It may not be Keaton's best comedy, but it contains some of the funniest college and sports gags of the first half of the 20th century.
Ronald graduates high school as its "most brilliant scholar". At his graduation, Ronald speaks on "the Curse of the Athlete", arguing that books are more important than athletics.
But Ronald loves Mary, and Mary rejected him because she loves athletes more than bookworms and decided to go to Clayton University, which the dean describes as an "athlete-infested college". Hoping to impress Mary, Ronald goes to Clayton and tries to become a sportsman.
College is one of Buster Keaton's least-known films and may not be his most original work (this is one of the few films where he was not involved in either the direction or the script) but it is one of the great and first masterpieces of college comedy. Many found a great similarity with Harold Lloyd's earlier film The Freshman (1925).
It may be not his most original work but it is one of the great masterpieces of college comedy.
The Soundtrack
College was Buster Keaton's last film set to music by Caspervek, in the Fall of 2020 originally composed for saxophone, piano and percussion. In addition to using the traditional blend of classical jazz and Dixieland, the soundtrack also explores some Afro-Latin rhythms and the music of the American Marching Bands.
Details
Cast
Buster Keaton
Anne Cornwall
Harold Goodwin
