Features: DVD
A freshman tries out for all the varsity sports, resulting inhilariously funny athletic failures and a triumphant finale.Includes 'the electric house' [1921] and 'the blacksmith'[1922].
Editor's Note
Buster Keaton's mastery of physical comedy is on superb display in these four amazing short films. The first and longest, COLLEGE, details his exploits as a brainy student who goes to ridiculous lengths to become an athlete in order to impress his sweetheart (Ann Cornwall). Featuring a hilarious crew-racing finale, and an extended track and field sequence, this is a superb demonstration of Keaton's prowess. The DVD includes additional films. In THE ELECTRIC HOUSE, we find Keaton installing all sorts of impressive contraptions into his professor's house, including an early escalator staircase. Unfortunately, a rival sabotages his wiring, and the house goes crazy. HARD LUCK features Keaton as a guy at the literal end of his rope whose attempts at suicide only seem to land him in more trouble. THE BLACKSMITH takes place inside an old-time auto shop where Keaton destroys some cars, shoes some horses, and still gets the girl. They're all peerless gems of silent comedy, with musical scores.
Plot Summary
One of the later entries in Keaton's series of classic silent comedies. In this one he plays a bookish college student who tries to please his girlfriend by becoming a star athlete. The problem is, he's a weakling and a klutz. In a series of typically breathtaking, balletic and brilliantly funny Keaton gags, the diminutive hero attempts to master a variety of different sports -- all the while suffering the taunts of his brawny rival. Among the celebrated sequences in the film is a boat race in which Buster turns himself into a human rudder and steers his team to a triumphant finish.
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