Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Richard Chatten Although it's based on a 1906 Broadway hit, by far the most substantial aspects of this film are the big screen trappings lavished upon it, including vivid location photography of Harvard itself and energetic and dramatic sporting footage of the real Harvard-Yale final. Titular 'hero' Bill Haines seems to be devoting hardly any time to his studies, life for him instead being one long round of hedonistic self-gratification. Mary Brian is required to do little but look cute, and Haines' courting of her (which characteristically takes no account of the fact that she's already spoken for) seems to motivated more because she's the ONLY girl around rather than because he discerns any particular individual qualities in her.

OldAle1 I've been intrigued by this film for a while, in part because of the extremely high score here on IMDb -- a 9.0 average with over 300 votes gives it the highest rating of any accessible silent film! How had I not heard of this film before this website? Well, you can't always trust the ratings. This is actually a very good film, preserved quite well if the fine VHS transfer I rented is any indication -- excellent acting by the principals, especially William Haines as Brown, and good location work at Cambridge with some fine action footage in the climactic Harvard/Yale football game -- but the story must have seemed a hoary chestnut even in 1926. Obnoxious, self-centered and charismatic guy goes to school and gets put in his place, becoming in the process a caring, self-sacrificing friend; I doubt people in 1926 found much that was really exciting in the last few reels, the predictability factor is high. Still, it starts out very well, and is certainly deserving of being remembered, if not praised to the heavens. Maybe the previous 350 voters are mostly Harvard men...EDIT Now 600+ voters and the score has actually climbed to 9.2! Seriously, folks, there is ballot-stuffing going on here - I defy anybody to explain why this is a better film than "Metropolis" or "The General"!

broadway_melody_girl 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).

MartinHafer 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.