L'athlète incomplet: A strange trip into 1930s studio logic

Wait, they filmed this twice?

It’s kind of funny to think about how they handled movies back then. You’ve got this college comedy that’s basically a mirror image of Local Boy Makes Good, but instead of the usual guy, you get Douglas Fairbanks Jr. speaking French. It feels like a total fever dream. You’re watching it and thinking, wait, did I see this set before?

There’s this specific rhythm to the dialogue that feels like everyone is reading from a script they just learned five minutes ago. It’s not bad, exactly, but it has that weird, stiff quality you see in early sound films where actors are scared to move too far away from the hidden microphones. 🎙️

The vibe

Fairbanks is doing his best, but you can tell he’s more comfortable when he’s just moving around. The scenes where he’s trying to be the "clumsy athlete" feel a bit forced, like someone told him to act funny but didn't give him a punchline. Sometimes a reaction shot lingers for three seconds too long, and you’re just staring at a wall of 1930s wallpaper while someone sighs in the background.

• The college sets look like they’re held together by tape and optimism.
• Some of the supporting cast seem to be having a much better time than the leads.
• There’s a moment in the second act where a door slams and the whole frame shakes. Nobody cared, so they just kept rolling.

It doesn’t have the same grit you might find in something like 'Nfama! or the tension of The Steadfast Heart, but it’s definitely its own weird beast. It’s a total time capsule. You watch these old comedies and you see the blueprint for everything that came after, even if this specific one feels like it’s missing a few pages of the manual.

Is it a classic? Probably not. Is it worth watching if you’re bored on a rainy Sunday? Maybe. It’s got that specific "I’m watching something I’m not supposed to be seeing" energy that makes old cinema weirdly compelling. I found myself wondering if they kept the coffee cold on set. They probably did.