In this digital jungle, it's hard to pick an old movie because by definition, I lack my familiar faces : my loved cast, directors, stories may not still be born yet so it's really about luck and discovering new roads: when i saw the title of this one, i was caught : a movie about Harvard ! Today, this institution is still essential in american legend so it would be great to get into its past !So this movie is interesting because it seems that we are indeed in the campus but 1 century before : Back then, the big difference with French higher education was already clear : sports are inside the program while in France, they are outside (that's why our sports idols are dumb and our grey matter physically unfit !) ; A bit like the Harry Potter movies, the sports events are exciting traditions for all students, the families and outside. The Harvard stadium is totally amazing and breathtaking and this single university beats all French stadiums, even today !Paradoxically, the movie is silent about teachings and lessons because we pick up about students lives. And that's when i pick my 2nd bird because the american icon John Wayne is playing : 1st movie for him - OK i didn't see him as a Yale Player but he is really in. I didn't know as well the hero, William Haines but he looks like a very young Russel Crowe as physically as in the loose, cool attitude. I'm sure that today this movie would be not put in production because this Brown has a aggressive manner of seduction but that doesn't implies that today society is much better ! At last, my last bird was his attraction, the cute Mary Brian : she was so candid, so polite that she motives me to see more of her and that's how i pick my future 1924 movie : Peter Pan ! So finally, i start to map this faraway country of silent movies era !

as to why this film has such a high rating on the IMDb. Sure, it's okay but it's not all as great as it's cracked up to be. At it's very best, BROWN OF HARVARD is a 7. It's about a college freshman, Tom Brown (William Haines) and his life Harvard. The movie was dragging a bit for a while, but it really picked up in the last 40-30 minutes. Jack Pickford was pretty good as William's nerdy best friend/sidekick, considering he was supposed to be a real ladies' man/ ne'er do well in real life. Mary Brian was fine as the girl Haines falls for. I think the script of Brown of Harvard could've been more interesting. The characters do not do much. William tries out for sports and hits on girls. Jack just good-naturedly listens to anything Haines has to say. Mary Brian stands around for most of the film smiling and occasionally looks slightly indignant. She hardly gets angry when William drops all her groceries on purpose, and doesn't even pay for replacements. If some fresh guy wrecked my groceries that I paid for and didn't even pay for them after he wrecked them I would be very angry, no matter how smooth and handsome he (thinks) he is. And for a while, William Haines' character seemed a bit annoying to me, and came across as a little too self-confident to me. But after a while you can see that the overflowing self-confidence is just something his character uses to hide his weaknesses. Haines was very good. If you are a William Haines fan then Brown of Harvard is really worth seeing. If you are looking for a worthwhile silent college flick I say skip this one for now and watch THE PLASTIC AGE (1924).

This is apparently the second remake of this film, having been filmed before in 1911 and 1918. And, in so many ways it reminds me of the later film, A YANK AT OXFORD. Both films concern a conceited blow-hard who arrives at one of the top schools in the world and both, ultimately, show the blow-hard slowly learning about teamwork and decency. In this film, William Haines is "Tom Brown" and his main rival, "Bob" is played by Frances X. Bushman. And, in a supporting role is Jack Pickford--always remembered as the brother of Mary. Of these three, Pickford comes off the best, as the sympathetic loser who becomes Tom's pal--he actually has a few decent scenes as well as a dramatic moment just before the Big Game! All the standard clichés are there and the movie, because it was done so many times before and since, offers few surprises. However, it is pleasant film and is enjoyable viewing.In my opinion, for a better silent college film, try Harold Lloyd's THE FRESHMAN--it's football scenes are frankly more exciting and Harold is far more likable and sympathetic than the annoying Tom Brown. THE FRESHMAN is probably the best college picture you can find from the era. Another reason why BROWN AT HARVARD is a lesser picture is that William Haines played essentially the same unlikable and bombastic character with the same plot again and again and again (such as in WESTPOINT and THE SMART SET, among others)--and if you've seen one of these films, you've seen them all. Well made, but certainly NOT original! And, because it is just a rehash of his other films, anyone giving the film a score of 10 is STRONGLY advised to see these other films.4/25/08==I just checked and saw this this small film was the highest rated film on IMDb from the 1920!! Talk about over-rated! There are dozens and dozens of better films--how this film got to be #1 is anyone's guess.

Brown of Harvard is a hard movie to pin down. We expect a lot more from our movies these days, so it helps to remember that audiences in the 20's were a bit more innocent. William Haines is charming as the rogue who has to stumble through pain and humiliation to find success and, even, glory. All of the relationships in the movie feel very stilted EXCEPT for the homoerotic tie between Billy and Jack Pickford, the town nerd. The movie has everything, romance, tears, love, death, and even sports... It's a great education in how society has changed in the 20th century.