Girl Shy

Harold Lloyd, "third genius" of silent comedy, made his independent debut with Girl Shy after years at Hal Roach studios, Hollywood's premier comedy factory. He chose to take with him his leading lady Jobyna Ralston and his directorial team Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor. However the resulting picture is something of a departure from his earlier work – or, at least, it is a development of it. Girl Shy is less about knitting together gag after gag, taking instead the "story first" approach of Charlie Chaplin's full-length movies.

And as with Chaplin, the story though emotionally sincere is never allowed to smother the comedy, and quite often a quick joke is used great effect, puncturing a romantic moment before it becomes too sentimental. The story is a little illogical at times – the flashbacks to Harold's "research" for his book seem at odds with the lack of confidence after which the whole picture is named. But those little vignettes offer some great satire on the romantic melodramas of the era, and generally the whole thing is put together with such a fine balancing of romance and humour that it moves along without the deficiencies ever becoming too apparent.

Directors Taylor and Newmeyer have a great dynamic, it seems trying to make their styles match even though they handle different sections of the movie. Sam Taylor, (who did most of the comedy) uses a lot of close-up gags here, such as the business with the mousetrap, where some little detail will lead to some larger scale shenanigans. And similarly Newmeyer is putting in a lot of discreet close-ups for his non-comedy scenes, such as the shots of the crackerjack box that serve as a symbol for Ralston's memory of Harold. Together the two directors give the whole thing a kind of visual coherence that makes it all seem smooth and flowing. Newmeyer is on particularly fine form here, directing with a subtlety that allows the entire river meeting scene to be played out with no intertitles.

Lloyd's features typically have a fast-paced editing pattern, largely to facilitate the often breakneck pace of his comedy sequences. The dash to the church which forms the finale of Girl Shy is perhaps the most brilliant of any Lloyd picture, mainly because of the rapidity with which it moves from one gag to the next. The way Harold leaps from, say, the back of a car onto a horse is funny in itself – as well as an impressive stunt. And yet, unlike his previous feature Safety Last!, which had quick edits throughout, Girl Shy also features a few longer takes in the romantic scenes, allowing the camera to linger over a facial expression.

Which brings me onto Harold himself. He really makes the most of these close-ups. When he receives the bad news over his book, the camera holds him for a lengthy moment, and he really acts. He stays within the parameters of that comical character, but he emotes with complete dignity. Ultimately, Girl Shy is the complete realisation of the Harold Lloyd comedy character that would stick with him in future features (barring one or two deviations). Even though the story may be a little inconsistent as to exactly how "girl shy" Harold really is, this is the first movie to show him not only as a familiar, sympathetic figure, but one who is at risk of being hurt emotionally, not just by the dangers of his cliffhanging slapstick.

I had watched this for the first time while I was in Hollywood as part of a TCM marathon of Harold Lloyd films in November 2005 (to coincide with the DVD release of New Line's 7-Disc Set). I must say that in the past I had underestimated it, because I did not pick up the "Connoiseur Video" PAL VHS a few years ago (as I had done with 3 other available titles by this great comedian). The plot deals with a painfully shy tailor's apprentice (he stutters terribly at the sight of a woman) who has secretly published a lovers' manual, and himself falls for a wealthy girl (the demure but utterly charming Jobyna Ralston, a frequent Lloyd co-star) who is about to be married off to a bigamist heel.

The film displays dazzling invention throughout and is frequently hilarious, but also laces the proceedings with just the right dose of sentiment: the climactic exhilarating chase is spectacular and one of the very best of its kind, while the disruption of the marriage/abduction of the bride ending might well have inspired THE GRADUATE (1967)! Some of the funniest stuff includes: the fantasy sequences depicting Lloyd as an irresistible ladies' man, illustrating his theories on how to seduce a vamp and a flapper; the car exchange sequence (which sees Lloyd losing the ramshackle vehicle he ended up with down a cliff); and his hitching a clandestine ride on a car which is about to be parked in its garage.

Although painfully GIRL SHY, a tailor's assistant uses every ounce of strength to keep the young woman he adores from an unwise marriage.

Harold Lloyd produces another winning entry in his series of silent screen comedy classics. This time there is a healthy dose of old-fashioned romanticism, as Harold and beautiful Jobyna Ralston yearn & commune alongside a bucolic stream.

Such tenderness never cloys, however, as Lloyd makes sure to leaven it with healthy helpings of hilarity. His attempts to hide a small dog on a passenger train are uproarious, as are his demonstrations on how to make love to vamps & flappers. And when the viewer thinks Harold can't possibly top himself, he ends the film with one of his marvelous chase scenes, in which he uses every sort of conveyance (train, jalopy, horse, fire truck, trolley, motorcycle & sand wagon) to stop Jobyna's marriage to a cad.

Throughout, Harold displays the remarkable athleticism for which he was celebrated, made even more astonishing when one remembers that he had lost half of his right hand a few years before in a freak studio accident, a disfigurement he disguised with a prosthetic glove.

Movie mavens will recognize some OUR GANG kids in uncredited roles--Fat Joe Cobb & Jackie Condon in the tailor's shop and Mickey Daniels as a newsboy on the street.

Jim Parker has composed an excellent film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen.

The great Harold Lloyd has a total triumph in 1924's Girl Shy. This films is jam-packed with wit, slapstick, and old-fashioned sweetness. Lloyd found his perfect leading lady in Jobyna Ralston, who had just the right amount of prettiness and comic timing. Lloyd, of course, was the master of comic timing in everything from set pieces to still-spectacular chases across Los Angeles downtown streets. I especially liked the daydream scenes where the shy Harold conquers 2 great 1920s stereotypes: the Vamp, and the Flapper. I'd love to know who plays theses women in this film. I think she also appears as the girl with the hole in her stocking. This actress is a hoot as the parody of the vamp and flapper..... Altho I admire Chaplin, Keaton, and Harry Langdon as master comics, Harold Lloyd may have been the most complete of these star performers. His acting range was the broadest and his characters were never quite as vaudevillian--Harold Lloyd's everyman persona still rings true 80 years later. Bravo, Harold Lloyd!

I have not seen very many Harold Lloyd movies, but if this film is any indication of his massive talent, I need to remedy that as soon as possible.

Harold is wonderful as Harold Meadows, a man so shy around women that he stutters until a whistle is blown. He is at work on a book about seducing women strangely enough and the imaginary scenes of him using his "techniques" on both a Vampire (Vamp) and a Flapper are early indications that this is going to be a very funny film.

The plot has been more than ably shared already, I will just add a few short observations.

It was a treat to see some of the earliest Our Gang / Little Rascal kids in this movie. In the opening scene in the tailor shop the wild-haired boy getting his pants stitched is Jackie Condon and the cute, chubby boy sitting on the floor is the first Our Gang "Fat Kid" , Joe Cobb. Later during the chase scene as Harold is riding horses, a freckle-faced boy calls out a cheer, this is Mickey Daniels, also of Our Gang fame.

I enjoyed, as everyone seems to of course, the chase/race at the end. It seems that they purposely used every form of land transport known at the time to get Harold to the place he needed to be.

Early product placement? Crackerjack boxes play a major role in this film.



All in all, this was am excellent introduction to Harold Lloyd for me, it makes me want to see more. I recommend it highly!