Fraternity Row

I worked on Fraternity Row, mostly extra work, and I handled the boom mike for about half the picture. In fact, the unmistakable mike shadow right across an actor's close-up that survives today was my doing -- heck, it was 6 AM at the end of an all-night shoot. But it teaches you the value of adequate coverage.

Anyway, one day we were to shoot a scene that was supposed to put the rest of the story into flashback -- and into the USC classroom we were using come four seasoned character actors who showed up for one day's work -- Cliff Robertson, John Anderson, Andrew Duggan, and Pat Hingle. For me, it was a great thrill to work with these vets whom I had enjoyed on the screen for years. During the lunch break I ate with Messrs Anderson and Duggan, and they were first-class gentlemen, now sadly gone on to their rewards. Too bad that Tom Tobin, who went on to another business, couldn't make that one scene work with the rest of the picture. It never made it in.

I'm in another business now, but I think back to those summer days in 1976 (when the picture was shot) with great fondness. Particularly fond of the gorgeous "sorority girls" who were always around the set. Ah, show business...

At a tony Pennsylvania college in 1954, an idealistic young man--who has faith in his belief of true-blue brotherhood--becomes a new fraternity pledge and tries to change the hierarchy inherent to the somewhat sadistic them-vs.-us system. Oppressive with nostalgia, sentiment, and pathos, this rather unhappy enterprise begins as an affectionate remembrance but winds up a cautionary tale (all the while narrated by Cliff Robertson who, in his fare-thee-well manner, coats the production with a "Waltons"-styled solemnity). Some of the dialogue exchanges are interesting, and screenwriter Charles Gary Allison (who also produced) is deft enough to give us several good guys and not just one sacrificial lamb. However, for a seemingly-autobiographical drama, the film comes up short on dramatic inspiration, and we never get to know most of the characters on display. Allison works his way up to one major plot development, which is handled bluntly by director Thomas J. Tobin, while the impressive cast of young actors get stuck performing all on one note. *1/2 from ****

This movie tells the story of one college student and his trials and tribulations as he pledges the Gamma Nu Pi Fraternity at a fictional Eastern school. Strikingly honest portrayal that shows what pledging was truly like in the 1950's. Good acting by a largely unknown cast, along with a good script makes for an engaging movie. Almost a must see for anyone who has gone through fraternity pledging.

This is a valuable teaching tool for anyone working with fraternity systems in Colleges and Universities.

I saw it on TV while I was a College student. I eventually worked in Higher Education for over 20 years and for a long time wished I had a copy to use for Greek in-service education. A few years ago I was able to purchase a copy on ebay. I received a document which attests that Fraternity Row is a public domain movie.

The narration is smooth and focused. The acting, centered and honest. While it can be looked on as time capsule body of work the relevance of this true story still resonates with college students today.

I first saw this movie on vacation in San Diego in 1977 and was immediately struck by the star quality of the two leads, Gregory Harrison (who became a star) and the female (a film student who apparently never made another movie). I'd love to see this again, but have never seen it listed on T.V. and it doesn't appear available on video tape. It was a film project of the USC Film School.