Taxi!

Last updated

Taxi!
Taxi lobby card 2.jpg
lobby card
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Written byAdaptation & dialogue:
Kubec Glasmon
John Bright
Based onThe Blind Spot
unproduced play
by Kenyon Nicholson [1]
Produced by Robert Lord
Starring James Cagney
Loretta Young
Cinematography James Van Trees
Edited by James Gibbon
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
January 23, 1932
Running time
69 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Loretta Young and James Cagney Taxi film still 3.jpg
Loretta Young and James Cagney

Taxi! is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring James Cagney and Loretta Young.

Contents

The film includes a famous, and often misquoted, line with Cagney speaking to his brother's killer through a locked closet door: "Come out and take it, you dirty yellow-bellied rat, or I'll give it to you through the door!" This line has often been misquoted as "You dirty rat, you killed my brother".

To play his competitor in a ballroom dance contest, Cagney recommended his pal, fellow tough-guy-dancer George Raft, who was uncredited in the film. [2] In a lengthy and memorable sequence, the scene culminates with Raft and his partner winning the dance contest against Cagney and Young, after which Cagney slugs Raft and knocks him down. [3] [4] As in The Public Enemy (1931), several scenes in Taxi! involved the use of live machine gun bullets. After a few of the bullets narrowly missed Cagney's head, he outlawed the practice in his future films. [4]

In the film they see a fictitious Warner Bros. film at the cinema called Her Hour of Love in which Cagney cracks a joke about the film's leading man's appearance (an unbilled cameo by Warners contract player Donald Cook, who had played Cagney's brother in The Public Enemy) saying, "his ears are too big". Also advertised in the cinema lobby in the film is The Mad Genius , an actual film starring John Barrymore which was released the previous year by Warners. [5]

Plot

When a veteran cab driver, Pop Riley (Guy Kibbee), refuses to be pressured into surrendering his prime soliciting location outside a cafe, where his daughter works, the old man's cab is intentionally wrecked by a ruthless mob seeking to dominate the cab industry. Upon learning of the "accidental" destruction of his cab (and along with it his livelihood), the old man retrieves his handgun and shoots the bullying man known to be responsible, which lands him in prison, where he dies of poor health in fairly short order.

Pop's waitressing daughter, Sue (Loretta Young), is asked by a scrappy young cab driver, Matt (James Cagney), to lend moral support to a resistance movement populated by other drivers, who are also experiencing similar strong-arm tactics by the same aggressive group of thugs. However, after enduring the crushing loss of her father, Sue undergoes a complete ethical reversal about the notion of fighting back, feels thoroughly sickened by the violence and bloodshed, and she angrily tells the drivers as much.

Her unpredictably wilful but passionate rant instantly lands her on Matt's bad side, although he eventually has a redemptive change of heart, then seeks to charm Sue into becoming his girlfriend. They start dating and compete in a foxtrot dance contest.

Matt and Sue get married. On their wedding night they go to a nightclub with Matt's brother Dan. They are all taunted by Buck Gerard, the man responsible for the attacks on cab drivers. Sue stops Matt from attacking Buck, but Buck stabs and kills Dan.

Matt doesn't tell the police who killed Dan so he can get revenge himself. Sue warns Buck's girlfriend, Marie, that Matt is after him. Matt tracks down Buck but Sue and Marie keep him away from Buck long enough for the police to arrive. Matt fires a gun at the closet Buck is hiding in but Buck has fallen to his death out the closet window while trying to escape.

Sue decides to leave Matt but changes her mind.

Cast

David Landau, James Cagney, and Loretta Young in Taxi! (1932) Taxi film still.jpg
David Landau, James Cagney, and Loretta Young in Taxi! (1932)

Home media

Taxi! was released in February 2012 on DVD by Warner Bros through their print on demand Warner Archive label.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Cagney</span> American actor and dancer (1899–1986)

James Francis Cagney Jr. was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances. Cagney is remembered for playing multifaceted tough guys in films such as The Public Enemy (1931), Taxi! (1932), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), City for Conquest (1940) and White Heat (1949), finding himself typecast or limited by this reputation earlier in his career. He was able to negotiate dancing opportunities in his films and ended up winning the Academy Award for his role in the musical Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). In 1999 the American Film Institute ranked him eighth on its list of greatest male stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Orson Welles described him as "maybe the greatest actor who ever appeared in front of a camera".

<i>Footlight Parade</i> 1933 film by Lloyd Bacon

Footlight Parade is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell and featuring Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert and Ruth Donnelly. The film was written by Manuel Seff and James Seymour based on a story by Robert Lord and Peter Milne, and was directed by Lloyd Bacon, with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley. The film's songs were written by Harry Warren (music), Al Dubin (lyrics), Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics), and include "By a Waterfall", "Honeymoon Hotel" and "Shanghai Lil".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Raft</span> American actor (1901–1980)

George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembered for his gangster roles in Quick Millions (1931) with Spencer Tracy, Scarface (1932) with Paul Muni, Each Dawn I Die (1939) with James Cagney, Invisible Stripes (1939) with Humphrey Bogart, and Billy Wilder's comedy Some Like It Hot (1959) with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon; and as a dancer in Bolero (1934) with Carole Lombard and a truck driver in They Drive by Night (1940) with Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Bogart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Del Ruth</span> American filmmaker

Roy Del Ruth was an American filmmaker.

<i>They Drive by Night</i> 1940 film by Raoul Walsh

They Drive by Night is a 1940 American melodrama directed by Raoul Walsh and starring George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, and Humphrey Bogart, and featuring Gale Page, Alan Hale, Roscoe Karns, John Litel and George Tobias. The picture involves a pair of embattled truck drivers and was released in the UK under the title The Road to Frisco. The film was based on A. I. Bezzerides' 1938 novel Long Haul, which was later reprinted under the title They Drive by Night to capitalize on the success of the film.

