''Harvard, Here I Come!'' is a 1941 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Lew Landers Lew Landers (born Louis Friedlander, January 2, 1901 – December 16, 1962) was an American independent film and television director. Biography Born as Louis Friedlander in New York City, Lew Landers began his movie career as an actor. In 1914, ...

and stars Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom,

Arline Judge Margaret Arline Judge (February 21, 1912 – February 7, 1974) was an American actress and singer who worked mostly in low-budget B movies, but gained some fame for habitually marrying, including two brothers. Judge specialized in playing fai ...

, Stanley Brown,

Don Beddoe Donald Theophilus Beddoe (July 1, 1903 – January 19, 1991) was an American character actor. Early years Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beddoe was the son of Dan Beddoe, a Welsh classical singer, and his wife Mary. He graduated from the ...

, Marie Wilson, and

Virginia Sale Virginia Sale (May 20, 1899 – August 23, 1992) was an American character actress whose career spanned six decades, during most of which she played older women, even when she was in her twenties. Over the 46 years she was active as an actr ...

. The film is also known as ''Here I Come'' in the United Kingdom.

Plot

The Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate Humor magazine, humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seve ...

'', an undergraduate humor publication at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, honors the night club owner with a very "special award". Maxie's friends, Francie Callahan, the cashier and general manager of the club, and Hypo McGonigle, sportswriter, suspect Slapsie is about to be made a fool by the publication. The chief editor of the ''Harvard Lampoon'', Harrison Carey, soon enough presents an award for "Supreme Pediculousness", and the friends worst fears are realized. Maxie accepts the award with pride, not realizing he has been awarded for being infested with lice. The next morning, Maxie's humiliation is reported by all the newspapers, but instead of becoming angry and vengeful, Maxie decides to enroll at the prestigious institute of learning and become an educated man. At Harvard university, Maxie then meets professor Nickajack Alvin, the head of the Antediluvian Department. Alvin instantly is convinced that Maxie is indeed the " missing link," which makes him conduct a series of tests to prove that the club owner is a throwback to the

caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as " simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin B ...

. Alvin is very satisfied with the results, and offers Maxie $1,500 a year plus room and board in exchange for further testing of his mental abilities. Maxie is very flattered, and accepts the offer. Not long after Maxie's enrollment, Hypo arrives at Harvard College on a one-year newspaper scholarship. In the meantime, Maxie has won the respect and admiration of the undergraduates as well as the heart of young student Zella Phipps, a broad-shouldered amazon. When Alvin announces that his tests have determined that Maxie is the country's number one moron, Maxie is ordained as the arbiter of taste for the other twenty-three million morons in the country. Realizing that Maxie's endorsement is worth millions, business offers pour in from manufacturers anxious to have him bless their products, and Maxie signs a contract with one shrewd promoter for one thousand dollars a week. Now, Maxie is indeed on a winning streak. Full of entrepreneurial spirit, Maxie decides to open a College Inn near the Harvard campus and sends for Francie to help him. However, Francie is quite angry with Maxie for signing a contract without her approving it beforehand. Francie shuts him out from his business arrangement and then forms a corporation known as Twenty Million Jerks, Inc. In due time Alvin is finished with the testing of Maxie, and he offers Maxie an "extraordinary diploma." Maxie, is again honored by the award, but he also realizes that the amorous Zella, whom he has no interest in marrying, would never wed an uneducated man. So Maxie declines the professor's offer, and in doing so puts an end to Zella's interest in being married to him. Later, at the grand opening of the new College Inn, Maxie announces that he is giving his financial support to a School for Morons at Harvard College. He then congratulates Francie and Hypo on their engagement.

Cast

* Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom as Maxie *

as Francie Callahan *Stanley Brown as Harrison Carey *

as Hypo McGonigle * Marie Wilson as Zella Phipps *

as Miss Frisbie *

Byron Foulger Byron Kay Foulger (August 27, 1898 – April 4, 1970) was an American character actor who over a 50-year career performed in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions. Early years Born in Ogden, Utah, Byron was the second of four ...

as Professor Alvin *Boyd Davis as Professor Hayworth * Julius Tannen as Professor Anthony *

Walter Baldwin Walter Smith Baldwin Jr. (January 2, 1889 − January 27, 1977) was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances. Baldwin was born January 2, 1889, in Lima, O ...

as Professor MacSquigley * Tom Herbert as Professor Teeter *

Larry Parks Samuel Lawrence Klusman Parks (December 13, 1914 – April 13, 1975) was an American stage and film actor. His career arced from bit player and supporting roles to top billing, before it virtually ended when he admitted to having been a memb ...

as Eddie Spellman * George McKay as Blinky * John Tyrrell as Slug *

Mary Ainslee Mary Ainslee (born Florence Stiegler; October 12, 1914 – November 1, 1991) was an American film actress. She appeared in approximately 15 films between 1939 and 1952. Early years Ainslee was a native of Newport News, Virginia, and the daught ...

as Phyllis

Production

It was the first film role for

Yvonne De Carlo Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film star and sex symbol in the 1940s a ...

. She has one line, saying "nowadays a girl must show a front."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harvard, Here I Come! 1941 films American black-and-white films 1941 comedy films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Lew Landers American comedy films Films about cavemen Films set in Harvard University Human evolution 1940s English-language films 1940s American films