An Anemic Ending Sours The Otherwise Enjoyable Taxi!

It's difficult to make a living in any occupation but it's particularly hard for cab drivers working the streets of New York City in the early years of the 1930's as they attempt to go about earning an honest living as larger corporations trying wiggle on the routes these everyday taxi drivers have always worked. This phenomenon soon impacts Pop Riley (Guy Kibbee), whose refusal to give in to the threats of a more powerful taxi driving company result in his taxi being destroyed in an "accidental" crash. Pop is so infuriated by this action that he shoots and kills the man responsible for destroying his taxi which results in Pop being thrown into the slammer.

Pop's daughter Sue (Loretta Young) is taken aback by this development, for obvious reasons, and during a meeting of local cab drivers, decides to take a stand against tactics of violence that these taxi drivers plan to use against the big city folks trying to toss them out of business. This earns the ire of young cab driver Matt Nolan (James Cagney), a guy with a hot temper and a lust for vengeance, though he can't help but find himself falling for Sue. The two opposites do eventually fall in love, but Matt's penchant for rage and revenge do hinder their relationship and it's only a matter of time before their romance is put to the test by Matt having to decide which is more important; the love of his life or exacting revenge?

One of the first movies done after James Cagney had become a super famous movie star (thanks for that piece of trivia Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz!), Taxi! gets a lot of mileage out of the talents of both Cagney and Loretta Young as the two are able to comb over some wrinkles in the storytelling found in Kubec Glasmon and John Bright's screenplay (which itself was adapted from a play by Kenyon Nicholson). Sure, Sue and Matt fall in love rather quickly, but Cagney and Young have such warm chemistry together in their numerous scenes that it's hard not to believe they'd have an undeniable attraction to each other.

Speaking of Glasmon and Bright's script, that piece of writing lends Taxi! as a movie a notably quick pace, something that shouldn't be shocking given the features 69 minute long running time. Though while watching it I was wondering if certain plot details were being handled in an overly hurried manner, but looking on Taxi! as a whole creation it feels like it all coalesces together decently. It helps that the script slowly but surely reveals itself to be a methodical piece on the price to be paid for giving into violent urges which is one of those elements American society (particularly in the early 20th century) was quite keen on instilling in young men as a critical part of embodying the ideal vision of masculinity.

It's an interesting concept to ponder in a movie that was released just a few years prior to John Wayne and his tough guy gruff and sharp shooting became a prominent cinema staple. That recurring theme imbues Taxi! with heft and allows its more rapid pace to feel acceptable since that high-speed aesthetic doesn't deprive the movie of depth. Plus, like I said, the two lead performances ensure that the central romance feels real and the pivotal character dynamics between Matt and his buddies, including his ill-fated brother, are established in a proper manner. All of these cast & crew members are working under director Roy Del Ruth, who lends some solid craftsmanship in his work as a filmmaker here.

I do wish Del Ruth and the writers could have realized what a mistake the final scene of Taxi! was though. A story all about the problems with Matt failing to resist his urge to be confrontational and violent ends with him murdering a guy, thus severing his relationship with Sue. This seems like an appropriately bleak ending for this story and the ideas it's trying to process, but then Sue and Matt get back together in an abrupt fashion that feels like a total cop out. It's like if the final cut of It Comes At Night replaced its final scene with the entire cast happily enjoying a pizza party, it's that out of place. What a shame it had to end on such a poorly realized note since Taxi! is otherwise a solid movie especially when it comes to its two excellent lead performances.