See the first student film!

Special 35mm presentation by University Archives and the Film & Media Archive at WashU Libraries.

Newly added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry this year, The Maid of McMillan is a 15-minute silent film written and produced by students of WashU through the Thyrsus Dramatic Club in 1916. Believed to be the first known student film, The Maid of McMillan was written, acted, filmed, and directed in four days to play at the annual WashU festival Surrkuss (precursor to today’s ThurtenE Carnival)—to great success!

To celebrate the honor, WashU is pleased to present the 35mm print created in 2022 from a National Film Preservation Fund grant. It will be paired with the silent feature filmThe Freshman, starring Harold Lloyd, for a collegial screening of athleticism, romance, and comedy! The Freshman was added to the National Film Registry in 1990.

For more information on The Maid of McMillan, see https://library.washu.edu/spec/themaidofmcmillan/.

THE FRESHMAN, 1925, Dir. Sam Taylor and Fred C. Newmeyer, 76 Mins, 4K DCP

Harold Lloyd’s biggest box-office hit was this silent comedy gem, featuring the befuddled everyman at his eager best as a new college student. Though he dreams of being a big man on campus, the freshman’s careful plans inevitably go hilariously awry, be it on the football field or at the Fall Frolic. But he gets a climactic chance to prove his mettle—and impress the sweet girl he loves—in one of the most famous sports sequences ever filmed. This crowd-pleaser is a gleeful showcase for Lloyd’s slapstick brilliance and incandescent charm, and it is accompanied here by a new orchestral score by Carl Davis.

Free and open to all! Join us for this special screening—no admission charge, just come early to grab a seat.