The Freshman

Harold Lamb arrives at college prepared to do anything to be liked: he buys ice cream for the entire campus, shakes hands with everyone he meets, and never notices that people are laughing at him. He believes he has made the football team when he is only being used as a tackling dummy. It was Harold Lloyd's biggest commercial success and is still counted among his best. The comedy here is social rather than physical; the hardest scene is not a fall but the moment he learns the truth. The closing game drives the tempo to its peak and the stadium footage was shot in the middle of a real match. The ending effectively invented the template: the losing boy wins at the last minute. Who it is for: viewers who love silent comedy and Harold Lloyd. Who it is not for: anyone wanting an unpredictable story, since this film built the pattern itself.