Here Keaton plays Ronald the bookworm. He graduates from high school, apparently the valedictorian, and gives a graduation speech on the evils of athletics. The girl he loves - Mary - tells him she won't consider him as a suitor unless he changes his attitude. Ronald enters Clayton College where his endeavors in a number of sports - and jobs - are rich with gags. The villain of the picture is played by Harold Goodwin, who was actually a lifetime friend of Keaton's.
"College" is no doubt one of Keaton's weaker features. It was made right after his pride and joy, "The General", failed miserably at the box office. Thus, Keaton wasn't really in the mood to exert himself either physically or creatively in his next picture. The irony in this film is, of course, that Keaton was a superb athlete and even acrobat. He was good enough at baseball that many feel he could have played professionally, so the scene where he messes up the baseball game for Clayton College is particularly ironic.
"College" is no doubt one of Keaton's weaker features. It was made right after his pride and joy, "The General", failed miserably at the box office. Thus, Keaton wasn't really in the mood to exert himself either physically or creatively in his next picture. The irony in this film is, of course, that Keaton was a superb athlete and even acrobat. He was good enough at baseball that many feel he could have played professionally, so the scene where he messes up the baseball game for Clayton College is particularly ironic.