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The Freshman (1925 film)
Encyclopedia
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.
The movie was written by John Grey
, Sam Taylor
, Tim Whelan
and Ted Wilde
. It was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer
and Sam Taylor.
In 1990, The Freshman was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", going in the second year of voting and being one of the first 50 films to receive such an honor.
Harold decides the best way to ensure his popularity at school is to emulate his movie idol, The College Hero, down to mimicking a little jig he does before greeting anyone, and taking his nickname, "Speedy". However, the College Cad (Brooks Benedict) quickly makes him the butt of an ongoing joke, of which the freshman remains blissfully unaware. Harold thinks he is popular, when in fact he is the laughing stock of the whole school. His only real friend is Peggy, who turns out to be his landlady's daughter, described in one of the film's title cards
as "what your mother was like when she was young".
He tries out for the football team. The coach (Pat Harmon
) is unimpressed, but as Harold has damaged their only practice tackle dummy, the coach uses him in its place. At the end of practice, though he approves of Harold's enthusiasm (undiminished after repeated tackling), the coach is about to dismiss the freshman when Chet Trask (James Anderson), the captain and star of the team, suggests making him their water boy, while letting him think he has made the squad.
Harold is persuaded to host the annual "Fall Frolic" dance. His tailor is late making his suit; with the dance well underway, it is barely being held together by basting stitches
, but Harold puts it on and hopes for the best. During the party, his clothes start to fall apart, despite the efforts of the tailor (hiding in a side room) to effect repairs. When Harold sees the College Cad being too forward with Peggy, working as a hatcheck girl, Harold knocks him down. The incensed Cad then tells him just what everyone really thinks of him. Peggy advises him to stop putting on an act and be himself.
Harold is determined to prove himself by getting into the big football game. His chance comes when the other team proves too tough, injuring so many of Tate College's players that the coach runs out of substitutes. Hounded by Harold and warned that he will forfeit if he cannot come up with another player, the coach reluctantly lets Harold go in. The first few plays are disastrous. Finally, he breaks free and is on his way to winning the game, but, mindful of a referee's prior instruction that he is to stop playing when he hears the whistle, drops the football just outside the end zone when a non-football whistle sounds. The other team recovers the ball with only a minute left to play. His teammates are disheartened, but Harold rouses them to make a final effort. He chases down the opposing ball carrier, knocks the football loose, scoops it up and runs it all the way back for the winning touchdown as time runs out. Tate prevails by a score of 6 to 3, which at last earns him the respect and popularity he was after. To top it off, Peggy passes him a note proclaiming her love for him.
campus in Los Angeles. The game sequence was shot on the field at the Rose Bowl
, and the crowd scenes were shot at halftime at California Memorial Stadium
during the November 1924 Big Game
between UC Berkeley and Stanford University
. The football game sequence was reused by Lloyd and director Preston Sturges
in Lloyd's last film, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947).
The Freshman is still a great audience pleaser at modern screenings, and is widely considered one of Lloyd's most hilarious, well-constructed films. The Freshman was one of Lloyd's only films to remain widely available after the sound era, and Lloyd reissued the film (with cuts) and used extended scenes in compilation films of the 1960s. The DVD release of Lloyd's films in 2004 includes the full, restored version of the film as shown in the 1920s.
Pete the Pup
makes a cameo in the movie.
recognition
sued Lloyd in April 1929 for $2,300,000 over The Freshman, claiming that it was "pirated" from Witwer's short story "The Emancipation of Rodney", first published in 1915. When Witwer died from liver failure
in Los Angeles, California
, on 9 August 1929, the lawsuit had not been settled. Witwer's widow pursued the lawsuit and won a judgment against Lloyd in November 1930. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals
overturned the ruling and Witwer's widow received nothing.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
that tells the story of a college freshman trying to become popular by joining the school football team. It stars Harold Lloyd
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
, Jobyna Ralston
Jobyna Ralston
Jobyna Ralston was an American stage and film actress.-Early life and career:Born Jobyna Lancaster Raulston in South Pittsburg, Tennessee in 1899 to parents who named her after famed entertainer of the time, Jobyna Howland...
, Brooks Benedict and James Anderson
James Anderson (actor)
James Anderson is a British actor.After graduating with first class honours from Warwick University, Anderson trained at the Actors' Studio in New York City. He has since had roles for TV, the stage and independent film...
