Topic: College (1927) - Buster Keaton

[Paul Pain]

Watch THE GENERAL in the box above and get the Damfino's note here:
http://www.busterkeaton.com/Films/C10_College.html

I apologize for getting this out so late.  This was a sobering film given its pretty realistic representation of how my college works: athletes do whatever they wish, and you're a piece of $#¡+ if you aren't an athlete or a frat/sorority person.  I literally went through 6 years of college friendless because I wasn't one of those two things.

This film has too many plot holes to describe adequately.  It actually was aggravating to watch this film for the first 30 minutes, but watching Buster's athletic feats was great.  The boat race was done perfectly from my opinion as someone who has watched collegiate boat races.

Bleh.

7/10

[Umbrella Sam]

You want to know what I kept thinking while I was watching this film? I kept thinking about how much I would rather be watching Harold Lloyd’s THE FRESHMAN over this movie.

So the basic storyline in this one is that Keaton graduates as a highly regarded academic scholar, only to instead try making a name for himself in athletics while in college. In THE FRESHMAN, Lloyd is trying to do this to win the respect of his peers. He wants to show that he isn’t a personal punching bag for everyone there. Here, Keaton does it because his girlfriend won’t date him unless he’s an athlete, a much weaker motivation, not to mention that his girlfriend comes off as incredibly shallow as a result. Once again, in THE FRESHMAN, Jobyna Ralston loves him for who he is; it’s a matter of communicating their love for each other. Here, it’s made into this ridiculous standard. THE GENERAL sort of had this problem as well, though there they at least made it clear that she thought he was being a coward; here, she wants him to do something that he literally knows nothing about.

There’s also this subplot where Keaton is trying to raise enough money to go to this college, but that never goes anywhere besides for two sequences, one being an uncomfortable scene where he’s in blackface and suddenly gets exposed in the middle of the restaurant after falling over. They also try to rip-off THE FRESHMAN in other ways. For example, they basically try to do the scene from THE FRESHMAN where Lloyd is hit with reality and discovers the lie he has been living. However, in THE FRESHMAN, this happens at a point where he’s in the middle of a large crowd and really makes you feel that this is his low point, to the point where he cries into Jobyna Ralston’s lap. Here, Keaton just happens to overhear it and kind of mopes a bit to the person next to him. I obviously don’t expect Keaton to cry, but I expect something a bit better dramatically, something Keaton could do as proven in THE CAMERAMAN.

So, what about the comedy? Honestly, I can’t think of anything in this movie that particularly stood out. There were things that could be kind of funny like when Keaton was working as a soda jerk, but there’s nothing that really stands out as a classic Keaton gag and some of those sports gags get pretty repetitive after a while. Even the opening bit with Keaton and the buttons once again comes across as a weaker variation of something done way better in THE FRESHMAN.

The supporting cast is alright. The actors and actresses do their jobs as fine as they can, considering how weak the material is. Snitz Edwards plays a bit more of a dramatic role than usual, which I thought he actually pulled off pretty well, but once again, nothing ever comes of it. Also, is it just me, or does the woman playing Keaton’s mother look way too young to be his mother?

The rowing competition sequence is pretty decent. I liked the callback with the Damfino and also thought Keaton’s solution with the rudder was actually pretty creative. In a way I kind of wished that this had been the finale, rather than having Goodwin lock himself and Ann Cornwall in a room only to result in Keaton and Cornwall getting expelled.

Knowing the MGM films’ reputation, there’s probably worse to come, but I just could not get into this film. I still have yet to see SPITE MARRIAGE, but so far I consider this to be the weakest film Keaton ever starred in during the silent era, even weaker than MY WIFE’S RELATIONS. Just check out THE FRESHMAN instead.

5 out of 10

[Paul Pain]

rather than having Goodwin lock himself and Ann Cornwall in a room only to result in Keaton and Cornwall getting expelled.

Agreed, especially since they could easily explain what happened and avoid expulsion.  The ending with the flash through their lives until death was good, though.

[metaldams]

      A few random bits of trivia to start.  The baseball coach is Sam Crawford, another deadball era player in a Keaton film and quite a good one....he's in the Hall of Fame.  The coaxswain that accidentally got drugged is Charlie Hall, a Laurel and Hardy/Hal Roach regular!  Also agree the mother does look too young to be Keaton's Mom, as the actress was only ten years older than Keaton.  Then again, she was old enough to be a Mom of a college freshman...it was Keaton who was too old.

