James Cagney doesn't do much actual taxi driving in this bright energetic piece from Warners which clocks in at just over an hour but has plenty going on. He comes into it surprisingly late - the first bit is about cab driver Guy Kibee who suffers at the hands of the mob. Cagney takes on the mob too and romances Kibee's daughter, Loretta Young.
Young is charming here, and achingly pretty - she has a freshness to her work that would soon be replaced by a stiffer performing style. She and Cagney are a sweet couple for the most part - he's very young too - although he has a hot temper and there's an unpleasantly abusive aspect to their relationship. He's got wife beater all over him.
They do have some lovely courting scenes - going to the movies (some in jokes for Warners fans), doing a foxtrot against a couple that includes a young George Raft (looking sinister and charismatic and you can see why he soon became a star even if he is super awkward with the dialogue). Cagney also calls someone a "rat" and dances with Young.
Brisk direction from Roy Del Ruth.
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