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Powerful

People are voting emotionally.

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

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Producer: Richard Goldstone. Copyright 15 February 1950 (in notice: 1949) by Loew's Inc. An MGM picture. New York release at the Capitol: 25 March 1950. U.S. release: 7 April 1950. U.K. release: 12 June 1950. Australian release: 18 August 1950. Sydney release at the St James and Minerva (on a double bill with Devil's Doorway): 18 August 1950. U.S. running time: 85 minutes. U.K. length: 7,572 feet (84 minutes). Australian length: 7,380 feet (exactly 82 minutes).SYNOPSIS: Accident-prone inventor plays havoc with the Yellow Cab Company.COMMENT: An excellent Red Skelton comedy. The supporting cast is especially strong, and there is a marvelous performance by Walter Slezak. The gags are very good and the film has a bizarre undertone, assisted by Stradling's superb photography, that is not unattractive. The climax in the Ideal Home Exhibition is realized with considerable verve by director Donohue and has audiences literally rolling the aisle. This is one of the best films Skelton ever made, and even if you don't like Skelton's earnestly bumbling brand of humor, you will enjoy this vehicle.MY SECOND OPINION: People who've worked with him all agree that Skelton was actually a much funnier comedian "off the cuff". When amusing cast and crew, he was allegedly a riot of innovation, but as soon as the camera turned, he froze into the less funny, predetermined routines and dialogue laid down by the script.Despite its great cast (particularly Walter Slezak and Edward Arnold), excellent sets and production values (including Harry Stradling's atmospheric photography), "The Yellow Cab Man" ON A SECOND VIEWING is only mildly and intermittently amusing. On the one hand, the characters are too superficial to excite much interest; on the other, Miss De Haven is too attractive a heroine for a schlemiel like "Red" Pirdy.Donahue's direction too is also not without fault. On a second view, I had the impression it was too clumsy, too maladroit, too mistimed to extract the most comic juice from the script's kernels of opportunity.

The Yellow Cab Man is another of Red Skelton's madcap big screen comedies where Red plays an eccentric inventor who is also accident prone. So accident prone is he that he can't get insurance no way, no how. So what does he become in lieu of a modest settlement and for signing a quitclaim given him by agent Gloria DeHaven, a cabdriver for the Yellow Cab company.Because of his tendency for the unfortunate, Red's invented himself a version of plexiglass, a shatter proof glass he calls elastic glass. Can't break it short of a bullet being fired into it. But he hasn't copyrighted the formula. And some unscrupulous people led by bottom feeding shyster lawyer Edward Arnold and medicine show charlatan Walter Slezak will do anything to steal the formula. Red's a true babe in the woods in this film, but it's amazing how schnooks like him get some really good looking women to fall for him like Gloria DeHaven. Arnold and Slezak look like they're having a great old time. Usually both of them when they play villains exude a quiet menace, but here they are both outrageously overacting and the audience joins in on the fun.The Yellow Cab Man is a treat for Red Skelton's legion of fans.

Funny man supreme Red Skelton plays 'Red' Pirdy, a cab driver that also invents safety devices. When he invents elastic glass for unbreakable safety glasses criminals big and small come after him to force or trick him out of the formula. 'Red' is very gullible and easily influenced. Some of his inventions are pretty wacky.The cab driver's relationship with the attractive Ellen(Gloria DeHaven)is odd at best. A rip roaring climax involves a chase through a futuristic revolving home show exposition. Skelton, one of the funniest ever on TV, seems to always be better than his movies. Silly movie with a strong cast featuring: Walter Slezak, Edward Arnold and James Gleason.

Skelton was never as popular as the other leading comics of his day including Hope, Crooner/Comic Crosby, Danny Kaye, Abbott and Costello for a while and many others but his movies made money as this one did too. The concept of this movie is not original but congenial and in an era of remakes would a nice, tidy vehicle for a Ben Stiller type. Watching Skelton convincingly bungle and bumble his way through scene after scene is a complete hoot. The jokes come naturally and to me, he is better at delivering these jokes than Bob Hope ever was. The mad cap finale is generally fun in this warm two hander with Gloria de haven. And direction is generally snappy and on point as our cab driver causes obvious hijinks in this on the nose but funny tale.