To me, this movie is perfection.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

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.

Leila Bennett's droning was endless, intrusive, grating, and monotonous. She single-handedly ruined every scene in which she was featured, and there were far too many of those; oh, what a Fanny Brice or Judy Holliday could have done with this role! Also, Loretta's character forgiving Cagney's at the end of the movie is reprehensible and stomach-turning - all women should hate this facile and callous resolution. Cagney's character had absolutely no redeeming qualities. And how the hell did he get away with attempted murder? Definitely not my favourite Cagney vehicle although I really, really liked Loretta Young despite the ending foisted upon her.

Electric is a Word You could use to Describe the Screen Presence of James Cagney. Here He is Plugged In and is Typical of His Early Thirties Movies where He makes the Movie Sizzle with His Rapid Dialog and Pithy Comebacks.He is a Dynamo in this Clunky Story that Veers of the Road on Occasion but Never Manages to be Boring. There is a lot Packed into the Short Running Time with Romance getting in the way of Revenge. Cagney's Temper and Loretta Young's Inability to Control it, makes an On Again Off Again Love Affair that is a bit Strained and Her Motivations may be at Times Questionable.When Cagney balls up His Fist and Plants it in Loretta's Face and says..."If I thought you meant it!" Smacks of Dated Spousal Abuse Stuff but was Common Until Feminism. Think Jackie Gleason's "One of these days Alice, Bang-Zoom".Overall an Exciting and Lively Movie with a Pre-Code Backdrop (Loretta Strips/Some Chorus Girl Skin) that is Worth a Watch for Cagney Alone but there are other Things Peppering this Early Sounder that make it a Small Nugget for its Time.

Taxi (1932) *** (out of 4) Silly but extremely entertaining crime film from Warner deals with two rival cab companies who resort to violence to settle business. James Cagney leads one side of the fight while slowly falling for the girl (Loretta Young) who lost her father in the taxi wars. This is certainly a silly film but if you enjoy watching Cagney kick ass then this is highly entertaining. The film opens with Cagney knocking around a few guys and continues throughout the film, which runs a very fast 68-minutes and doesn't have one dry moment the whole way through. One of the men Cagney beats is played by a young George Raft who smarts off after a dance contest. Cagney is as fast and as wild as he has ever been and his performance is top-notch. Young is also very good in her role as his wife as she must try and talk Cagney out of seeking vengeance on the man who killed his brother. The screenplay is rather smart even though most of its just there for the action but this is the perfect time killer and great fun for fans of the two stars. George E. Stone, Guy Kibbee and Leila Bennett co-star.