. It remains one of Lloyd's most successful and enduring films.
The movie was written by John Grey
John Grey (screenwriter)
John Grey , was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 60 films between 1917 and 1933.Grey was born in San Jose, California and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* That's My Meat * Speedy...
, Sam Taylor
Sam Taylor (director)
Sam Taylor was a film director, screenwriter, and producer, most active in silent film era. Taylor is best known for his comedic directorial work with Harold Lloyd and Mary Pickford....
, Tim Whelan
Tim Whelan
Tim Whelan was an American film director, writer, producer and actor.-Selected filmography:* Adam's Apple * When Knights Were Bold * It's a Boy * Aunt Sally...
and Ted Wilde
Ted Wilde
Ted Wilde was a comedy writer and director during the era of silent movies, though he also produced two movies with sound in 1930. He was born in New York, New York. His initial career was as a member of Harold Lloyd's writing staff. His final film as a director was Clancy in Wall Street in 1930...
. It was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer
Fred C. Newmeyer
Fred C. Newmeyer was an American actor and film director. A native of Central City, Colorado, he is best known for directing a handful of films in the Our Gang series and for directing Harold Lloyd movies The Freshman and Girl Shy. Newmeyer also had an extensive directing and acting resume in...
and Sam Taylor.
In 1990, The Freshman was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", going in the second year of voting and being one of the first 50 films to receive such an honor.
Plot
Harold Lamb (Harold Lloyd), a bright-eyed but naïve young man, enrolls at Tate University. On the train there, he meets Peggy (Jobyna Ralston). They are attracted to each other.Harold decides the best way to ensure his popularity at school is to emulate his movie idol, The College Hero, down to mimicking a little jig he does before greeting anyone, and taking his nickname, "Speedy". However, the College Cad (Brooks Benedict) quickly makes him the butt of an ongoing joke, of which the freshman remains blissfully unaware. Harold thinks he is popular, when in fact he is the laughing stock of the whole school. His only real friend is Peggy, who turns out to be his landlady's daughter, described in one of the film's title cards
Intertitle
In motion pictures, an intertitle is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of the photographed action, at various points, generally to convey character dialogue, or descriptive narrative material related to, but not necessarily covered by, the material photographed.Intertitles...
as "what your mother was like when she was young".
He tries out for the football team. The coach (Pat Harmon
Pat Harmon
Pat Harmon was an American film actor. He appeared in 134 films between 1920 and 1947.He was born in Lewiston, Illinois and died in Riverside, California.-Selected filmography:...
) is unimpressed, but as Harold has damaged their only practice tackle dummy, the coach uses him in its place. At the end of practice, though he approves of Harold's enthusiasm (undiminished after repeated tackling), the coach is about to dismiss the freshman when Chet Trask (James Anderson), the captain and star of the team, suggests making him their water boy, while letting him think he has made the squad.
Harold is persuaded to host the annual "Fall Frolic" dance. His tailor is late making his suit; with the dance well underway, it is barely being held together by basting stitches
Tack (sewing)
In sewing, to tack or baste is to make quick, temporary stitching intended to be removed. Tacking is used in a variety of ways:* To temporarily hold a seam or trim in place until it can be permanently sewn, usually with a long running stitch made by hand or machine called a tacking stitch or...
, but Harold puts it on and hopes for the best. During the party, his clothes start to fall apart, despite the efforts of the tailor (hiding in a side room) to effect repairs. When Harold sees the College Cad being too forward with Peggy, working as a hatcheck girl, Harold knocks him down. The incensed Cad then tells him just what everyone really thinks of him. Peggy advises him to stop putting on an act and be himself.
Harold is determined to prove himself by getting into the big football game. His chance comes when the other team proves too tough, injuring so many of Tate College's players that the coach runs out of substitutes. Hounded by Harold and warned that he will forfeit if he cannot come up with another player, the coach reluctantly lets Harold go in. The first few plays are disastrous. Finally, he breaks free and is on his way to winning the game, but, mindful of a referee's prior instruction that he is to stop playing when he hears the whistle, drops the football just outside the end zone when a non-football whistle sounds. The other team recovers the ball with only a minute left to play. His teammates are disheartened, but Harold rouses them to make a final effort. He chases down the opposing ball carrier, knocks the football loose, scoops it up and runs it all the way back for the winning touchdown as time runs out. Tate prevails by a score of 6 to 3, which at last earns him the respect and popularity he was after. To top it off, Peggy passes him a note proclaiming her love for him.
