Just watched this very brief Mack Sennett comedy short on YouTube. Carole Lombard plays the title character as a blonde who temporarily takes brunette Sally Eilers' boyfriend. There's also a 2-strip color sequence of a softball game that takes place on a beach. Other than that, nothing much happens during the entire nine minutes though there are some descriptively funny intertitle cards and some hilarious physical comedy of which a few is provided by comedienne Daphne Pollard, sister of fellow comic "Snub". Oh, and there's also some slow motion running sequences. So on that note, if you're curious about these early rarities especially one in early color starring a legendary actress, The Campus Vamp is worth a look.
6 Reviews
Pleasant enough, but certainly nothing special
planktonrules9 October 2007
Carol (Carole Lombard) and Sally (Sally Eilers) both want what every college girl seems to want in this film--to get a boyfriend and be popular. However, poor old Sally is at a big disadvantage in this film until she gets a little help from sweet ol' Dora.
Despite this little comedy coming from Sennett Studios, it is not a slapstick comedy but a minor little comedy about college. And while the film has few moments of brilliance, it also is rather non-offensive and pleasant--making it a time-passer and not much more. What I did find interesting about the film was seeing a very young Carole Lombard as well as 4' 9" Daphne Pollard--sister of silent comic Snub Pollard. Otherwise, there isn't much to distinguish this film one way or another.
Despite this little comedy coming from Sennett Studios, it is not a slapstick comedy but a minor little comedy about college. And while the film has few moments of brilliance, it also is rather non-offensive and pleasant--making it a time-passer and not much more. What I did find interesting about the film was seeing a very young Carole Lombard as well as 4' 9" Daphne Pollard--sister of silent comic Snub Pollard. Otherwise, there isn't much to distinguish this film one way or another.
Her, Him and the Other Girl
ericfixit5 January 2003
Well, suppose it's still the same eternal question: do men prefer blondes?
And it won't be in this 1928 short comedy that you will find the answer! Actually everything seems to be left uncompleted and the movie is worth seeing more for what it doesn't say than for what it actually does. We have lots of themes and ideas that will be developed further on in film history: scenes of campus life, a love triangle and a beach softball game! And from the technical point of view we have an early example of two colour Technicolor, just a few minutes but a glimpse of things that will be.
All around an enjoyable view if you are not expecting an unearthly cinematographic experience!
And it won't be in this 1928 short comedy that you will find the answer! Actually everything seems to be left uncompleted and the movie is worth seeing more for what it doesn't say than for what it actually does. We have lots of themes and ideas that will be developed further on in film history: scenes of campus life, a love triangle and a beach softball game! And from the technical point of view we have an early example of two colour Technicolor, just a few minutes but a glimpse of things that will be.
All around an enjoyable view if you are not expecting an unearthly cinematographic experience!
Sally Looks Perfection in Her Bathing Suit!!
kidboots20 July 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Carole is the campus vamp...but Sally wins through at the end!! Though with top cast performers Johnny Burke and Daphne Pollard you just know there is going to be more pie in the face (or rather powder in the face) comedy than collegiate carryings on!! Sally is the college swot but even granny glasses can't hide her beauty, Carole is the fun loving life of the party and Matty is in the middle, not being able to decide between them!! Sally gets plenty of advice and laughs from Dora and Barney but it is only when she scores the winning home run in a game of beach baseball that she really turns heads - or it may be her fetching bathers!! I have seen photos of this short in an article on early Technicolor and it is really something - probably the reason why the game is partly filmed in slow motion. Sally looks perfection in her bathing suit!!
Best bit - Carole really shows how it's done when she gives a terrific rendition of the Charleston and really lets her hair down at the college dance!!!
Best bit - Carole really shows how it's done when she gives a terrific rendition of the Charleston and really lets her hair down at the college dance!!!
an early example of a romantic comedy (may contain spoilers)
andynortonuk28 May 2003
Warning: Spoilers
Set at Beverly College, where they "taught Latin,but to some students it was all Greek", The Campus Vamp is a silent romantic comedy where the Love triangle in a campus with a blonde girl that really seems to not consider the "other" girl as an obstacle.
