marcslope I was expecting a typical Warner's social-consciousness expose of unfair working conditions affronting cab drivers or whatever, but this short programmer is largely a love story, and a convoluted one. It has cabbie Jimmy Cagney falling for Loretta Young, whose dad, Guy Kibbee, died in prison after killing a rival driver who was unfairly moving in on his territory. The courtship is so rushed as to be incomprehensible--one scene he's chewing her out for failing to back him on his organizing efforts, next scene they're making goo-goo eyes at each other. Cagney plays such a hot-tempered, unreasonable lout that even this actor's charm and magnetism don't transform him, and you're not really rooting for the two of them to end up together. She's typically pretty and appealing, but hasn't much to play, and you have to endure Leila Bennett as her unbearably droning-on-and-on girlfriend--she plays her all too well. Jimmy and Loretta do get to dance together a bit, and some good character actors are hanging on the sidelines, notably David Landau as the evil rival who triggered the whole conflict, and ends up paying for it. But it's neither believable as a romance nor revealing as a working-class study, and the screenplay, from a stage play that one has to assume was rather different, doesn't make much sense.

George Wright The early 1930's in New York City is the scene for this movie where men fight one another for advantage in the taxi business. The women in their lives get embroiled in the crime wave that breaks out. Jimmy Cagney is Matt Nolan, the pugnacious rabble rouser and the little guy with a chip on his shoulder in a role that defines his mannerisms and style as the lovable tough guy. Loretta Young is Sue Riley, the daughter of a driver who gets killed in the working class warfare, who Cagney falls in love with. She is every bit as spunky in her effort to stop the vicious rivalry that took the life of her father. Young became one of the most loved actresses of her time. She made this movie in her late teens and is brilliant. Leila Bennett is Ruby, Sue's close friend, who delivers a large measure of humor and her New York twang gives it that extra zing. The movie takes us through the streets and into the ballrooms and apartments of depression era New York. Judging by the names, the characters are mostly Irish, with Irish cops and priest to complete the picture. However, it is Cagney and Young who shine. When he falls for Sue, Matt is putty in her hands but when his temper gets the better of him, the romance wanes. Sue is every bit as lovestruck when Matt kisses and flirts with her. This is a crime movie with lots of fun and a great slice of New York City life but most of all, I liked the match-up of the two stars, who are at their best.

classicsoncall Starting out, I'd have to say that you'd be hard pressed to come up with a more attractive screen couple than the young James Cagney and Loretta Young. What got them there however, and what ensues is a somewhat haphazard mess of a story, though memorable for a lot of great scenes and characterizations, not the least of which is a quick appearance by George Raft during a dance contest!As always, Cagney lights up the screen with his commanding presence; here he's an independent taxi cab driver about to get embroiled in a dispute against a rival cab company that threatens the livelihood of the independents. Young's character, Sue Riley, is the daughter of a cab driver who dies in Sing Sing after killing a Consolidated goon who wrecked his vehicle. Uncharacteristically, Sue pleads for restraint at a meeting of the independent drivers, embarrassing Matt Nolan (Cagney) who wants more aggressive action. The first 'huh?' moment of the story occurs when Nolan and Sue are seen getting lovey dovey on line at a movie theater, when in the moment earlier scene she slapped his face, prompting the Cagney quote in my summary line above. But say, wasn't that the slickest wedding proposal ever when Cagney slipped the ring on Young's finger? - very smooth!The film gets some good mileage out of secondary characters as well, with George E. Stone as Nolan's pal Skeets, and Sue's girlfriend Ruby, played by Leila Bennett. Ruby is comically annoying with her ceaseless chatter about nothing in particular, though conversations about fish dying an unnatural death and her own matrimonial prospects are noteworthy. It was probably convenient for her to be dating Skeets whenever the couples went out, but how would you like to be on the receiving end of "Come on, I feel like being bored and you can do the job better than anybody I know." You know, it didn't surprise me when she told Skeets her favorite actor was Joe E. Brown - who would have guessed? Still, if you examine the film with any sense of credibility, you'll be left wondering about a whole host of questions. Like what did Marie (Doroth Burgess) ever see in Buck Gerard (David Landau)? What would make ANYONE think they could get financial help for the killer of one's own brother-in law? How could Sue rat out her husband when the cops came calling on the Gerard apartment (quite convenient timing I might add)? And why, oh why, didn't Nolan, or anyone, ever reveal to Sue Riley that it was Buck Gerard who set up her father's 'incident' that sent him away to prison? Which makes the ending just a little TOO tidy for my taste, not that Matt and Sue couldn't live happily ever after, but geez, she pulled a gun on him just a few scenes earlier. BUT, if you're a James Cagney fan, this is a pretty good showcase for his talent, including some snappy Yiddish dialog, a fox trot that should have beaten Raft, and a quick tap dance at Sue's apartment. I'll watch it again!