<i>Each Dawn I Die</i> 1939 gangster film directed by William Keighley

Each Dawn I Die is a 1939 gangster film directed by William Keighley and starring James Cagney and George Raft. The plot of Each Dawn I Die involves an investigative reporter who is unjustly thrown in jail and befriends a famous gangster. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Jerome Odlum and the supporting cast features Jane Bryan, George Bancroft, Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, and Victor Jory.

<i>Broadway</i> (1942 film) 1942 film by William A. Seiter

Broadway is a 1942 crime drama musical film directed by William A. Seiter and starring George Raft as himself and Pat O'Brien as a detective. The supporting cast features Janet Blair and Broderick Crawford.

<i>Quick Millions</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Quick Millions is a 1931 pre-Code crime film directed by Rowland Brown and starring Spencer Tracy, Marguerite Churchill, Sally Eilers, and featuring George Raft as the sidekick with a solo eccentric dance performance.

<i>Invisible Stripes</i> 1939 film by Lloyd Bacon

Invisible Stripes is a 1939 Warner Bros. crime film starring George Raft as a gangster unable to go straight after returning home from prison. The movie was directed by Lloyd Bacon and also features William Holden, Jane Bryan and Humphrey Bogart. The screenplay by Warren Duff was based on the novel of the same name by Warden Lewis E. Lawes, a fervent crusader for prison reform, as adapted by Jonathan Finn.

<i>The House Across the Bay</i> 1940 American film

The House Across the Bay is a 1940 film directed by Archie Mayo, starring George Raft and Joan Bennett, produced by Walter Wanger, written by Myles Connolly and Kathryn Scola, and released by United Artists. The supporting cast features Lloyd Nolan, Walter Pidgeon and Gladys George.

<i>Stolen Harmony</i> 1935 film by Alfred L. Werker

Stolen Harmony is a 1935 American crime film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring George Raft, Ben Bernie and Grace Bradley. It is a semi-musical, featuring Big Band numbers. It was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

I Stole a Million is a 1939 film noir crime film starring George Raft as a cab driver turned small-time crook who makes a big score and lives to regret it. The supporting cast includes Claire Trevor, Dick Foran, and Victor Jory. The movie was written by Nathanael West based on a story idea by Lester Cole, which in turn was based on the life story of bank robber Roy Gardner. It was directed by Frank Tuttle, and released by Universal Pictures.

<i>Pick-Up</i> (1933 film) 1933 film by Marion Gering

Pick-Up is a 1933 American pre-Code crime film directed by Marion Gering and starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft.

<i>Winner Take All</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

Winner Take All is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring James Cagney as a boxer. The film also features a single scene of George Raft conducting a band that had been lifted from Queen of the Nightclubs, an earlier film and lost film. Cagney and Raft would not make a full-fledged film together until Each Dawn I Die seven years later.

<i>Side Street</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

Side Street is a 1929 American Pre-Code film featuring the only screen teaming of all three Moore Brothers, each of them major silent film stars. George Raft also makes an uncredited appearance as a professional dancer — which Raft was at the time — dancing to the song "Take a Look at Her Now", sung by June Clyde. Side Street was directed by Malcolm St. Clair with a screenplay by George O'Hara and Jane Murfin, based on a story by St. Clair, which was adapted by John Russell.

<i>Queen of the Night Clubs</i> 1929 film

Queen of the Night Clubs is a 1929 American Pre-Code musical drama film produced and directed by Bryan Foy, distributed by Warner Bros., and starred legendary nightclub hostess Texas Guinan. The picture, which featured appearances by Eddie Foy, Jr., Lila Lee, and George Raft, is now considered a lost film. A still existing vintage movie trailer of this film displays no clip of the feature.

<i>City for Conquest</i> 1940 film by Anatole Litvak

City for Conquest is a 1940 American epic drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring James Cagney, Ann Sheridan and Arthur Kennedy. The picture is based on the 1936 novel of the same name by Aben Kandel. The supporting cast features Elia Kazan, Anthony Quinn, Donald Crisp, Frank McHugh, Frank Craven and Lee Patrick.

<i>Christmas Eve</i> (1947 film) 1947 film by Edwin L. Marin

Christmas Eve is a 1947 American portmanteau comedy drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring George Raft, George Brent and Randolph Scott. It is based on a story by Laurence Stallings and Richard H. Landau. An independent production by Benedict Bogeaus it was distributed by United Artists. It was rereleased under the alternative title title Sinner's Holiday. It was one of several films Raft made with Edwin Marin and Benedict Bogeaus.

Waterfront is a 1939 Warner Bros. crime-drama film directed by Terry O. Morse and starring Gloria Dickson, Dennis Morgan and Marie Wilson. It was adapted from the play Blind Spot by Kenyon Nicholson. It is preserved at the Library of Congress.

Escape Route is a 1952 British black-and-white thriller film, directed by Seymour Friedman and Peter Graham Scott, and starring George Raft, Sally Gray and Clifford Evans.

References

  1. ↑ Aaker, Everett (April 19, 2013). George Raft: The Films. McFarland. ISBN   9780786493135.
  2. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (February 9, 2020). "Why Stars Stop Being Stars: George Raft". Filmink.
  3. ↑ Everett Aaker, The Films of George Raft, McFarland & Company, 2013, p. 20
  4. 1 2 Fristoe, Roger. "TCM's article on Taxi!". Turner Classic Movies . Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ Nollen, Scott Allen (2008). Warners Wiseguys: All 112 Films That Robinson, Cagney and Bogart Made for the Studio. McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub. p. 43. ISBN   978-0-7864-3262-2.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.