Girl Shy (1924)

A shy, young man, who is completely incapable of talking to women, decides to write a book that details to other bachelors how to find a girlfriend.

Directors:

Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor

Writers:

Sam Taylor (story), Ted Wilde (story),

Stars:

Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Richard Daniels

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Harold Lloyd	...	The Poor Boy
Jobyna Ralston	...	The Rich Girl
Richard Daniels	...	The Poor Man
Carlton Griffin	...	The Rich Man

Storyline

Harold Meadows (Lloyd) is a shy, stuttering bachelor working in a tailor shop, who is writing a guide book for other bashful young men, "The Secret of Making Love," chapters from which are portrayed as fantasy sequences. Fate has him meet rich girl, Mary (Ralston), and they fall in love. But she is about to wed an already married man, so our hero embarks upon a hair-raising daredevil ride to prevent the wedding.

---

Plot Keywords:

stuttering | tailor | fantasy sequence | canceled wedding | auto theft | 

---

Genres:

Action | Comedy | Romance | Family

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 April 1924 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Maricas

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Harold Lloyd Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 80 min (Turner library print) 87 min (1992)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the exterior shots were filmed at Holmby House, the massive estate owned by Arthur Letts, owner of the Bullocks Departments Store. Harold Lloyd did not move into his Green Acres estate in Beverly Hills until 1929, five years after Girl Shy was released.

---

Goofs

When Mary's car goes off the road and in a close shot she takes out the crackerjack box, there is a reflection in the side of the car (bottom left) of a pair of legs standing nearby, then walking away.

---

Connections

Featured in Scoring for Comedy (2005)

User Reviews

Chasing Romance With Mr. Lloyd

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.