The Yellow Cab Man (1950)

Pirdy is accident prone. He has been denied insurance from every company in town because he is always getting hit or hurt in some way. On the day that he meets the lovely Ellen of the ... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Donohue

Writers:

Devery Freeman (screenplay), Albert Beich (screenplay)

Stars:

Red Skelton, Gloria DeHaven, Walter Slezak

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Red Skelton	...	Augustus 'Red' Pirdy
Gloria DeHaven	...	Ellen Goodrich (as Gloria De Haven)
Walter Slezak	...	Dr. Byron Dokstedder
Edward Arnold	...	Martin Creavy
James Gleason	...	Mickey Corkins
Jay C. Flippen	...	Hugo
Paul Harvey	...	Pearson Hendricks
Herbert Anderson	...	Willis Tomlin (as Guy Anderson)
John Butler	...	Gimpy
John Indrisano	...	Danny
Polly Moran	...	Bride's Mother

Storyline

Pirdy is accident prone. He has been denied insurance from every company in town because he is always getting hit or hurt in some way. On the day that he meets the lovely Ellen of the Yellow Cab Co., he also meets the crooked lawyer named Creavy. Pirdy is an inventor and when Creavy learns about elastic-glass, his new invention, he makes plans to steal the process. With the help of another con man named Doksteader, and the boys, he will steal this million dollar invention no matter who gets hurt.

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Plot Keywords:

taxi driver | scheme | comedy routine | taxi | 

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Taglines:

Ride and roar with Red Skelton!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Unglücksrabe

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,195,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,599,000, 31 December 1950

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Finnish censorship visa # 032839.

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Goofs

When the little boy is lifted off the ground after grabbing the large balloon. As he rises off the ground it can be seen that he is being lifted by a harness. The back of the collar of his jacket can seem to be moved by a wire.

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Quotes

Augustus 'Red' Pirdy: Well I know I went to the North Pole!

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Crazy Credits

During the title credit, dressed as a cabbie, Skelton falls down the stairs towards his taxi. He then appears in a hospital room and, speaking to the camera, says "this is my best cast yet". The camera pans down to his arm and then his legs where the film credits are written on his cast(s).

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Connections

References You Can't Take It with You (1938)

User Reviews

The Yello Cab Man was a hilarious obscure Red Skelton movie

I had discovered this obscure Red Skelton movie on YouTube recently and just decided to watch it now because of many glowing reviews on this site. In a nutshell, Red is an accident-prone fella who eventually becomes a cab driver after initially being hit by one! He's also an inventor with some crazy contraptions in his apartment. I'll stop there and just say this was very funny from beginning to end. There's an unusual distorted sequence that must have turned some minds on at the time and a hilarious end chase sequence taking place in a demonstration home. So on that note, I highly recommend The Yellow Cab Man. P.S. Since I always like to cite when someone that was in my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful Life-is in something else, here it's Charles Lane-the one who told Mr. Potter he'd one day work for George Bailey-who plays an insurance man who rejects an offer to insure Mr. Skelton!