This romantic comedy is full of verbal and visual humour throughout the film. The verbal humour includes Dora saying about Sally, "the only fraternity pin she'd ever worn was a safety pin.", and Dora saying "If that blonde vamp takes Matty from Sally, I'll put garlic in her Listerine.". Also the descriptions of the characters are pretty hilarious too, like saying "Sally had never been kissed - but it was nobody's fault but hers.", "Barney Benson heard he could work his ways through college- after eight years he began to doubt it", and saying that one look from the dean "made July feel like January". The visual gags are countless in this short, but, personally, the main gags are Sally being hit by the ball, pushing the dean into the pond, the man sitting on the hidden ice cube from the punch bowl, and Dora going on sit on Barney's lap on top of a food stand at the beach, then falling off when roof collapses to one side of the stand.
So, if you are fan of romantic comedies, like Notting Hill or Bridget Jones' Diary, you might enjoy this as this is an early example of a romantic comedy. Also, those of you that appreciate silent films will consider this as some enjoyment. But if you do not like silent films or romantic comedies, then you might as well stay clear from this short!
Overall, an early example of a romantic comedy with lots of humour to keep you amused for about 20 minutes.
This romantic comedy is full of verbal and visual humour throughout the film. The verbal humour includes Dora saying about Sally, "the only fraternity pin she'd ever worn was a safety pin.", and Dora saying "If that blonde vamp takes Matty from Sally, I'll put garlic in her Listerine.". Also the descriptions of the characters are pretty hilarious too, like saying "Sally had never been kissed - but it was nobody's fault but hers.", "Barney Benson heard he could work his ways through college- after eight years he began to doubt it", and saying that one look from the dean "made July feel like January". The visual gags are countless in this short, but, personally, the main gags are Sally being hit by the ball, pushing the dean into the pond, the man sitting on the hidden ice cube from the punch bowl, and Dora going on sit on Barney's lap on top of a food stand at the beach, then falling off when roof collapses to one side of the stand.
So, if you are fan of romantic comedies, like Notting Hill or Bridget Jones' Diary, you might enjoy this as this is an early example of a romantic comedy. Also, those of you that appreciate silent films will consider this as some enjoyment. But if you do not like silent films or romantic comedies, then you might as well stay clear from this short!
Overall, an early example of a romantic comedy with lots of humour to keep you amused for about 20 minutes.
It would be nice to see this in colour but don't fancy your chances
kekseksa20 March 2017
Difficult to find a satisfactory version of this film. The two-reel 19-20 minute version does exist but in a rather poor copy. Most reviewers seem to have seen a cut-down one-reel version which also exists.
Absolutely none of the versions I have seen are actually in colour. They are simply tinted (not even hand-coloured), even those claiming to be "in colour" or even those claiming to show only the colour sequences.
Anybody who does not know the difference should look at some of the early two-strip Technicolor films that do exist - The Toll of the Sea (1922) or The Black Pirate (1926) - if you can find the Technicolor version - or The Viking (1928). It is not possible to confuse the two. Few of the Technicolor sequences that were inserted in many films at this time survive (The Phantom of the Opera is a happy exception as are some of the Von Stroheim films of the twenties).
Absolutely none of the versions I have seen are actually in colour. They are simply tinted (not even hand-coloured), even those claiming to be "in colour" or even those claiming to show only the colour sequences.
Anybody who does not know the difference should look at some of the early two-strip Technicolor films that do exist - The Toll of the Sea (1922) or The Black Pirate (1926) - if you can find the Technicolor version - or The Viking (1928). It is not possible to confuse the two. Few of the Technicolor sequences that were inserted in many films at this time survive (The Phantom of the Opera is a happy exception as are some of the Von Stroheim films of the twenties).
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