Taxi (1932)

Director: Roy Del Ruth

Starring: James Cagney, Loretta Young, George E. Stone, Guy Kibbee

More info: IMDb

Plot: Amidst a backdrop of growing violence and intimidation, independent cab drivers struggling against a consolidated juggernaut rally around hot-tempered Matt Nolan. Nolan is determined to keep competition alive on the streets, even if it means losing the woman he loves.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? C'mon, it's Cagney!


I've never met a Cagney picture that I haven't liked and this one is no exception. As always, he's delightful and charming as ever. He's a tough guy with a soft spot and his fists sometimes do the thinking for him before he's had a chance to think it through. He's hot headed and that's what gets him into trouble.

Ah, the good old days when a movie was an event!

This broad was friggin' hilarious! Leila Bennett needs to have my half-wit babies.

TAXI is only 69 minutes long but there's a lot story goin' on. The first half is all about the taxi business with one company putting the muscle on the smaller ones to push them out of business. Then it suddenly becomes a revenge picture when Cagney's brother is murdered. Boy, does Cagney go after this guy. The ending is one WTF moment after another and if you didn't know how most movies of the period resolved, you'd be guessing the outcome until the credits hit. Fun stuff. What a guy!