Born Reckless

Either cab driving was a violent business in the city, or someone from Warners slipped a script to someone at 20th Century Fox. "Born Reckless" from 1937 is a similar story to Warner Brothers' "Taxi."

Brian Donlevy plays Hurry Kane, a successful race car driver who isn't very good with money. After a huge win, he loses it all and ends up in a boxcar. He visits an old friend and takes a job driving a cab for his company.

It sounds like a good job for a race car driver, but taxi driving in those days seems to have been a job for a professional boxer. The cabbies are being brutally harassed by a local gangster (Barton MacLaine), who wants to take over the cab business in the city. As far as Hurry Kane is concerned, bring it on!

Rochelle Hudson plays the love interest, and she's lovely. Harry Carey Jr., also in the cast, turns in a good performance.

This movie kind of screams Warners, and the Cagney role screams for Jimmy Cagney. The acting is good, though, and even though Donlevy plays his role as a lighthearted, take life as it comes guy - this film is a lot tougher than "Taxi."

This fast-paced Fox programmer -- originally issued at 78 minutes, although the version I saw was cut to just under an hour -- looks a lot like its Warner Brothers counterparts, B movies modeled on Jimmy Cagney vehicles. Brian Donleavy does a good job in the lead role, playing the cocky, brash young hot shot, although he lacks the detail work of Cagney.

The piece, however, is a lot more violent than the equivalent Warner's fare, as Donleavy goes seeking trouble, rather than snapping into it when it finds him. top-billed Rochelle Hudson is pretty good as the moll/love interest and the bill is filled out with a fine supporting cast, particularly by Harry Carey, always solid and believable. But the script lacks the sense of exposing the social ills that usually infused the Warners actioneers, and the direction and camera work, although competent, are not top notch. A decent, if unexceptional movie.

Born Reckless (1937)

** (out of 4)

Silly Fox film has gangsters running a taxi service and trying to bump off another taxi service in town. Then an auto racing champion (Brian Donlevy) joins forces with the good guys to wipe out the gangsters. This is a rather strange film throughout its 59-minute running time because at times the thing tries to be very serious but at other times its so over the top that it comes off very campy. There are several "bumper cars" type action with taxis running into one another and this is fun but it takes away from later scenes, which, again, are trying to be serious. Donlevy is good in a role where you can tell the studio would have preferred James Cagney. The supporting cast includes Rochelle Hudson, Robert Kent, Harry Carey, George Walcott and Pauline Moore.

An extremely lively, well-acted programmer, credited to director Mal St Clair, a top man in the silent period, but now working in Fox's "B" unit. As usual for Fox, the budget looks extremely generous for a "B"-grader, with lots of extras, attractive sets, and Miss Hudson modeling a stunning series of winning costumes. But most important ingredient of all: scads of action! Indeed perhaps too much action and too over the top. The script is credited to John Patrick, plus Fox's top writing team, Robert Ellis and Helen Logan. Unfortunately, "Born Reckless" was a troubled production. Donlevy injured his left hand, other writers were brought in, and director Gustav Machaty shot some footage – possibly all of the more spirited scenes with Donlevy which do not seem typical of credited director Mal St Clair's usual, far more leisurely style. The action spots are certainly most vigorously staged but rather far-fetched for what is supposed to be a realistic exposé of graft and corruption in the taxi industry.

I agree with the last reviewer, this has that two fisted feel of a Warner Brothers B film, and a bit more.

In the driver seat is big guy Brian Donlevy, famous for tough guys, and he's rough and ready. A whole lotta' fun, produced by 20th Century Fox, cranking out the Charlie Chan films at the time.

Donlevy plays "Hurry" Kane, a race car driver whose at the top of his game one day, and then at rock bottom. He visits old pal Harry Carey, known as Dad, who runs a cab company and gets a quick job as a cabbie. Not so fast! It seems Dad is being pushed around by big shot slickster Barton MacLane (as Jim), who wants all the cab companies under his thumb --or else.

Reminiscent of TAXI (1932), an early James Cagney film all about a tax war, and is there ever. Lots of high speed adventure, and some romance with lovely Rochelle Hudson, playing Sybil. See if you can spot all the famous faces, such as Joseph Crehan as the district attorney, and Lon Chaney, Jr., in a bit role as a garage mechanic. Popular silent and early sound film star Jack Mulhall also has a bit.

Directed with style by Malcolm St. Clair, who did lots of comedy in his day. In fact, he was one of the original Keystone Cops. St. Clair was also toted as being the tallest (6 foot 7) director in the biz, and held a record, of sorts, for being fired a lot, in the early days of his long career, and then immediately re-hired, because nobody could handle a cast and crew as good as he could.

See this for Brian Donlevy at his best, veteran of such classics as BEAU GESTE and the GLASS KEY.

10 Stars. Finally released on dvd, also as a double bill remastered dvd box set.

Thank you so much to MOVIES Net for running this gem.