A federal agent goes to work for a taxi company believing it to be a front for a gang of counterfeiters.A federal agent goes to work for a taxi company believing it to be a front for a gang of counterfeiters.A federal agent goes to work for a taxi company believing it to be a front for a gang of counterfeiters.
Photos
DeWitt Jennings
- Capt. Wainwright
- (scenes deleted)
Agnes Ayres
- Society Woman
- (uncredited)
Joseph E. Bernard
- Copy Reader
- (uncredited)
Edgar Dearing
- Officer Murray
- (uncredited)
John Dilson
- Doc Wilson
- (uncredited)
James Flavin
- Detective McCormick
- (uncredited)
Creighton Hale
- G-Man
- (uncredited)
Sherry Hall
- Monte
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaStar Frances Drake was not happy with her first picture at Fox under her new contract or her co-star Brian Donlevy ("... a very strange man. He never talked to anybody."
Featured review
Brian Donlevy and Lon Chaney
1937's "Midnight Taxi" supplied Brian Donlevy with another starring role similar to "Half Angel," a federal agent, 'Chick' Gardner, posing as a cab driver to ferret out a dangerous counterfeit ring. The opening sequence is striking: a taxi forces another car off the road, its driver perishing in the flames, then the cabbie (Harold Huber) sends his own taxi down the same embankment, hurling himself after it to make it look like a tragic accident. We quickly learn that the dead driver was about to offer the feds some critical information, but was found out. Alan Dinehart makes a smooth villain, as does Gilbert Roland, but it's delightful to find gorgeous Frances Drake among them, her presence a welcome distraction for Roland (whose advances are firmly rejected) and Gardner (whose tough resolve makes an impression on her). Memorable turns come from Sig Ruman, Harry Semels, James Flavin, Otto Hoffman, and Zeffie Tilbury. As two federal detectives, Lon Chaney and Regis Toomey are a study in contrasts; Chaney is listed eighth out of ten, while Toomey is billed dead last, yet Lon's superfluous role as Erickson hardly registers (only two or three lines), while Toomey excels as Hilton, enjoying a standout scene in Donlevy's cab, disguised as an old woman before reporting the results back to headquarters. At this stage of Chaney's career, he had hopes that 20th Century-Fox would be using him extensively, but his two years there only resulted in an unbroken string of unbilled bits, few featured roles (his Fox farewell found him ignominiously listed 31st out of 31 in 1939's "Jesse James"). Despite such sterling results, Donlevy soon found himself moving down from leading men to supporting villains, particularly in the aforementioned "Jesse James" (he's the one who kills Jesse's mother).
helpful•51
- kevinolzak
- Mar 2, 2014
Details
- Runtime1 hour 13 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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