As part of our ongoing retrospective of Buster Keaton’s work, we continue to press on and explore all the hilarious and irreverent avenues down which his career travelled. Today’s discussion takes us to the Ivy League, in the form of College, the off-the-wall satire that Keaton directed alongside James W. Horne (who would leverage this collaboration into an exceptional directorial career, working with luminaries such as Laurel and Hardy and Charley Chase in subsequent years), telling the story of a down-on-his-luck student who excels at academics, but discovers that this means nothing to the girl of his dreams, who prefers the more dashing and handsome athletes that prove to be the school’s main attraction. Our protagonist has no choice other than to leap into the unknown and embrace his inner sportsman, which proves to be quite a challenging endeavour when he learns that there is much more to it than simply being active. As one of the more minor entries into the esteemed actor’s fascinating career, in terms of being one that is rarely mentioned when discussing his work (which means that it often falters in comparison to films like Steamboat Bill Jr and The General), College is nonetheless quite a delight for several reasons, most of all for its wicked sense of humour and unexpected pathos, both of which are deftly juggled by Keaton and Horne, who understand the value of a film like this is not to bombard the viewer with wall-to-wall humour, but rather capture a more elegant and detailed exploration of its fundamental themes, which are presented in the most vibrant, upbeat form imaginable. Captivating in a way that is definitive of Keaton’s body of work, but differing in certain key elements that prove that he is far from a one-trick pony, College manages to be unexpectedly delightful, especially through its offbeat energy that conceals a more tender, heartfelt centre that drives the entire film.

As one of the great global institutions, tertiary education is often used as the fodder for great comedies – there’s something about a film taking place in an environment usually considered extremely straight-laced and elegant that lends itself to an abundance of irreverent humour, and we’ve seen everything from the scathing satire of Dear White People to the bawdy vulgarity of Animal House, make their way through notable campuses. However, College is a contender for the best film based in one of these institutions, solely because it has the broadest range of ideas and the most intricately-woven narrative, encompassing several different kinds of humour and condensing them into something much more profound, while still retaining the charm. Keaton aims at the various aspects of college life when crafting this film – everything from the pomp and grandeur of dull ceremonies, to the rapid-fire entertainment of the sporting world, to the intensity of the academic sphere, are embedded deeply into the fabric of this film, which is an outrageously funny depiction of the trials and tribulations of college students as they set out to forge the path that sets them up for the rest of their lives. The charm here is that Keaton is not focused on conveying any particularly deep or daring concept, but rather providing a lovely overview of what college life is like – and something particularly compelling is how very little has changed over the decades. College was made nearly a century ago, but everything from the ceremonies to the emphasis on the balance between sport and academics seems to have been preserved in time, and speaks to an oddly universal sensibility, which is quite unlike many of his other films, which often function as time capsules that give us a glimpse into an entirely different era.

One particularly fascinating quality of College that differs from much of the director’s other work is that, despite being a vehicle for his talents, Keaton is not entirely the focus for a good portion of the film. This isn’t necessarily to say that he is a supporting player, as he remains the central protagonist, but there is a lot more emphasis on the ensemble that surrounds him, making it quite an intriguing experiment on more than just a narrative level. Keaton once again dusts off the “Great Stoneface” persona to portray Ronald, a hapless student who may do well in the classroom, but is beyond hopeless the moment he has to engage in any physical activity. Keaton had a talent for playing these lovable dunces who are constantly shown to be out of their depth, but rather than pandering exclusively to the fish-out-of-water trope that we’d normally expect, he uses his gifts to carefully subvert our expectations and form something much stronger and more captivating. He’s joined by some terrific actors who are not only able to match him in terms of comedy but bring a necessary gravitas that supports his performance and enriches the entire film. Anne Cornwall is one of the best love interests to be paired with Keaton, precisely because she’s more than just a damsel in distress, and functions as a fully-formed, complex character in her own right, commanding the screen with bundles of charisma and exceptional comedic timing that allows her to go toe-to-toe with Keaton at every step. Harold Goodwin proves to be an exceptional heavy, playing a worthy antagonist that may be quite one-dimensional, but in a way that feels genuinely very earnest and fits in perfectly with the surrounding film, as well as playing off Keaton with incredible vigour and consistency, leading to quite an engaging series of encounters between the two gifted actors. Keaton has the good sense to make way for his co-stars where necessary, and the results are truly exceptional, particularly in how the film handles its underlying characterisation.

Many of the most notable qualities that we associate with Keaton are present in College – the offbeat humour, the rapid-fire pace and the increasingly hilarious scenarios that have a more dramatic core once we get past the zany introductions and opening scenes. However, there are other areas in which it differs, which are also worth acknowledging. The film is essentially a collection of episodic vignettes at first, focused on individual scenes that stand as their own unique entities, before coming together in the final act during some of the most thrilling filmmaking to come out of Keaton’s already exceptional career. Unlike many of his films, College doesn’t focus on Keaton’s physicality in the same way as some of his bigger productions – he still prioritises movement as the primary means of extracting laughs, but most of the story is based around smaller, more calculated moments rather than large-scale stunts. Arguably, this does make sense considering a college campus is not exactly the location we’d expect for more bombastic over-the-top moments of physical activity, but it does prove to be quite a subdued effort in terms of how Keaton tells the story. The focus is on smaller but no less impactful elements – landmark scenes include the athletic competition and the boat race, which takes place in the third act and is essentially the foundation for the film’s climactic moments, and in both cases, there are fascinating methods taken to tell this story without relying on unrealistic scenarios. College is maybe Keaton’s most grounded film in terms of the work he directed, and while the spectacle is perhaps slightly more subdued, there are still elements that are absolutely worth discussing on their own terms, gradually pieced together to form something much more profound than what we’d expected based on a cursory glance at the film and its premise.

College is a slight departure from Keaton’s other work, primarily in terms of the kind of comedy with which he was working, as well as the overall structure of the film. Despite some clear differences, the film is still exceptionally entertaining and has many of the quintessential elements that make for a truly compelling work. Keaton was a generational genius, and someone whose work represented a complexity that has proven to be exceptionally difficult to replicate – there is something so enigmatic yet endearing about his films, which are complex, well-crafted comedies that are defined primarily by their heart and soul more than anything else, capturing the spirit of chaos that usually defines entire generations of audiences, and using his exceptional skills as a means to explore the human condition in vibrant, vivid detail – all doing so without uttering a single word on screen, making College one of the many wonderfully entertaining and hearty endeavours for which he is fondly remembered. Its simplicity may be mistaken for a lack of innovation, when the opposite is true – this film is a daring and complex examination of society and its various nuances, all filtered through the perspective of a director whose remarkable skill and prowess as a storyteller is blatantly obvious and the foundation for something truly engrossing. As one of the many engaging cinematic endeavours scattered throughout his iconoclastic career, College is an exceptional work, and quite simply one of Keaton’s most purely enjoyable works.