#703: NEWMEYER, Fred & TAYLOR, Sam: The Freshman (1925)

NEWMEYER, Fred & TAYLOR, Sam (United States)
The Freshman [1925]
Spine #703
Blu-ray


Harold Lloyd's biggest box-office hit was this silent comedy gem, featuring the befuddled everyman at his eager best as a new college student. Though he dreams of being a big man on campus, the freshman's careful plans inevitably go hilariously awry, be it on the football field or at the Fall Frolic. But he gets a climactic chance to prove his mettle — and impress the sweet girl he loves — in one of the most famous sports sequences ever filmed. This crowd-pleaser is a gleeful showcase for Lloyd's slapstick brilliance and incandescent charm, and it is accompanied here by a new orchestral score by Carl Davis.

76 minutes
Black & White
Silent
1:33:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2014
Director/Writers


Fred Newmeyer was 37 and Taylor was 30 when they directed The Freshman.

Other Newmeyer and Taylor films in the Collection:

#662: Safety Last! (1923)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twenty-two page booklet featuring an essay by critic Stephen Winer.

Commentary

Featuring director and Harold Lloyd archivist Richard Correll, film historian Richard Bann, and film critic Leonard Maltin.

On-camera introduction

To The Freshman byLloyd and a clip reel, both from Harold Lloyd’s Funny Side of Life (1966).

Three newly released Lloyd shorts

The Marathon (1919), with a new piano score by Gabriel Thibaudeau, and An Eastern Westerner and High and Dizzy (both 1920), with new orchestral scores by Carl Davis.

Harold Lloyd: Big Man on Campus

A visual essay on the film’s locations by Lloyd author John Bengtson.

Conversation

Between Correll and film historian Kevin Brownlow.

Footage

From a 1963 Delta Kappa Alpha tribute to Lloyd, featuring comedian Steve Allen, director Delmer Daves, and actor Jack Lemmon.

What’s My Line

Lloyd’s 1993 appearance on the television show.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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