lugonian TAXI (Warner Brothers, 1932), directed by Roy Del Ruth, is not so much a tribute on the day in the life of taxi drivers and the involvement with their passengers, but solely on an individual cabbie out to avenge his brother's killer. While the story does start out with a taxi war, Gramercy vs. Consolidated Cabs, it shifts gears during its second half where the theme switches from "fare game" to "revenge is sweet." The cabbie in question is James Cagney, resident tough guy of Warners, still in the driver's seat after his triumph in THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931). He's not a gangster this time around but a guy on the side of the law, his law in fact, coping with hostility from others which cause his temper to constantly reach its boiling point. Loretta Young, very early in her career, plays the girl he marries who tries every which way to break him out of his quick-temper habit.TAXI immediately gets underway as Buck Gerard (David Landau) an organizer who leads his men to create "accidents" for other taxi drivers in order to do away with his competition. He orders "Pop" Reilly (Guy Kibbee) to leave his corner, but when he refuses, has his hired truck driver (Nat Pendleton) smash into his taxi. Reilly shoots the driver, but because he took the law into his own hands, the old man is sentenced to serve ten years in the state penitentiary in Ossining. After Reilly dies, Sue (Loretta Young), his daughter, goes against Matt Nolan (James Cagney), a taxi driver forming a staff meeting in getting the other drivers to unite by fighting back. In spite of their differences, Matt and Sue eventually marry. While in a night club celebrating their union, the Nolans encounter the drunken Buck Gerard with his girlfriend, Marie Costa (Dorothy Burgess). After Buck speaks out of turn, sort to speak, by insulting Sue, a fight ensues causing Gerard to take out his knife aimed at Matt, but accidentally stabbing his brother, Danny (Ray Cooke), in his attempt to save Matt. While Sue feels it best for the police to handle the situation, Matt wants nothing more than to avenge Danny's killer. Their marriage nearly comes at wits end when Matt learns Skeets (George E. Stone), one of his taxi driver pals, that Gerard's girl was seen visiting Sue in his apartment, asking her for $100, leading Matt to believe Sue has betrayed him, unaware of her true reason in doing this.A forgotten 67 minute programmer with fast-pace action is notable mostly for a couple of memorable scenes: Cagney speaking Yiddish to a policeman, and a dance contest at the Rainbow Gardens involving Cagney and Young with another dancing couple, the male partner being the up and coming George Raft. With this being a Cagney picture, it is Leila Bennett as Young's best girlfriend who not only stands out with her comedy relief and witty dialog, but gets the final fadeout. Look fast for Donald Cook (Cagney's brother in THE PUBLIC ENEMY) and Evalyn Knapp in the movie theater sequence playing leading players of "Her Hour of Love." As with many movies of the early 1930s, TAXI has gone through the remaking process by the end of the decade under the new title and locale as WATERFRONT (WB, 1939) with Gloria Dickson and Dennis Morgan, both films that have never been distributed on video or DVD. For a quick joy ride, be sure to watch TAXI next the time this and WATERFRONT shows again on Turner Classic Movies. (***)