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Girl Shy

Play trailer Poster for Girl Shy Released Apr 20, 1924 1h 22m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 1 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
The Poor Boy (Harold Lloyd) is a bashful tailor's apprentice who longs to be a published author. Heading for the city to sell his romantic anthology, he encounters the Rich Girl (Jobyna Ralston) on a train, and he helps her hide her dog from the conductor. Excited about a budding romance, the Poor Boy goes off to a publisher and gets rejected. Disheartened, he gives up on the Rich Girl. However, when the publisher changes his mind, the Poor Boy tries to rekindle the spark of romance.

Critics Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews It's a modestly entertaining physical comedy with a spectacular classic closing chase scene, and with Lloyd doing all the stunts. Rated: B+ Mar 27, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member The best comedy movie ever made! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member The premise for this Harold Lloyd vehicle is the oft-used trope of the nice guy who is terribly shy around women, in this case, so much so that he begins stuttering and even trembling. What makes it amusing initially is that he's also an aspiring writer who, of all things, has written a how-to book for other young men called "The Secret of Making Love". The two fantasy sequences he dreams up while writing, for chapters dealing with a woman who is a vampire (vamp) and a flapper, are fantastic, and I wish there could have been more of them. Lloyd is of course cool, confident, and macho in his daydreams, at one point giving the flapper (Judy King) a spanking. In real life he can't even muster the courage to sit down next to a rich young girl who has tried to sneak her dog on a train (Jobyna Ralston). The love story that develops between Lloyd and Ralston is predictable, but sweet. The two of them carry around mementos of their meeting (a box of dog treats for him, and a box of Cracker Jacks for her), pining away for each other. Lloyd endures humiliation in many ways, the most memorable being when an entire office crowd around to laugh over his book, and then mock him mercilessly. These empathy building devices for the 'nice guy' are cliché today, but I found them endearing and interesting, especially since the film is from 1924. There are a few nice gags along the way, but what really makes the film is the madcap journey he takes aboard all manner of vehicles - a car, train, pair of horses, streetcar, motorcycle, etc. towards the end. It's an extended sequence that is brilliant and memorable. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member A slow burn of a movie with a final act that is a raging fire of thrills. Entertaining and heartwarming throughout, definitely one of Lloyds best. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member A simple, joyfull and high-quality silent-movie comedy. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member With his own production company, Lloyd continued showing up other silent stars with the physicality inherent in his style of comedy. Watch closely and you'll notice a handful of continuity errors so common in other silent films. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member A charming little film about a man who is particularly 'Girl Shy' and accidentally bumps into a girl he can't get out of his mind. Filled with many cute great staged scenes for example where he is sitting on a boat day dreaming of his girl & the she crosses a bridge that is on top of him daydreaming of him. The final chase in this film is utterly extraordinary multiple vehicle multiple locations & the excitement & speed of it is sensational! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Girl Shy

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Movie Info

Synopsis The Poor Boy (Harold Lloyd) is a bashful tailor's apprentice who longs to be a published author. Heading for the city to sell his romantic anthology, he encounters the Rich Girl (Jobyna Ralston) on a train, and he helps her hide her dog from the conductor. Excited about a budding romance, the Poor Boy goes off to a publisher and gets rejected. Disheartened, he gives up on the Rich Girl. However, when the publisher changes his mind, the Poor Boy tries to rekindle the spark of romance.
Director
Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Producer
Harold Lloyd
Screenwriter
Thomas J. Gray, Tim Whelan, Ted Wilde
Production Co
Pathé
Genre
Comedy
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 20, 1924, Original
Runtime
1h 22m