The Freshman | 1925 | Comedy, Sports

Title: The Freshman | 1925 | Comedy, Sports Director: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor Studio: Harold Lloyd Corporation Starring: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Brooks Benedict, James Anderson Release Date: September 20, 1925 Runtime: 76 Format: Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1; silent, black-and-white; English intertitles Country: United States Language: Silent Genres: Comedy, Sports --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Departure for college 00:12:00 Campus life and social ambitions 00:28:00 Football tryouts 00:44:00 The Fall Frolic 01:00:00 The big game begins 01:12:00 Final play and aftermath --- Summary: A naive but determined freshman, Harold Lamb, arrives at Tate University dreaming of instant popularity. Eager to emulate a screen idol, he becomes an unwitting campus laughingstock even as he befriends Peggy, a kind young woman who sees his genuine character. Harold’s misadventures lead from awkward social climbing and a disastrous formal dance to the football field, where injuries force the coach to give him a chance. After early blunders, Harold rallies the team and seizes a final opportunity to prove himself, winning both campus respect and Peggy’s affection. --- Background: Produced by the Harold Lloyd Corporation and distributed by Pathé Exchange, The Freshman was filmed in and around Los Angeles, with football action staged at the Rose Bowl and crowd scenes captured during halftime of the 1924 Big Game at California Memorial Stadium. The film helped popularize the college-football comedy cycle of the 1920s and was later selected for the National Film Registry in 1990. A restoration by UCLA Film & Television Archive premiered in 2002 with a new score by Carl Davis. --- Trivia: The film was Lloyd’s most successful silent feature of the 1920s by box-office performance and later ranked 79 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Laughs list. An alternate UK release title was College Days. Pete the Pup, later famous from the Our Gang comedies, appears on screen. Harold Lloyd reused portions of the football sequence in his final starring feature, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock , directed by Preston Sturges. Author H. C. Witwer’s estate sued over alleged story infringement; an initial judgment was later overturned on appeal. UCLA’s 2002 restoration returned the film to circulation with Carl Davis’s orchestral score, complementing its original silent-era presentations with live accompaniment. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: September 20, 1925 Original Studio / Distributor: Harold Lloyd Corporation / Pathé Exchange Copyright Status: Public Domain --- Hashtags: TheFreshman HaroldLloyd SilentFilm PublicDomain ClassicCinema 1920s FootballFilm FilmHistory Source page: https: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Freshman.webm Direct media URL: https: //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/The_Freshman.webm