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5.1/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.1/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The College Coquette remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Okay, so The College Coquette. Is it worth your time today? Honestly, if you're not already someone who digs deep into silent films, probably not. This one's really for the silent cinema crowd, folks who appreciate a historical slice of life and can sit with the pacing. If you're hoping for snappy dialogue or modern storytelling, you'll likely be checking your watch. 🕰️
The premise is simple, almost too simple: a college girl, our titular coquette, just loves to flirt. And she really stirs things up when she starts batting her eyelashes at her roommate's main squeeze. You see this dynamic play out pretty much exactly how you'd expect, but there are some neat little touches.
Jobyna Ralston, as our coquette, she's got this look. It’s not malicious, not exactly, but you can feel her character just _reveling_ in the attention. Every little glance she throws, it’s like she’s almost winking at the camera. It makes you wonder if she even knows the trouble she's causing, or if she just doesn't care.
Then there’s the roommate, Adda Gleason. Her expressions are often so melancholy. You really feel for her as she watches her beau, played by Maurice Murphy, get drawn into the coquette’s orbit. There’s this one scene, a college dance I think, where Murphy’s character is laughing a little too hard at something Ralston says. Gleason just stands slightly apart, looking down, and it hits you how much that small moment must hurt.
The film has a way of emphasizing these little social faux pas. Like, the intertitles sometimes just spell out the obvious feelings, but other times, they let the actors do the work. Which, for silent film, is pretty important, right? The sets, too, felt quite lived-in for a college. Not super grand, but you get the vibe.
It's interesting how much of the "problems" felt more like polite society discomfort than actual calamity. No one's life is ruined, not really. It’s more about hurt feelings and social awkwardness. This particular kind of drama, it’s so specific to the era, I think. People back then, they really cared about appearances. About what people thought.
William Collier Jr. plays another suitor, kind of a secondary guy, and he brings a much-needed energy to a few scenes. He’s got this nervous sort of charm that contrasts nicely with Murphy’s more straightforward, easily swayed type. You almost root for him, even though he's not the main focus.
There’s a part where the coquette, she’s doing this thing with her fan, opening and closing it. It’s a very small detail, but it really makes her seem so, you know, _calculated_ in her flirtations. Like she’s practiced these moves. A real coquette.
The pacing can drag a bit, especially if you're used to quicker cuts. Some scenes just linger, maybe 10 seconds longer than feels strictly necessary. But it gives you time to really soak in the expressions, I suppose. Or maybe just enough time to appreciate the period costumes.
The ending felt a little bit... expected. Not bad, just neatly tied up. It doesn't leave you with too much to chew on, which is fine for what it is. It's a charming little story, very much of its time, about the subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways people navigated young love and social graces.
IMDb 7.3
1925
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