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The Freshman

Director: Sam Taylor (Dir) Release Date: 20 Sep 1925 Duration (in feet): 6,883 Duration (in reels): 7			Print this page Display Movie Summary

Cast:	At College	Harold Lloyd	(The Freshman [Harold "Speedy" Lamb])
		Jobyna Ralston	(Peggy)
		Brooks Benedict	(The college cad)
		James Anderson	(The College hero [Chester A. "Chet" Trask])
		Hazel Keener	(The college belle)
		Joseph Harrington	(The college tailor)
		Pat Harmon	(The football coach)
		Charles Farrell	(Bellringer at Fall Frolic)
		Grady Sutton	(College student)

Summary:

Harold Lamb, an eager, uncoordinated college freshman who yearns to be the most popular man on campus, incurs contempt from a college cad and others when he emulates the demeanor of a movie college man. He tries to win friendship by spending most of his college money treating his classmates, but is only truly liked by Peggy, the daughter of his landlady. Harold, who now likes to go by the nickname "Speedy," tries further measures to make himself popular and attempts to join the football team. Because the football coach admires the unathletic Harold's spirit, he makes him the team waterboy but lets him think he is actually an alternate. Harold soon throws a big party for the Fall Frolic and is happy at his seeming popularity, even though his only baste-stitched tuxedo falls apart, despite the best efforts of the college tailor. When the campus cad tries to force himself on Peggy, the now disheveled Harold fights him. In retaliation, the cad tells him his true role on the football team. Although shattered by the revelation, Harold is consoled by Peggy, who tells him that people will like him if he will just be himself. A short time later, during the big game, Harold finally gains an opportunity to prove himself on the football field by scoring the winning goal after injuries leave the team short-handed. Finally able to be himself, Harold wins popularity as well as the love of Peggy.

Production Company:	Harold Lloyd Corp.
Distribution Company:	Pathé Exchange, Inc.
Director:	Sam Taylor	(Dir)
	Fred Newmeyer	(Dir)
	Robert A. Golden	(Asst dir)
Producer:	Harold Lloyd	(Prod)
Writer:	Sam Taylor	(Story)
	John Grey	(Story)
	Ted Wilde	(Story)
	Tim Whelan	(Story)
	Thomas J. Grey	(Titles)
Photography:	Walter Lundin	(Photog)
	Henry N. Kohler	(Asst by)
Art Direction:	Liell K. Vedder	(Art dir)
	William MacDonald	(Tech dir)
Film Editor:	Allen McNeil	(Film ed)
Production Misc:	John L. Murphy	(Prod mgr)
	William R. Fraser	(Gen. Mgr. Harold Lloyd Corporation)
Country:	United States
Language:	English

Copyright Claimant	Copyright Date	Copyright Number	Passed By NBR:
Pathé Exchange, Inc.	27/7/1925 dd/mm/yyyy	LP21675	Yes

Physical Properties:	Si:
	b&w:


Genre:	Comedy
Sub-Genre:	College

Subjects (Major):	College life
	Football
	Reputation
	Romance
	Students

Subjects (Minor):	Bells
	Boardinghouses
	Clothes
	College deans
	Newspapers
	Parties
	Spendthrifts
	Tailors
	Train stations

Note:	A print of The Freshman was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive in 2002. At that time, a new score was written for the film by Carl Davis. Portions of the football game were incorporated into the beginning scenes of the 1947 film The Sin of Harold Diddlebock , directed by Preston Sturgis and starring Harold Lloyd as the title character. In the 1947 film, it is implied that Lloyd's character is the same person as "Harold Lamb" of The Freshman , but the films are otherwise unrelated. Modern sources include Gus Leonard, Oscar Smith and Charles A. Stevenson in the cast.

Bibliographic Sources:	Date	Page
Film Daily	12 Jul 1925.
New York Times	21 Sep 1925	p. 12.
Variety	15 Jul 1925	p. 34.

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.



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