At first I thought this was a terrible film. The "script", as such, is nonexistent and nothing makes any sense at all. But I found all the characters delightful, cute and hilarious. Then it occurred to me: this WAS improvised, probably set up and shot in a day.
So, if you think of this as an elaborate theatre exercise, it becomes immensely enjoyable. Imagine sitting in a drama class while the leads of the school's drama team makes up this skit: wouldn't you laugh?
Now that I understand what this is really all about, "Skirt Shy" has become one of my favorite of the Hal Roach Langdon films.
Harry is given plenty of time just to do his shtick; little Nancy Dover is breathtakingly cute and more than a little ornery—she may be Harry's most perfect screen partner. She actually does what most of us have wanted to do at some point in a Langdon film: slap a little sense into him!
Tom Ricketts apparently was actually 76 years old when he made this film, and is a very funny guy, runs like hell and even does pratfalls(!). I actually wish they'd spent more camera-time on him.
May Wallace at 52 looks 82 but joins in the farce vigorously and swings a mean shovel; and whoever plays the cowboy is also good in his very over-the-top improv.
All these Hall Roach films of Harry Langdon need to be restored and made available for viewing. Langdon is exceptional with his voice, and actually funnier to me in sound than in his silent comedies, even though a few of the silents are better put-together.