Background
The Freshman was Lloyd's most successful silent film of the 1920s, and was hugely popular at the time of its release. It sparked a craze for college films that lasted well beyond the 1920s. Exteriors were filmed near the USCUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
campus in Los Angeles. The game sequence was shot on the field at the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
, and the crowd scenes were shot at halftime at California Memorial Stadium
California Memorial Stadium
California Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley. Commonly known as Memorial Stadium, it is the home field for the University of California Golden Bears of the Pacific-12 Conference...
during the November 1924 Big Game
Big Game (football)
The Big Game is an American college football rivalry game played by the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. It is typically played in late November or early December...
between UC Berkeley and Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. The football game sequence was reused by Lloyd and director Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
in Lloyd's last film, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947).
The Freshman is still a great audience pleaser at modern screenings, and is widely considered one of Lloyd's most hilarious, well-constructed films. The Freshman was one of Lloyd's only films to remain widely available after the sound era, and Lloyd reissued the film (with cuts) and used extended scenes in compilation films of the 1960s. The DVD release of Lloyd's films in 2004 includes the full, restored version of the film as shown in the 1920s.
Pete the Pup
Pete the Pup
Pete the Pup was a Pit Bull character in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies during the 1920s and 1930s...
makes a cameo in the movie.
Reception
American Film InstituteAmerican Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsAFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs is a list of the top 100 funniest movies in American cinema. A wide variety of comedies were nominated for the distinction that included slapstick comedy, screwball comedy, romantic comedy, satire, black comedy, musical comedy, comedy of...
#79
Cast
- Harold LloydHarold LloydHarold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
as The Freshman - Jobyna RalstonJobyna RalstonJobyna Ralston was an American stage and film actress.-Early life and career:Born Jobyna Lancaster Raulston in South Pittsburg, Tennessee in 1899 to parents who named her after famed entertainer of the time, Jobyna Howland...
as Peggy - Brooks Benedict as The College Cad
- James Anderson as The College Hero
- Hazel KeenerHazel KeenerHazel Keener was a motionpicture actress from Bettendorf, Iowa who was raised in Davenport, Iowa.Keener won a national beauty contest sponsored by the Chicago Tribune and used her success to begin a film career in Hollywood. She was a lovely blonde, 5 feet 6 inches in height, 128 lbs.,...
as The College Belle - Joseph Harrington as The College Tailor
- Pat HarmonPat HarmonPat Harmon was an American film actor. He appeared in 134 films between 1920 and 1947.He was born in Lewiston, Illinois and died in Riverside, California.-Selected filmography:...
as The Football Coach
Copyright lawsuit
American humorist and author H. C. WitwerH. C. Witwer
Harry Charles Witwer , more commonly known as H. C. Witwer, was an American short story author. Some 60 comedy film shorts were based on his works, most from the mid 1920s to 1930, the year after Witwer's death....
sued Lloyd in April 1929 for $2,300,000 over The Freshman, claiming that it was "pirated" from Witwer's short story "The Emancipation of Rodney", first published in 1915. When Witwer died from liver failure
Liver failure
Acute liver failure is the appearance of severe complications rapidly after the first signs of liver disease , and indicates that the liver has sustained severe damage . The complications are hepatic encephalopathy and impaired protein synthesis...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, on 9 August 1929, the lawsuit had not been settled. Witwer's widow pursued the lawsuit and won a judgment against Lloyd in November 1930. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals
United States court of appeals
The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal court system...
overturned the ruling and Witwer's widow received nothing.
See also
- Harold Lloyd filmographyHarold Lloyd filmographyThese are the films of Harold Lloyd. Most of these films are known to survive in various film archives around the world. Some are also available on DVD or Blu-ray. The negatives of many of Lloyd's early short films were lost in a fire at his estate in 1943...
- List of United States comedy films
- The Sin of Harold DiddlebockThe Sin of Harold DiddlebockThe Sin of Harold Diddlebock is a 1947 comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring the silent film comic icon Harold Lloyd, and featuring Jimmy Conlin, Raymond Walburn, Rudy Vallee, Arline Judge, Edgar Kennedy, Franklin Pangborn and Lionel Stander...