02: quick look: the freshman (1925)

i'll be honest, i've only seen a handful of silent movies, 5, maybe 6, so i'm no expert. i was expecting something between the dramas i had seen or, perhaps the fantastic, funny stunt work of buster keaton, but THE FRESHMAN was a comedy of it's own type, closer to chaplin, but unlike charlie, lloyd is perfectly fine playing the fool. and h's so much fun to watch.

there is so much that i really loved about this movie. it's premise is simple, harold lloyd is a dork/nerd/geek who is a freshman at the university who will do anything to be popular. that he will come out on top, that there will be a happy ending, of course, is a given, considering the restraints of that era. all the same, there are parts of the film where people are heartless, mean and cruel, and i was astounded at how much emotion this film could wring out of me. but funny? oh, terribly funny.

the only films that really come close are the nearly silent films of tati like PLAYTIME. THE FRESHMAN, was on a whole 'nother level. there is a bit where lloyd spends almost all of his money sponsoring the big fall party, and has only enough money left to get a suit. unfortunately, his taylor has sleeping spells and can't finish his suit. the taylor gives lloyd his suit, barely tacked together, and follows him to the party, in an effort to repair the suit as it falls apart. before the end of the scene he has lost and repaired the suit a couple times over. no one has notices, but the amount of material they mine from that simple idea is astounding. bits are used over and just grow in silliness, and the affection that you have for lloyd grows. i'm excited about seeing more silent films, particularly his.

a couple of technical asides: one thing i really enjoyed, and i've never seen it before, was something near the start of the film-- animated title cards-- instead of just the static card where the words are still, lloyd's words, doing a cheer, run up the screen, grow, and explode, in a way that's super simple but hint at where film could have gone had sound not intruded. another thing i think i've learned is that i prefer an orchestra doing the music for silent films as opposed to a solitary, roller rink-esque organ. there is something much more engaging with a full range of sounds accompanying the movie.