This one must have been made before Ben Blue and Billy Gilbert became the stars of the Taxi Boys. Director Del Lord was well known in the silent era for his stunts with car chases. As usual, he does not disappoint here. However, this film does not take advantage of the possibilities of sound. It is essentially a silent film. Silent comics Billy Bevan and Clyde Cook are the main focus. It is nice to see Lord favorite Bud Jamison as the manager of a taxi company. This plot less wonder had two reels of car gags with some time out for Cook to do the famous oyster stew routine. It was first done by Bevan at Sennett in the 20s and was done to perfection by Curly Howard at Columbia. Cook has no dialogue at all and Bevan very little. Bevan does not even look like the Bevan character. Where is the walrus mustache? Blue and Gilbert brought some humanity to this series. Without them, it is all about action. A big plus is the familiar LeRoy Shield background music mixed with some lesser known pieces. For once the music editor added some interesting music staying away from the all too familiar "Sliding" which seems to show up in every Roach comedy of this period.
Review of Thundering Taxis
