O Maricas

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 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.

This is an enjoyable feature with some good comedy and a good role for Harold Lloyd, giving him plenty of opportunities to show his athleticism and his slapstick skills while developing his character at the same time. The story follows the reliable pattern of pleasant light comedy as the plot takes shape, followed by an extended race-against-time sequence for the finale.

Lloyd's character is easy to sympathize with, despite his flaws and mistakes, and his stuttering and other habits help to make the character work. It's easy to identify with both his shyness and his overly-optimistic dreams, even when the character is completely self-deluded. Jobyna Ralston is effective as the gentle young rich woman, and their relationship's ups and downs are believably portrayed.

The pace is deliberate for the most part, until everything is set up for the climactic sequence. Lloyd gets to do some impressive stunts, and there are a lot of interesting details. One notable feature is that Harold makes use of almost every conceivable form of conveyance available at the time, which adds to the effect.

As is usual for a Lloyd feature, there are a lot of visual details here and there that often set off the main action nicely. The main character is just enough different from Lloyd's best-known roles to make him interesting yet largely familiar. The story is told effectively, with a couple of recurring visual references that work well in wordlessly conveying the characters' thoughts. The romance, comedy, and action make for an entertaining mix.

Long live Harold! This is a charming silent comedy where my hero plays a shy boy writing a book about the ways to seduce a woman. He wants to publish it, but the editor thinks this is a funny book. In his way, Harold fells in love with a beautiful young woman. This love helps him to stop being girl shy. Very funny gags, and also a sensitive way to illustrate love (such beautiful scenes are frequents in Harold's movie). This is also a great opportunity to see the beauty and the talent of the wonderful Jobyna Ralston. See it! And see all the Harold Lloyd movies of the 1920's! He was and still is one of the best comic actors in Hollywood history.

GIRL SHY is one of Lloyd's classics where that tight structure as the trademark of his comedy is most obvious. Every gag is so closed linked to another. It really leaves you marvel at his ability of building up and controlling his work. Besides, it is one of the great romantic comedies of the silent era, full of breath-taking imageries(like the scene when the Boy was dreaming about the Girl while fishing under a bridge..). It is hilarious throughout(especially for those 2 fantasy sequences). The great final chase is full of typical thrills that only Lloyd's comedy can provide(and, as we know it, `inspired' the final chase in The Graduate). Lloyd showed some wonderful drama acting ability too(when he had to dissuade the Girl from seeing him any more).