The Freshman

Lloyd plays Harold Lamb, a youngster who goes to college.He wants to become the king of campus but he becomes the laughing stock.But he has someone to comfort him, a girl named Peggy, who's played by the extremely beautiful Jobyna Ralston.The Freshman from 1925 is a hilarious silent film.Harold Lloyd is a comedian who never lets you down.Also Ralston is amazing as Harold's love interest.There's one dramatic scene between them, where Harold burst into tears into her lap.That's one fine scene as are the comedic scenes, which you can find many from this movie.The great football game in the end is just amazing.And I could also mention the one where the freshman is at the party and his tuxedo falls apart.This is a movie that will make you laugh and that may also make a few tears come out.I recommend The Freshman for all those who are at college and who aren't.

THE FRESHMAN is the best college spoof film ever made. Outside being lap-slapping hilarious throughout, it has some most original, poetic, and convincing romantic moments as well, like when Harold saw the girl from the reflection of the mirror in his room; or while dancing with other women he saw how she revealed her love for him on the bouquet he gave her, that moment is a wonder. Besides the great football sequence, this film is full of wonderful gags, especially that little dance Harold invented, and the party sequence. Not only this film hasn't aged a bit, but the formula of this film is still used in Hollywood nowadays, but the results hardly, if ever, top this one here.

I was fortunate enough to have seen this film in the theater many years ago and I can owe it to this film for sparking my life-long love of the old comedies. I only recently saw it again but this time on DVD and found the film to be even better than I remembered.

For those used to seeing slapstick shorts (including those of Lloyd), this film is quite different. Instead of the focus of this film being comedy, the humor seems incidental to the story and the character development. Because of this, the first 1/4 of the movie does not have tons of laughs--because it's building and developing the story and not trying to elicit cheap laughs. However, as you watch, the humor increases and because this came as the character developed, you really find yourself hooked into caring for Harold and you are emotionally in-tune with him. So, as the movie continues, you find your heart breaking for the guy (yes, Chaplin was not the only silent comedian to use pathos). And, when the end of the picture arrives, you feel his triumph. An exquisite and highly artistic treasure.

PS--I watched the DVD with the optional commentary from Leonard Maltin et al. This REALLY improved my understanding and appreciation for the film. I rarely ever use this option, but as I was re-watching the film and since it was a silent, this option is a major plus.

Interestingly enough, Buster Keaton came out with a similar movie just a few years later (COLLEGE). However, it isn't even close to being as good as THE FRESHMAN. I love Keaton, but not this film. If you must seem one silent college picture, see THE FRESHMAN--and maybe the Marx Brothers' HORSE FEATHERS for a much stupider but terribly funny sound take on college life.

I tried really hard to get into this film, yet perhaps my greatest impediment was that I tried a bit too hard.

Having thoroughly enjoyed "Safety Last!" (1923), I was struggling to move past mere admiration for "The Freshman" (1925). I did admire the technical astuteness of it, the timing of the gags, and Lloyd's impeccable expertise. Yet that's admiration, whereas I'm looking forward to be swept off my feet and to fall in love. (This reaction is not too dissimilar to my feelings about Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" [2012]; there's another movie of technical and comic brilliance that I'm more inclined to admire but not love like I did "The Grand Budapest Hotel" [2014], in fact every single minute of it.)

But the final climax, the football game, is perfect and without any doubt the gem of the film. That's where everything seems to transcend that which has come before, and every single gag take a completely new meaning on a whole different kind of level of existence. I was enthralled, laughed out loud, and was holding my breath. What else can one wish for when seeing a film? That final sequence alone makes "The Freshman" a worthwhile experience for me, and perhaps one day I'll be able to appreciate it more as a whole than I do now. But, for the time being, I'll cherish that last run.

This is a good comedy with a good performance by Harold Lloyd in the role of "The Freshman". The entertaining slapstick and amusing story tend to obscure how good a job Lloyd did with his character - to make the story work, Lloyd's character has to be a complete buffoon, utterly oblivious to what is going on around him, yet at the same time he has to be sympathetic to the audience. Lloyd makes this work, and combines it with plenty of good gags to make for a silent comedy classic.

The story is simple, but entertaining, following Harold as he learns about life on the campus of Tate University ("a large football stadium with a college attached"). Old campus comedies are often interesting because they show that, for all the things that have changed, some of the basic personalities on a college campus are still the same as they ever were. Here we have the hard-headed football coach, the mean-spirited hazers, the prissy dean, the wide-eyed freshmen, and more. Most of the characters remain one-dimensional, but they don't need to be anything more in order for it to work. Lloyd does a good job of blending his character into the campus atmosphere, and along with help from leading lady Jobyna Ralston, he makes you care about his silly character while providing plenty of laughs in the process.