Evening star., 1928-11-04
COLLEGIATE.

I'm RECENT years Hollywood has been
growing more and more collegiate
and the supply of pictures having
Il TO do with undergraduate life has
been steadily increasing. Particu-
larly at this time of year, when college
foot ball qualities as the great national
game. the screen is congested with
heroic substitutes who dash in and win
for dear old WhatSitSname in the last
minute of play.
In former times the movie moguls OF
Hollywood were apparently unaware OF
the existence of the institutions OF
learning college boys" were classi-
fed as highbrowed sissies who had no
place among the rough but worthy he
men of the silent drama. Then Few
university graduates began to drift into
the movies as assistant-aSsistant- -di-
rectors, property men or extras. Fur
thermore. the University Of Southern
California began to grow in extent and
in Importance, and even acquired unto
itself a mammoth stadium.
The film people became aware OF the
fact that an amazingly large NUMBER
of young men and women were actually
going to college, and that an even
larger number were taking consld-
cradle interest in foot ball and other
collegiate activities.
u.
Jumps ahead of his brethren In know
ing what the public wants, was the
first big star to realize the possibilities
of college life In collaboration with
some of the students from the Uni
versity of Southern California. he pro-,
duced "The Freshman" which turned
out to be the greatest financial success
That convinced the other big-brained
BOYS and girls in Hollywood that there
was a lot of money in the collegiate
stuff. and the rush started.
william Haines has appeared as
student at Harvard and as a cadet at
West Point, Rod La ROGUE has been
to Yale. That swarthy young Mexican
Ramon Novarro has been through the
United States Naval Academy at An
napolis. William Boyd has also ma
circulated at West Point, Charles
C"Buddy") Rogers has also made good
at Princeton.
Buster Keaton, Harold Grange, George
Lewis. Richard BarthelmesS, David Rol-
Inns and even Marion Davies and
Dolores Costello have all been called
upon to frolic about the campuses OF
various mythical universities and TO JOIN
in celebrations of victories over equally
mythical rivals.
x
The tremendous and unprecedented
vogue for the collegiate on the screen is
probably more than just passing
fancy (like the vogue for vampire pic
lures. the vogue for war pictures or the
vogue for gangster pictures). 1t has
been going on now for three years and
IS increasing rather than abating.
It is undoubtedly reflection of the
strange sentiment that has come into
being since the war--the almost pas
sionate interest in youth. In the past
few years people of all ages have
seemed to focus their attention on the
generation that was too young to fight
in l914-16. perhaps because these young
people showed none of the scars OF the
great battle for democracy.
Flaming Youth" was enormously
popular, both as a novel and as a
movie, five years ago, and the most SEN
sational box Office success Of the present
season is "Our Dancing Daughters"
Although the f1apperS and philosophers
of F. Scott Fitzgerald's time are now
staid old ladies and gentlemen in their
thirties, the spirit of jazzmania that
they started on earth seems to become
even more violent as the years roll by.
One of the current college pictures
Is called Varsity" It was produced
by Paramount, directed by Frank
Tuttle and played by Charles Rogers,
Mary Brian and Chester Conklin.
(Mr. Conklin, be it said, does not ap-
pear as one sof the varsity lads, he's
janitor in a college domitory)