The University of Oregon was a much different place in the 1920s. Wearing corduroy pants was prohibited, freshmen weren’t allowed to sit on the senior bench under an umbrella and most devastatingly — they had to wear a little green-colored cap, also called a “fez.”
That was the UO portrayed in the film “Ed’s Coed.” Ed — the young owner of a sawmill — comes to the university to both get an education and find a woman amid a campus full of tradition and pranks.
The film was directed by best friends and upperclassmen James Raley and Carvel Nelson in 1929 — and it’s currently the first entirely student-run, feature-length silent film to still exist. James F. McBride, a 28-year-old from Washington who worked with legendary filmmaker Cecil B. Demille, was the only professional on staff.
In the Summer 2019 issue of “Film History: An International Journal,” Dr. Michael Aronson — associate professor and former director of cinema studies at UO — and Elizabeth Peterson, the cinema studies librarian, published an extensive article on the history of the film.
“There [were] a considerable number of films about college life made between 1925-1929,” Peterson said. “The student-producers of ‘Ed’s Coed’ were well-aware of these films and made a conscious decision to capitalize on their popularity and to diverge from the expected formula.”
At the time of production, the campus was roughly half its current size and consisted of less than 40 buildings. While the campus has grown significantly and continues to expand, several of the buildings in “Ed’s Coed” still stand.
When Ed’s bus arrives at the university, Condon Hall — built in 1925 as the Science Building — is seen behind him. Shortly thereafter, once the bus is stopped, Fenton Hall — then the university’s first official library space — can be seen behind it.
Ed then walks down “Hello Walk,” the pathway from Fenton Hall to Villard. During this time, it was customary for all freshmen students to say “hello” to each and every person they met on the path. Behind Ed as he walks up the path is Susan Campbell Hall.
The Delta Gamma sorority building, renamed Kappa Chi for the film, was used for the scene in which Ed is kicked out after being pranked into thinking that’s where he had to register for school. Similarly, later in the film, the Gamma Phi Beta sorority building was used and renamed Theta Delta Zeta.
The steps in front of Johnson Hall — known simply then as the Administration Building — were featured in the scene where a frustrated Ed finally gets registered with the help of a passing sophomore.
The gullible Ed is once again tricked into breaking campus rules. During the scene, both Deady Hall and McClure Hall can be seen, along with Friendly Hall and the Pioneer Statue. The punishment for being a general menace was a public paddling on the Library steps — currently Fenton Hall — as seen in the film.
McArthur Court — one of the newest constructions at the time of filming — was used in the film both as a studio space and as a backdrop for one scene in which Buddy, the sophomore who originally helped Ed, roller-skates up University Street toward 13th Avenue with the basketball arena on one side and the Pioneer Cemetery on another. Hayward Field was also featured in the film.
Of major importance to off-campus UO student life was the Millrace, which is separated from campus by Franklin Boulevard. At the time, it was considered the industrial heart of Eugene.
In those days, students could often be found canoeing past the grandstands that lined the banks of the Millrace. There was even a celebration nearly every weekend that included a parade of decorated canoes. In the film, the Millrace and its canoeing tradition play a big part in Ed winning-over his coed crush, Joanne.
The Daily Emerald — known in 1929 as The Oregon Daily Emerald — was also instrumental with the production of the film. Four Emerald staffers worked in producing “Ed’s Coed.”
Ron Hubbs, the film’s business manager, was associate editor at the Emerald in 1929; photo editor Leonard Delano worked on the film’s lighting; Margaret Poorman, the manager of the newspaper’s checking department, was a part of the film’s recording staff; and Addison Brockman, an ad salesman for the newspaper, was a part of the film’s general staff.
To the film’s credit, in 1928, director Carvel Nelson had worked on “City Girl” in Pendleton, Oregon. Additionally, the Emerald helped build a sizeable and organized production staff.
According to a 1929 Oregon Daily Emerald issue, auditions for the film began on Jan. 15 and a staff was announced a week later. By March 30, the “campus movie” — as it was first called — had all the major roles filled and the university president approved the story.
The preservation of “Ed’s Coed” is a story unto itself. The film almost didn’t even make its premiere at the McDonald Theatre in November 1929.
On Oct. 24, the laboratories of the Consolidated Film Industries in Hollywood — where the film had been sent for the title cards to be inserted — burned to the ground following an explosion. One man was killed and millions of dollars in films were destroyed. Most of these were lost forever. “Ed’s Coed” narrowly survived after being shipped back a day prior.
Following a sold-out matinee premiere, the film was brought back for an additional screening the next night. Afterward, the film fell mostly into obscurity until the late 1950s when it was “relocated and returned to me,” Nelson said in a letter. In the ‘60s, the original and highly flammable nitrate reels were destroyed and copied onto film that the university still houses in Special Collections.
The making of “Ed’s Coed” continues to be celebrated by university historians as a once-in-a-lifetime innovation in film and an exercise in the power of teamwork. The love of film seen by Raley and Nelson in 1929 continues to inspire student filmmakers and researchers at the university.
Luna Koenig, a student filmmaker who graduated from UO in summer 2019, has been inspired by the film. “I think it’s a good example of how a quality film can be made even with a lower budget or less advanced equipment. The strong story and good actors carry the film, not fancy technology,” she said.
Dr. Aronson remarked that “in 1929, 60 [undergraduates] with no filmmaking experience between them produced a polished and pleasurable 35mm feature-length romantic comedy that we are still talking about and enjoying today. If nothing else, I hope it motivates other students to push the boundaries of what they want to accomplish in their short time here at Oregon.”
Sophie Ackerman — a junior cinema studies major — is an example of Dr. Aronson’s hope coming to fruition. “Because I have so much access to so much equipment and film lovers at the University, I want to create as much as I can before graduating,” Ackerman said.
If interested, “Ed’s Coed” is available here with a 2012 music score by professor Brian McWhorter of the UO School of Music and Dance.
Correction: This article previously mentioned that Michael Aronson was the head of cinema studies — he is the former director.
