They Met in a Taxi

I saw this film at Cinefst in Syracuse, New York in March 2003. Runaway bride Fay Wray convinces taxi driver Jimmy Donlin (Chester Morris) to help her hide from her rich father. What seems to be a variation of It Happened One Night turns around when we discover that Mary is not a bride after all, but a model in a wedding dress. She is innocently involved in the theft of a pearl necklace, which has become entangled in the hem of the gown. A romance with Jimmy soon develops as he harbors her from the law, and with the aid of a few pals, they try to figure out the robbery scheme.

The success of Frank Capra's It Happened One Night in 1934 starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable spawned a host of movies about madcap daughters of millionaires fleeing a planned marriage, meeting a rugged two-fisted working-class male and you can guess the rest. None of them enjoyed the success of the original, which won all major Academy Awards.

This one doesn't come close. You might be tempted to ask "How could Fay Wray and Chester Morris compare with Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable?" Not too badly, actually. They're both attractive and well-suited for their roles. The big problem is that It Happened One Night was made before the dreaded Production Code was enforced rigorously and this film was made after. Thus, They Met in a Taxi fails to even hint at any sexual undercurrent inherent in presumed fleeing heiress Wray hiding out in cab driver Morris's apartment. They're more like two squabbling children, at the beginning at least. There is one original twist to the plot that unfortunately most of the other user reviews have given away.

There are things to like here, mostly the performances of the two stars and sidekicks Lionel Stander as a larcenous fellow cabbie and Raymond Walburn as an effusive gossip columnist. The plot shifts to a search for missing jewels but there's no real tension. You just know from the blandness of it all that we're headed for a happy ending with few complications.

Still, if you're a fan of late-1930s "screwball comedies" or a Fay Wray fan like me you'll get some enjoyment. It just could have been a lot more.

One day while driving his cab, a woman in a wedding gown hops in and insists he leave as soon as possible. Soon, she tells the cabbie a story and he feels sorry for her and takes her home. Later, it turns out she wasn't exactly telling the truth...so Mary has a hard time convincing him of the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Oddly, he then agrees to help her prove that she isn't a jewel thief...and his two friends help as well! Does any of this make sense? Not really...but Chester Morris, Fay Wray and the rest do a good job of putting over a silly plot and making it seem almost possibly plausible...maybe. Overall, a time-passer and a modestly enjoyable one at that.

Chester Morris plays Jimmy Donlin, a taxi driver who is about to buy some cabs of his own when he picks up a woman who appears to be a runaway society bride (Fay Wray as Mary Trenton), complete with wedding gown. Before you get to thinking this is a retread of "It Happened One Night", think again. Mary turns out to be quite a woman of mystery. Like the home-made spaghetti that she makes at Jimmy's apartment while she is in hiding, her story unravels slowly, often with facts revealed by others forcing her to tell the truth. For example Jimmy meets the REAL society bride Mary claims to be - she admits to being just a model who was modeling the gown for the real society bride. She claims she is hiding and running because the wealthy family thought she stole a string of pearls. Then a string of pearls falls out of the hem of the wedding dress she was wearing when Jimmy found her - Mary says she knows nothing about it. Other revelations appear, and each time Mary tells Jimmy - "I didn't know if I could trust you at first, but I know I can now".

So who stole the pearls and stashed them in Mary's dress, or is Mary even telling the truth in the first place?. There are other characters that make good suspects such as a society column writer who seems very anxious to help Jimmy and Mary -why??? Then there is Jimmy's pal Fingers who did a prison term for pickpocketing and still likes to pickpocket from friends just to keep in practice - he always gives the loot back. Were the pearls just too much of a temptation for him to not give back? Watch and find out.

This is a fast paced little mystery with a likable cast and I highly recommend it.

Chester Morris plays a cabbie when one day a runaway bride (Fay Wray) jumps into his taxi and tells him to drive. She gives him a false name and tells him the story of marrying a Count she doesn't love. Of course he feels sorry for her and takes her to his apartment to hide out. She cons him into staying with the promise that her father will pay for everything. But then a string of pearls falls out of her wedding gown, just the first of many twists and deceptions in this romantic comedy.

After Morris learns that Wray has given him a false name, it's no real surprise that the pearls were reported stolen, and that they might not even be real pearls. As they hunt for a solution they are aided by Morris' cabbie friend with a penchant for crime (Lionel Stander) and a society reporter with connections (Raymond Walburn).

This 70-minute charmer never loses its comic pace, and the four principals are excellent. Lots of one-liners keep it light. Co-stars include Henry Mollison as the oily Count, Kenneth Harlan as a businessman, and Ward Bond as a cop.