Movies often make us want the Impossible. But! We want the impossible delivered in a credible way.
Like Aristotle said in Poetics, his How-To for writers of drama, audiences “prefer probable impossibilities to improbable possibilities.” In other words, achieving the Impossible must be believable.
As an example, let’s look at the 1925 comedy, The Freshman, starring Harold Lloyd as a bespectacled college freshman who yearns to be popular.
Lloyd’s character has a specific Popularity Indicator, a fellow student named Chet, a young man who is Everything Lloyd aspires to be – and makes it look easy.
Lloyd pins Chet’s photo on the wall of his dorm room, then he adds his own photo on the wall beneath it. As he perceives himself to be gaining in popularity, Lloyd moves his own photo closer to Chet’s, then beside it, then above. It’s too good to be true!
It is too good to be true. In his desperation to be admired, Lloyd has been buying his way into the Smart Set with free ice cream and lavish parties. Alas! He doesn’t realize these people are taking advantage of his generosity while laughing at him behind his back.
Another way Lloyd tries to gain prominence is by trying out for the college football team.
Unsurprisingly, he’s awful, utterly lacking in sporting ability. Yet because he’s so enthusiastic, the coach appoints him the team’s water boy – but doesn’t tell him. In so doing, he creates a new group of people to laugh at Lloyd. Get a load of the poor slob who can’t figure out why he never gets the chance to play.
This brings us to the Aristotelian dilemma of the Impossible: Not only do want Lloyd to be a Football Hero – eyeglasses and all – we want to see him score the winning touchdown in the final seconds of the Big Game.
But in order for us to suspend disbelief, there have to be a series of credible events during the game: One by one, the star players become injured and soon only Lloyd left sitting on the bench. Even then the coach refuses to put him into the game.
Lloyd finally Snaps. “You listen, now!” he says. “I wasn’t kidding! I’ve been working – and fighting – just for this chance – and you’ve got to give it to me!”
The coach remains unmoved until the referee tells him to add one more player to the field or the game will be forfeited.
At last! Lloyd’s Big Chance, wherein we hope he scores the winning touchdown, while keeping his eyeglasses intact.
Classmates are dazzled by Lloyd. (Photo by Pictorial Parade/Getty Images)
The round eyeglasses were Harold Lloyd’s trademark. According to Wikipedia, “His bespectacled ‘Glass’ character was a resourceful, success-seeking go-getter who matched the zeitgeist of the 1920s-era United States.”
He was already a comedic screen legend when this film was released. At 31 years of age, he looks a bit old for a college freshman, but we don’t care.
Audiences in 1925 didn’t care, either. The Freshman was Lloyd’s highest-grossing film, and it spawned a slew of college movies well into the 1930s.
It’s worth noting that, in 1990, this film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
You don’t have to be a football fan to enjoy The Freshman. In fact, we hope you’ll get the chance to see a legendary comedian in his prime.
This post is part of 1ST AND 10 BLOGATHON, hosted by Dubsism & Midnite Drive-In.
The Freshman: starring Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Brooks Benedict. Directed by Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor. Written by Sam Taylor, Ted Wilde, John Grey, Tim Whelan. The Harold Lloyd Corporation, 1925, B&W, 76 mins.
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Haha! This sounds really fun. Great pictures and just in time for football season! 🙂
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It’s a really fun movie, whether you’re a football fan or no. 🙂
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I adore this movie but have absolutely no feeling whatsoever for football. Obviously, Harold, Sam Taylor and Fred Newmeyer are geniuses to get me to love The Freshman as I do.
Tonight! (Friday) Primetime! On TCM!
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No way! It’s on TCM tonight? Excellent!!
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I’ve never seen him in action. This might be a good one to start with!
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I think “The Freshman” is an excellent introduction to Harold Lloyd. Or, if not available, “Safety Last” is a terrific one, too.
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Hello Ruth. Ever see The Sin Of Harold Diddlebock? It was one of HL’s last films. Preston Sturges directed it. I liked it quite a lot.
Neil
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I’ve heard many great things about Diddlebock, but have never had opportunity to see it. It would be well worth it to see Harold Lloyd in his later films.
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Lloyd sounds like quite the character!
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Indeed! He was one of the best. 🙂
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31! I was wondering as I was reading through this how a guy that old could convince anyone he was a freshman–they all look like they’ve been in school way too long! Kind of like Riverdale or Beverly Hills 90210, people are always willing to suspend their disbelief for a good story!
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True! At first, I kept being distracted by how old Harold Lloyd was for the role, but then the story took over and I forgot about it. I’m a sucker that way…
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As the sports guy and being an ex-football player, it seems a bit silly I have yet to see this movie, but I did grab it on my DVR from TCM the pother night!
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I hope you enjoy it if you get the chance to see it. It would be interesting to compare the football scrimmage and game footage to your own football experiences.
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It’s been years since I last saw Harold Lloyd, I used to love watching re-runs of his show on the television when I got home from school.
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I’m a late convert to Harold Lloyd fandom, just because I hadn’t come across his films (or made the effort to find them). But I became an instant fan. How marvellous that would have been to be able to watch him on TV after school!
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I think it’s Harold Lloyd’s most consistently amusing film. He also does a fine job of acting–it’s not funny solely because of the comic routines, but because of Lloyd creates a character we want to root for.
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You said it! Lloyd gains our sympathy early, and we end up cheering for him the rest of the film.
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This sounds a really fun movie. And I’m not into American Football
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I hear you. I’m not really into football, either. Yet, I really liked this film. Harold Lloyd has the ability to make us laugh at his character one minute, then feel protective of him the next. A terrific screen presence.
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