''West Point'' is a 1927 American silent

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

starring William Haines and Joan Crawford in a story about an arrogant cadet who finds love right before the all-important

Army–Navy Game The Army–Navy Game is an American college football rivalry game between the Army Black Knights of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, and the Navy Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapo ...

. The story and screenplay were written by

Raymond L. Schrock Raymond L. Schrock (February 2, 1892 – December 12, 1950) was an American screenwriter. He worked on more than 150 films between 1915 and 1950. He was born in Goshen, Indiana, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack. Parti ...

with titles written by

Joseph Farnham Joseph White Farnham (December 2, 1884 – June 2, 1931) was an American playwright, film writer, and film editor of the silent movie era in the 1920s. He was also a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Bio ...

. The film was directed by Edward Sedgwick.

Plot

Arrogant and wise-cracking Brice Wayne ( William Haines) enrolls at the United States Military Academy at West Point and adjusts to life as a

plebe In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

. He tries out for the plebe

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team, where he excels and shows up the varsity team. However, his ego is unrivaled, especially in competition with upperclassman Bob Sperry (Neil Neely). At the same time, Brice meets a local girl named Betty Channing ( Joan Crawford) who cheers for him at football practices. A year later, Brice is the star football player for West Point. By this time, both Sperry and Brice are in love with Betty, and while Sperry acts like a gentleman towards Betty, Brice forces a kiss on Betty, only for her to spurn him. Betty continues to reject Brice's advances. When he is benched for his attitude, Brice decries favoritism by Coach Towers (Raymond G. Moses) to the local paper. After an altercation with the coach in the locker room, Brice shouts "to hell with the Corps" and quits the team in a huff. This causes a scandal among the cadets, who move to have the Cadet Honor Committee "Silence" Brice. Brice's roommate Tex McNeil ( William Bakewell) tries to reason with him but the angered Brice hits him. Immediately regretting his actions, Brice tries to help. After Brice leaves to contemplate his actions in private, Tex accidentally falls down a flight of stairs. Despite this he pleads with the Honor Committee not to censure Brice—before collapsing with a serious

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

. Brice writes a letter of resignation from West Point out of shame, but regrets his action when he realizes he needs to help the team. As the train carrying the team to the Army-Navy Game is about to leave, Brice is called before the superintendent. When he indicates both his contrition and an understanding of the "spirit of the Corps," the superintendent hands him back his resignation. Brice apologizes to the coach for his behavior but is still benched. In the 4th quarter, with Army down, a player is injured and Brice is sent in. Despite an injured arm he scores a touchdown that wins the game for Army, and asks for forgiveness from his team. As graduation from West Point concludes some years later, he ends in the arms of Betty while enthusiastically observing the traditions of the Corps.

Cast

* William Haines as Brice Wayne * Joan Crawford as Betty Channing * William Bakewell as 'Tex' McNeil *Neil Neely as Bob Sperry * Ralph Emerson as Bob Chase *Leon Kellar as Capt. Munson *Raymond G. Moses as Coach Towers (*billed Major Raymond G. Moses U.S.A.)

Production notes

The film was shot on location at West Point, New York. The same story used for this film was used for the DeMille Company's 1927 movie '' Dress Parade'' with

William Boyd William, Willie, Will or Bill Boyd may refer to: Academics * William Alexander Jenyns Boyd (1842–1928), Australian journalist and schoolmaster * William Boyd (educator) (1874–1962), Scottish educator * William Boyd (pathologist) (1885–1979), ...

and Bessie Love. The assistant director was

Edward Brophy Edward Santree Brophy (February 27, 1895 – May 27, 1960) was an American character actor and comedian, as well as an assistant director and second unit director during the 1920s. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he frequently ...

, who would soon switch to acting full-time.

Reception

Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film (another name for ''photoplay'') fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded '' Motion Picture Story,'' a magazine also directed at fans. For mo ...

'' commented, "Bill Haines' starring vehicle...treats everything in a humorous vein in the beginning, getting many laughs."Quirk, Lawrence J.. ''The Films of Joan Crawford''. The Citadel Press, 1968.

References

External links