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Gallery: Brown of Harvard
(1925, Silent Film) |
William Haines plays Tom Brown, a college freshman at Harvard who aspires to be an athlete, but is majoring in having a good time. He is a wiseacre and a party boy, who has no lack of brash personality. One of his other aspirations is to win the heart of Mary Abbott (played by Mary Brian), the daughter of the Harvard Professor, Dr. Abbott. Upon his arrival at the dormitory, Tom Brown encounters some trouble with upper classmen, and ends up rooming with one Jed Doolittle, a bookworm-type guy of small stature. These two opposites fast become loyal friends. Unfortunately, another student by the name of Bob McAndrews is also hoping to win Mary's heart. He also covets a choice position on the Harvard rowing team. Brown and McAndrews lock horns over Mary and generally despise each other. Brown, not making the cut for the rowing teams, gets drunk the night before the big race against Yale. By a twist of fate, McAndrews injures himself and Brown must take his place in this important event. Unfortunately, he is not in any shape to row and is blamed for causing the team to lose by just a hair. This also contributes to Mary's disillusionment with him as well as all of Harvard. The next year Brown reluctantly returns to Harvard. He decides to redeem himself by joining the football team. McAndrews is back as well, bigger and handsomer than ever. Mary is still the object of both of their affections. However, it seems that Brown has not learned humility and Mary wants nothing to do with him. Brown and McAndrews both end up on the football team, and the climax of this movie is the big Harvard - Yale football game. Brown, thinking that he has been dropped from the football squad, fails to show up for the game preparations. The true friendship between Tom Brown and Jed Doolittle becomes clearly evident. Jed, who has supported and encouraged Tom all along, contracts pneumonia in his gallant efforts to get Brown to the final prep meeting in time to keep him from being dropped from the team. Brown does make the big game. Included in the football sequence is actual footage from a Harvard football game. In addition, we are treated to a cameo by John Wayne, which is widely regarded as Wayne's first-ever appearance on film, playing the part of a football player (he was a player for USC in real life). The game, of course, is much in the tradition of the football sequence of Harold Lloyd's The Freshman, and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The story is more complex than it appears. It is about real friendship, loyalty, compassion and growing up from a boy to a man. The obvious plot of two college boys fighting over a college girl is overshadowed by Brown's struggle with his immature self. Of the college comedies, Brown of Harvard ranks among the best. Review by Robert Klepper |
