatively in his next picture. The irony in this film is, of course, that Keaton was a superb athlete and even acrobat. He was good enough at baseball that many feel he could have played professionally, so the scene where he messes up the baseball game for Clayton College is particularly ironic.

This film reminded me a lot of Harold Lloyd's "The Freshman," in which Harold goes out for sports in college to impress a girl - same story - and made two years earlier. I am partial to Lloyd's version but I enjoyed this, too.

Keaton's version starts off with the high school graduation ceremony. "Ronald" (Keaton), the scholar of the class, gives a speech denouncing athletics as a total waste of time and promoting being a bookworm over anything else. This speech is so offensive to the crowd that everyone leaves but Keaton's mom, who applauds. By the way, all the high school graduates look between 25-35 years of age. These are the oldest-looking high school seniors in history!!

Anyway, a girl Buster is trying to impress "Mary Haynes" (Anne Cornwall), was among those not impressed with his snobby "scholar" speech. She'd rather have an athletic man. So, upon entering college, "Ronald" tries a variety of sports, to gain the approval of the girl. (Does this theme sound familiar, not just in the Lloyd film but so many of Keaton's other films?)

He attempts to play baseball but is so clueless he puts on all the catcher's equipment to play third base. Suffice to say, after a number of plays ensue, it's more than evident that "Ronald" is a little bit out of his element! Next, he goes out for track, but gets discouraged when two little kids speed by him on the track. Throwing the discus and javelin are not good ideas, either. His high-jumping routine is very funny. He isn't bad in the hurdles, however. Obviously, pole vaulting doesn't work and the hammer throw almost gets his teammates killed, so he's told to leave.

He gets a call from the Dean's office. The Dean, who liked him from the start because he preferred studies over sports, is distressed because Buster's grades are bad. Buster explains his problems and the Dean (played by the always-funny Snitz Edwards) sympathizes because, being a wimpy little guy, he same problem years ago with a woman he liked. So, as a favor, Dean Edwards orders the rowing coach to install Buster as the coxswain of the team. The coach and the crew don't want this, as "Little Lord Fauntleroy" or "Mama's Boy" and other names he's called, has a reputation already at college as an athletic loser. They try to sabotage his attempt at being part of their crew, but he turns the tables. The funniest scene is when the new coxswain literally becomes the boat's rudder.

The neatest part of the film is the ending, which is usually the case in silent comedies. Suffice to say that Buster puts all of his athletic talents, which were not effective on the sports fields, to good use to get the girl. It's a memorable ending.

"In films that combined comedy with extraordinary physical risks, Buster Keaton played a brave spirit who took the universe on its own terms, and gave no quarter" (Roger Ebert)

Among many silent movies which we are lucky to see these days (and which have not been lost after all), COLLEGE by James W. Horne and Buster Keaton was a real surprise for the audiences in my town's movie theater. Seeing silent comedies on the big screen exceptionally proves to be an uncommon experience. I think that there are hardly any viewers who may leave the cinema disappointed. Simply because the humor of COLLEGE seems to have stood a test of time combining comedy features with some notions of what a good movie entertainment is all about. What is it about?

It is to amuse us, to bring relief, to educate a bit being at the same time not too tense. Roger Ebert, in the quotations that marks the beginning of my review, nicely observes that Keaton was able to execute tremendous physical abilities, which makes his films interesting even today. That is particularly noticeable in COLLEGE and calls our attention throughout. His character of young Ronald who does anything to make himself attractive to Mary (Anne Cornwall), the girl he loves, executes much of timeless humor. Combined with wit, the effect is outstanding: awe and laughter go in pairs and substitute each other. Who can forget the hilarious scenes on the sports field? How can you remain indifferent to his efforts? A lot of such moments when he moves like a true athlete do not allow you to concentrate elsewhere. That makes COLLEGE vibrant and surprising.

Keaton's character is quite different than Charlie Chaplin's roles. He is quite a flamboyant young man who makes us laugh but ALSO makes us identify with his dilemma. Just to note what there is at the heart of his efforts: to win the heart of his 'sweetheart.' Consider the scenes with his mother (Florence Turner) when the humor is somehow directed towards his umbrella but also supplied with a clue of such a young man's personality, his dealing with the world and his dealing with simple situations. When he is in the arms of his Mary at last (the moment that he reaches thanks to extraordinary pains taken), it is a truly genuine moment, a moment of a dream fulfilled...expressed in the face of a performer.

Among the supporting cast, Snitz Edwards is fabulously funny as the Dean, the old bachelor who only claims to be indifferent to a woman's love.

To draw a humorous conclusion, COLLEGE is a light hearted entertainment which, though it is silent, does not let you resort to silence. Having seen it, you still feel a desire to share your thoughts with other people. A gem of its time!

While not one of Buster Keaton's very best films, this one has some enjoyable sequences and some good comedy material.

The plot is fairly simple, with Buster as a bookish college student who feels that he must succeed at athletics in order to win the girl he wants. It doesn't have the brilliant creativity of Keaton at his best, but on the other hand it does have some very funny moments.

Some of the best parts are the misadventures of Buster's character as he tries his hand at various sports. Even in portraying a character who is athletically inept, Buster demonstrates his own great ability at physical comedy. There are some fine gags in these scenes, and there is some good subtle material in the other parts of the movie.

For those who are not familiar with Keaton, there are several better examples of what he could do. But if you enjoy his brand of humor, you'll certainly want to see "College" too. It's more low-key than usual, but it has plenty of good material that makes it worth watching.

BUSTER KEATON, in his silent film comedies, was a forerunner of the type of comedian later embodied by the clumsy antics of WOODY ALLEN or RODNEY DANGERFIELD.

This is especially true of COLLEGE, in which our hero is a man who wants to impress his sweetheart with his athletic abilities--and seems to fail miserably. It's a theme that was handled with a bit more finesse years later when Dangerfield went BACK TO SCHOOL ('86) and tried making his own distinct impression.

But Keaton, of course, has his moments even if they aren't the most inspired bits of nonsense in his repertoire. The plot is simple enough--he has a girlfriend who prefers brawn over brains and is insulted when he blasts athletics in his graduation speech as the school's brightest bookworm.

He follows her to college and intends to prove he can handle athletics as well as books. Most of the gags that follow are not as screamingly funny as they're meant to be--mildly amusing is what I made of most of the film. And the politically correct will not be wild about his impersonation of "a colored waiter".

Sorry, but there was too little plot to really engage my interest and I was bored long before the rowing crew ending. I definitely enjoyed Buster more in some of his other outings.

Nonetheless, we do have Keaton and Chaplin today, as Robert Osborne pointed out--and both of them have their following and cult status among a lot of the younger viewers. It's just that COLLEGE is not among Keaton's best work, in my opinion.