       In general, I think you guys are way too hard on this one, though I'll agree on a few points.  As far as THE FRESHMAN, I think Keaton, after the financial disappointment of THE GENERAL, used THE FRESHMAN as inspiration for safer material, as sure enough, said Lloyd film was a big hit.  The difference, and it's a big one, is Lloyd's character loves the girl but also wants to be the most popular guy in school while Keaton...he just loves the girl. I don't view one way better than the other, but two very different character types on display between the two.   I won't be too hard on the girl, though.  The speech Keaton gives at the beginning of the film makes him come across as a bit of a jerk.  Praising academics is fine, but his superior attitude towards athletes, who are also also her friends, is off putting, and I don't blame her for ditching Keaton.  Keaton trying sports is his way of showing her how far he'll try to redeem himself, and she's intuitive enough to realize this.  She never got on Keaton's case for his academic skill and showed interest in his speech until he got a superior attitude towards athletes.

      The fun of this film is Keaton messing up at sports.  The irony is in being a bad athlete as a character in the film, he's showing what a good athlete he is in real life.  The falls he takes, knocking down the hurdles, the slide into home, spinning around awkwardly with the discus, actually takes skill in it's own way and can be quite comical.  As a baseball fan, I love his choked up batting stance trying to hit left handed when he looks natural right handed.  I also love the way towards the end, all the sports he messes up with at the beginning he incorporates in the chase to save the girl, (which yes, can easily be explained away, I agree). Makes everything come full circle nicely.  Oh, and I love the part where Keaton is being trampolined by that ladies window, biggest laugh I got in this film.

      A good film overall, and the ending is my all-time favorite ending to a Keaton film....OK, tied with SHERLOCK, JR. 

9/10

     

[Umbrella Sam]

      A few random bits of trivia to start.  The baseball coach is Sam Crawford, another deadball era player in a Keaton film and quite a good one....he's in the Hall of Fame.  The coaxswain that accidentally got drugged is Charlie Hall, a Laurel and Hardy/Hal Roach regular!  Also agree the mother does look too young to be Keaton's Mom, as the actress was only ten years older than Keaton.  Then again, she was old enough to be a Mom of a college freshman...it was Keaton who was too old.

       In general, I think you guys are way too hard on this one, though I'll agree on a few points.  As far as THE FRESHMAN, I think Keaton, after the financial disappointment of THE GENERAL, used THE FRESHMAN as inspiration for safer material, as sure enough, said Lloyd film was a big hit.  The difference, and it's a big one, is Lloyd's character loves the girl but also wants to be the most popular guy in school while Keaton...he just loves the girl. I don't view one way better than the other, but two very different character types on display between the two.   I won't be too hard on the girl, though.  The speech Keaton gives at the beginning of the film makes him come across as a bit of a jerk.  Praising academics is fine, but his superior attitude towards athletes, who are also also her friends, is off putting, and I don't blame her for ditching Keaton.  Keaton trying sports is his way of showing her how far he'll try to redeem himself, and she's intuitive enough to realize this.  She never got on Keaton's case for his academic skill and showed interest in his speech until he got a superior attitude towards athletes.

      The fun of this film is Keaton messing up at sports.  The irony is in being a bad athlete as a character in the film, he's showing what a good athlete he is in real life.  The falls he takes, knocking down the hurdles, the slide into home, spinning around awkwardly with the discus, actually takes skill in it's own way and can be quite comical.  As a baseball fan, I love his choked up batting stance trying to hit left handed when he looks natural right handed.  I also love the way towards the end, all the sports he messes up with at the beginning he incorporates in the chase to save the girl, (which yes, can easily be explained away, I agree). Makes everything come full circle nicely.  Oh, and I love the part where Keaton is being trampolined by that ladies window, biggest laugh I got in this film.

      A good film overall, and the ending is my all-time favorite ending to a Keaton film....OK, tied with SHERLOCK, JR. 

9/10

     

I agree Keaton came off as a jerk during that speech and she had a good reason to be mad at him, but I also don't think forcing him to be an athlete was the best solution; she could have easily gotten him to apologize to the athletes. As for the comedy, again, I don't think it's bad, but nothing stood out to me.  I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one, metaldams.

Actually, now that I think about it, I should have mentioned the baseball scene as well, as I myself am a fan of baseball. I particularly liked the confusion when throwing the ball between third and home base. Also, cool to hear he used another actual baseball player in this.

I seem to have noticed that when we disagree on these films, one of us likes it, one of us dislikes it, and the other is in the middle. Hey, at least that allows us to all hear different perspectives.

[Paul Pain]

A week later and I still get rubbed wrong by Keaton and the girl getting expelled when all Buster did was save the girl from a felony crime.

[Dr. Mabuse]

"College" transcends its episodic narrative with an endless array of inventive gag sequences. As a result, the hour-long comedy recaptures the ingenuity of Buster Keaton's classic two-reelers. Though influenced by the success of Lloyd's "The Freshman," Buster utilizes the collegiate backdrop as a showcase for his remarkable athleticism. Unlike Lloyd, the Great Stone Face remains a perceptive realist — his final montage revealing the dark side of the American Dream. "College" does not equal the brilliance of "Sherlock Jr." and "The General," but there's always more than meets the eye.

8/10