The Freshman **** (1925, Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Brooks Benedict) – Classic Movie Review 8317

Hamfisted Harold Lloyd stars in directors Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor’s 1925 The Freshman, a happy Twenties college comedy, which was a burgeoning genre at the time.

Lloyd plays clumsy college boy Harold ‘Speedy’ Lamb, whose many humiliations as a freshman include a disintegrating tuxedo. But all ends well when he accidentally shows his star quality on the football field.

The Freshman is a still fresh and funny Harold Lloyd silent classic, the biggest comedy money-spinner of its day. It runs 76 minutes but the TV version (70 minutes) is slightly cut for pacing.

Also in the cast are Jobyna Ralston as Peggy, Brooks Benedict as The College Cad, James H Anderson as The College Hero, Hazel Keener as The College Belle, Joseph Harrington as The College Tailor, Pat Harmon as The Football Coach, Charles Stevenson as Assistant Coach, May Wallace as Harold’s Mother and Oscar Smith as Dean’s Chauffeur.

The Freshman is directed by Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, runs 76 minutes, is made by The Harold Lloyd Corporation, is released by Pathé, is written by Sam Taylor (story), John Grey (story), Ted Wilde (story), Tim Whelan (story), Thomas J Gray (titles), Harold Lloyd, Clyde Bruckman, Lex Neal and Jean Havez, is shot in black and white (tinted) by Walter Lundin and Henry N Kohler (assistant photographer), is produced by Harold Lloyd and designed by Liell K Vedder.

It was released on 20 September 1925 in the US.

The 2002 release is produced by Jeffrey Vance and Suzanne Lloyd [Suzanne Lloyd Hayes] (executive producer) with music by Robert Israel. A scene when Harold cries and is comforted by Peggy was cut as too sentimental by Lloyd when he re-released the film, but was reinstated by his granddaughter Suzanne Lloyd Hayes in the 2002 release.

 © Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8317

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