Bright College Years

Although there is an onscreen 1970 copyright statement for Avco Embassy Pictures Corp., the film was not registered for copyright. After a brief montage of scenes of Yale life, the film's title card is presented. Additional scenes of Yale are shown, after which a title card reading "A film by Peter Rosen" appears. All other credits appear at the end of the film, superimposed over shots of students entering one of the Yale University buildings. Throughout the film, titles are superimposed over the action to announce specific dates and speakers. An onscreen statement at the end of the film reads "produced with the cooperation of Yale University/The Student Strike Steering Committee/The Yale Alumni/and the students of Trumbull College at Yale." Following Rosen's producing and directing credits at the end of the film, the following written statement appears: "this film was made possible by Joseph E. Levine and Avco Embassy Pictures Corporation."
       The film's title was taken from the first line of the Yale University alma mater, written by H. S. Durand and Carl Wilhelm: "Bright college years, with pleasure rife." There are several songs heard in the film, but most of their titles have not been determined. Late in the film, portions of "When You Walk Through a Storm," music by Richard Rodgers, and "The Star-Spangled Banner" are played by the Yale University Band.
       The film was shot in New Haven, CT, primarily on the campus of Yale University's Trumbull College, during May Day weekend from 1-3 May 1970, when Yale students and many faculty went on strike to protest the war in Vietnam, the May 11, 1970 invasion of Cambodia by U.S. forces and the murder trial of Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, as well as several New Haven-based members of the Black Panther Party. Although there were many verbal confrontations during the weekend, there was no violence and, according to information posted online by the archives of Yale University Library, classes resumed on Monday morning. Modern sources have attributed the lack of violence at Yale, in part, to the efforts of the university's then president, Kingman Brewster, Jr. (1917-1988).
       Prior to the film's release, as noted in reviews, Seale's New Haven trial for the murder of Alex Rackley, a former Blank Panther and suspected police informant, ended in a hung jury on May 25, 1971, after which all charges against him were dropped. The incidents shown at Yale University happened just prior to the May 4, 1970 Kent State University protest that resulted in the deaths of four students who were shot by National Guard troops. Neither Kent State nor the many strikes and protests following the student deaths is mentioned in Bright College Years.
       According to contemporary sources, Rosen attended the Yale University Drama School's filmmaking program on a fellowship provided by Levine, who was president of Avco Embassy. Reviews noted that Rosen was teaching and shooting a film on campus when he decided to make a documentary about the strike and protest. This was the first film made by Rosen, who went on to a successful career, directing and producing numerous documentary films for television, many on classical music and composers.
       Bright College Years cost $30,000 to shoot, according to the Variety review, although a March 24, 1971 Variety article about the film listed its budget as "under $50,000." The article went on to describe a financing arrangement whereby Rosen would receive 10% of the film's profits and Avco Embassy would have the right of first refusal on Rosen's next project.
       Various news items and reviews indicated that the film was not released in theaters, but shown primarily on college campuses because of its topicality and the fact that blowing the 16mm film up to 35mm for standard theatrical release would be too expensive. As noted in several news items, Bright College Years won the Gold Hugo Award, the top prize presented to a documentary, at the seventh annual Chicago International Film Festival, where it was presented in late November 1971.