Brown of Harvard

One of the biggest hits of 1926, Brown of Harvard is a exciting comedy/drama featuring regatta and football scenes that gave William Haines the role he needed to become a major star. It's patented Haines all the way: brash smart aleck who takes nothing serious until he is rejected by everyone wises up and becomes a man/hero and wins the girl. No one worked this formula like Haines. A terrific comic actor (Little Annie Rooney with Mary Pickford, Show People with Marion Davies), Haines could swing from comedy to tragedy with a change in facial expression. He is a total joy in this film as he was in Tell It to the Marines (with Lon Chaney) and West Point (with Joan Crawford), where he repeats the formula. Mary Brian is good as the girl, Jack Pickford is very good as the sickly roommate, Ralph Bushman is the rival. Edward Connelly, Mary Alden, David Torrence, Guinn Williams, and Grady Sutton co-star. This film is noted now for its homoerotic relationship between Haines and Pickford and for being John Wayne's film debut as a Yale football player (but I never spotted him). Haines was a top-five box office star starting with this picture through 1932. It's a shame he has been largely forgotten and that most of his films appear to be lost. He was one of the most appealing and talented actors of his time.

This is really not much of a movie. The only reason its remembered today is the debut of JOHN WAYNE as a extra. Still it is a OK movie and recommended by me to watch. Some people like silent movies, me I watched maybe a hundred in my life. This movie contains John Wayne as a uncredited extra. I may have watched about 10,000 movies in my time. Maybe more, since I am disabled and all the time the watch them now. Still this is a pretty good movie and I will watch it again if I ever get the chance. As said watch for future superstar john duke Wayne as a extra and then enjoy this movie. I am giving it a 6 rating and only because of John Wayne.

Brown of Harvard is a hard movie to pin down. We expect a lot more from our movies these days, so it helps to remember that audiences in the 20's were a bit more innocent. William Haines is charming as the rogue who has to stumble through pain and humiliation to find success and, even, glory. All of the relationships in the movie feel very stilted EXCEPT for the homoerotic tie between Billy and Jack Pickford, the town nerd. The movie has everything, romance, tears, love, death, and even sports... It's a great education in how society has changed in the 20th century.

as to why this film has such a high rating on the IMDb. Sure, it's okay but it's not all as great as it's cracked up to be. At it's very best, BROWN OF HARVARD is a 7. It's about a college freshman, Tom Brown (William Haines) and his life Harvard. The movie was dragging a bit for a while, but it really picked up in the last 40-30 minutes. Jack Pickford was pretty good as William's nerdy best friend/sidekick, considering he was supposed to be a real ladies' man/ ne'er do well in real life. Mary Brian was fine as the girl Haines falls for. I think the script of Brown of Harvard could've been more interesting. The characters do not do much. William tries out for sports and hits on girls. Jack just good-naturedly listens to anything Haines has to say. Mary Brian stands around for most of the film smiling and occasionally looks slightly indignant. She hardly gets angry when William drops all her groceries on purpose, and doesn't even pay for replacements. If some fresh guy wrecked my groceries that I paid for and didn't even pay for them after he wrecked them I would be very angry, no matter how smooth and handsome he (thinks) he is. And for a while, William Haines' character seemed a bit annoying to me, and came across as a little too self-confident to me. But after a while you can see that the overflowing self-confidence is just something his character uses to hide his weaknesses. Haines was very good. If you are a William Haines fan then Brown of Harvard is really worth seeing. If you are looking for a worthwhile silent college flick I say skip this one for now and watch THE PLASTIC AGE (1924).

An American silent drama; A story about a college freshman who faces failure in his athletic endeavors after meeting a girl. This buddy film is directed well with a fine cast performing well. The relationship between the two dorm pals, established from the beginning, runs as a meaningful thread; the love interest for Brown, played by Mary Brian, is sweet and charming and brings all her scenes alive. William Haines as Brown is captivating and plays an arrogant, conceited youth very well, and with good comic timing. The staging of the football scenes made this a real spectacle.