The Yellow Cab Man (1950)

Red Skelton plays a guy, oddly enough, named Red. Red is an accident- prone man and because he's often involved in accidents, he's worked on inventing some things to save lives. Most of them are pretty lame, but his unbreakable glass will easily earn him a fortune. Unfortunately a corrupt lawyer (am I being repetitive?) has decided to steal it--but the formula is locked in Red's mind. So, he comes up with a complicated plan to have him meet a phony psychiatrist who will try to pump Red for information. Along the way, Red falls for a pretty lady (Gloria DeHaven)--but soon the psychiatrist convinces Red that he has a death wish--and is a danger to people he loves. It may not sound all that funny, but the film abounds with wonderful pratfalls, stunts and cute scenes. The bottom line is that Skelton once again plays an extremely likable guy--and that makes all the silliness work. It reminds me of a Ritz Brothers film I just saw--you never liked them, so their antics were tiresome. But, with Skelton, you cannot help but root for him and are willing to put up with some extreme silliness. Well worth seeing and good for a few laughs.

Inventor Red Skelton, prone to accidents, creates a riot in this 1950 film. Gloria DeHaven, as his girl, is along for the ride.Walter Slezak, Jay C. Flippen and Edward Arnold are at their evil best. The last scene is similar to a Marks Brothers or 3 Stooges like films.I loved the part with the ambulance chasers and the attorneys. Was this ever so true to life!The film has familiar themes of slapstick comedy, accidents beyond belief, and a little brat of a child who causes mayhem with the police and traffic departments.The zany Red Skelton was wonderful at this type of film. The only thing is that you're familiar with these things and can easily predict what's coming next.

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.

And The Yellow Cab Man is a good example. Fitfully funny comedy has Skelton playing his usual bumbler, this time an inventor and cab driver. Most of the funny bits here belong to Skelton, but Walter Slezak has a few nice bits too. Storyline has Skelton inventing bendable glass and a crew of crooks after him for the formula. Edward Arnold is the ringleader. Gloria DeHaven is a blah leading lady here. James Gleason, Paul Harvey, Polly Moran, Herbert Anderson (billed here as Guy and later on TV as Gus), Jay C. Flippen, Charles Lane, Jody Gilbert, Dewey Robinson, and Tiny Jones co-star. The IMDb lists Mae Clarke, but I never spotted her. Arnold is his blustery self, and Slezak was always a terrific comic villain. The finale is memorable, coming out just before Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train," but with similar use of a carousel (in this case a rotating house). Skelton did better on TV, but his film career of 20 years or so (not counting cameos) was not inconsiderable. Skelton worked mostly for MGM, certainly not a studio known for its comedies. He might have fared better at a "lesser" studio. The film is notable also for its plethora of ugly DeSoto taxi cabs!