"Planned, Plotted, Played, Pictured by Students": The Ambitious Amateurs of Ed's Coed (1929)

Abstract

ABSTRACT:This article provides a historical analysis of Ed's Coed (1929), one of the earliest and most accomplished feature-length films made by college students in the United States. Student-made films of the silent era have received little critical attention, but they should be understood within the diverse overlapping categories that encompass amateur local filmmaking. Engaging the underexplored resource of student newspapers, the authors document how Ed's Coed, a 35mm college-life romantic comedy, was produced by University of Oregon students working alongside a professional Hollywood second-unit cameraman. The resulting production history reveals the film crew's sophisticated approach to publicity, fund-raising, and cinematography that beneficially extends our understanding of the range of amateur local practices in the 1920s.