Dont be shy. Watch 'Bashful'!

Bashful (1917)
Starring: Harold Lloyd, Bebe Daniels, William Blaisdell, Snub Pollard, Belle Mitchell, and Bud Jamison
Director: Alf Goulding
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A shy young man (Lloyd) will inherit millions of dollars if he has a wife and child. When the estate executor (Blaisdell) pays him a visit, his girlfriend (Daniels) pretends to be his wife, and his manservant (Pollard) and cook (Mitchell) set out to find and "borrow" a baby.

"Bashful" hits the ground running and never slows down for its 9-minute running time. The early part of the film is amusing, but things get over-the-top hilarious once the menacing executor of the estate (played with great effect by the giant-of-a-man William Blaisdell) arrives to vet the heir and his family, and the household staff go through their efforts to make sure their employer can present a baby.

As is almost always the case, Harold Lloyd and Bebe Daniels are a joy to watch. This film is made all the more fun by there being a slight role reversal to what was typical in these older films: Daniels' character wants to smooch with Lloyd's character and she isn't afraid to go after him for it. Meanwhile, Lloyd's character is more demure and brushes off her advances. (Daniels played a similar character in "Off the Trolley", which is another Lloyd/Daniels pairing I highly recommend.)

 

As mentioned above, "Bashful" is a fast-moving film, and not a second of screen time is wasted on anything that doesn't move the plot along, or isn't a gag or an extended comedy bit. This might have been an Eight Star film if it had been a little slower in a couple of different ways--or maybe a little longer. The film ends with a couple of MAJOR plot elements unresolved--and they had intersected and were coming to a head as things fade to black. 

I don't think the version I've watched is incomplete, because the ending isn't abrupt and satisfying in the overall context of the film... but I would have loved to see the total chaos and possible brawling and chases that almost certainly descended upon the Lloyd household after. All it would have taken would be another minute or two or run-time (well, and a longer shooting schedule and a bigger budget and...)

I can't go into details about what those plot elements are without ruining some of the film's funniest moments, but I hope you will take a few minutes to check out this great little film. I'm not terribly fond of the music used in this version, but the image quality is fantastic!

And if you feel inclined, let me know if you agree with my view that this would have been an even better film if those severed plot threads and been run out completely.