Good news for fans of Edward Everett Horton: a print of this long-lost film has been discovered! It was found in late 2024, in a 16mm film collection. The surviving copy of "Taxi! Taxi!" is a Universal "Show-At-Home" print, made for home use. This afternoon, the film received what was probably its first public screening since the silent era, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
There's more good news: not only is the print complete and in decent condition, but this a very enjoyable comedy! Eddie is in fine form, there are plenty of good gags, and the direction by Melville Brown is smooth and brisk, with some unexpected, nicely handled cinematic flourishes.
Horton plays an architect named Peter Whitby, one of many lowly draftsmen in a firm run by grouchy Mr. Zimmerman (Burr McIntosh). It's quickly established that Whitby struggles to get to work on time, and is not popular with the boss. Even so, he's assigned the task of going to the train station and retrieving Zimmerman's niece Rose (played by the charming Marian Nixon). There's a funny sequence at the station when our hero rescues Rose from a masher almost accidentally, like something out of a Harry Langdon comedy.
Peter and Rose fall for each other. But when they wind up in a "gay" nightclub -- which in those days meant lively -- the same night as Rose's uncle, they must sneak out quickly. Heavy rain hinders their escape. In desperation, Peter buys an old taxicab from a man he meets on the street. He's unaware the guy is a crook, that the cab was just used in a heist, and that the cops are on the lookout for the car and the driver! Complications ensue. The story builds to a chase, and one of the funniest comic wedding scenes I've ever witnessed.
This is a cute comedy, which starts well and builds in momentum as it rolls along. Mr. Horton is a captivating comic lead, even without his famous voice. I've never heard of director Melville Brown, but he employs unusual creative touches which give the film a boost. For instance, when our hero is sitting in his car, talking with a traffic cop, the cop's face is clearly reflected in the windshield during the chat. Instead of cutting back and forth between closeups, we see each character's reactions in the same shot. In another scene, we learn that Peter is smitten with Rose via his silhouette, visible through a smoked glass window. Even in a shadow image, Horton is able to convey his character's emotional state. These moments lift the proceedings out of the ordinary, and give viewers a little treat along with the gags.
"Taxi! Taxi!" was greeted with big laughs today at the library screening, especially the wedding finale. Let's hope the newly-recovered print can be cleaned-up and restored, and made available to a wider audience!
