Those Were The Days – Comedy about Knox College in 1904, with William Holden and Alan Ladd, 1940

Notice: I do not hold copyright on this movie. I am publishing it under fair use doctrine as a historical documentary about Knox College, in Galesburg, Illinois, not sold or distributed commercially. It is very rare to find even a homemade copy for sale. I found this copy on a collectors website in Germany after months of looking. The movie was not a commercial success and was never released on DVD or broadcast on cable (such as TCM). Youtube AI did not find any copyright violations, so hopefully this film will not be taken down later.

The movie is a 1940 romantic comedy set in 1904. There are lots of rowdy frat pranks and girls jockeying for dates. The predecessor of today’s freshman “Pumphandle” dance involved men drawing girl’s names out of a hat. This arrangement did not sit well with frosh students. At the dance they abandoned assigned dates and ran off with others, causing consternation from jilted dates. The flirting and games played to impress dates are hilarious. Holden’s character tinkered with the clock in the Knox County Courthouse, causing it to go bananas. Guys end up in jail and in court in hilarious proceedings tainted by fraternity loyalty or disgust by two different judges.

History of the movie:

“Those Were the Days”, was based on the “Old Siwash” stories written by George Fitch (Knox 1897). Fitch wrote of the “rascally” goings on at a small college, similar to Knox, back in the early part of the 20th century. It is from Mr. Fitch’s stories that Knox took on the much-loved nickname “Old Siwash” over 80 years ago. Although Fitch refused to state that Knox was actually “Old Siwash,” his books and this movie make it appear that way.

The movie was filmed partly at Knox College in Galesburg, IL, and completed in Hollywood. Its premiere was at the Orpheum Theater in Galesburg with the stars attending. It was a big deal in Galesburg! Many of the young people who appear as “extras” in the film were Knox students.

You will note many references to places at and around Knox including, Old Main, Twin Oaks, the statue of Mother Bickerdyke in the park, and the old cannon facing Whiting Hall (called Browning Hall in Fitch’s books and in the movie). Notice how the judge in the story mispronounces Mother Bickerdyke’s name.

Along with William Holden (in the first fraternity house scene) are other budding actors including Alan Ladd, Richard Denning (from many later TV roles) and Jimmy Dodd, later one of the adults on TV’s MICKEY MOUSE CLUB. The waiter in the ice cream parlor is cowboy star Rod Cameron. The “bum” in the jail is William Frawley – Fred Mertz from I LOVE LUCY. Holden’s co-stars include Ezra Stone (his roommate) who played HENRY ALDRICH on the radio (recognize his voice) and Bonita Granville (his girl) who played NANCY DREW in four movies made in ’38 and ’39.

One scene requires analysis. After causing the Courthouse bells to ring insanely, Holden’s character hijacks a streetcar near midnight to get away , crashing it and causing a big fire. He emerges from the wreck covered in soot. Police are out in force looking for him. Holden notices his face is covered in soot looking in a mirror, and attempts to sneak away from police staring at him, limping away while singing “Way Down Upon the Swanee River” (police were not fooled). There is no evidence this was intended to be racial insult. It was a gag — perhaps in bad taste to some viewers. This is not unusual. We commonly see gags and jokes in comedy and movies working in gray areas that would not be funny if performed straight-up.

“Those Were the Days” combines several plot elements from George Fitch’s Siwash stories. Those stories are included in two books -AT GOOD OLD SIWASH and PETEY SIMMONS AT SIWASH -which may be found in the Knox College Library and also on the internet. One of his short stories published singly, THE BIG STRIKE AT SIWASH, is available for $3.00 plus $2.00 shipping. It can be purchased from Western Books, PO Box 1, Woodston, Kansas 67675, and serves well as an introduction to his work. The same source sells a biography of George Fitch by Martin Litvin, called I’M GOING TO BE SOMEBODY, for $5.00 plus $2.00 shipping.

Fitch, a nationally-recognized young author, died suddenly in August 1915 of a burst appendix at the age of 38. His stories live on as does the great school he attended which lovingly took on the nickname, “Old Siwash.”.

As to the controversy concerning the name Siwash that began in the early 1970’s, let me say there are 5 different meanings for Siwash in various dictionaries. One apparently once meant “savage” in the Chinook ‘jargon,” a “language” used by English and French traders in trading with the Native American First Nations people in the early years of our country. One of the other 4 meanings is ours: “Siwash: Any small, provincial college (often preceded by a/d).” That is the school we attended and the one we know and love.)

David Usher, Alpha Delta Epsilon, ’74

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