Taxi Spooks - 1929
ABOUT THE FILM : Taxi Spooks
Cinémathèque de la Ville de LuxembourgYear: 1929
This reckless cab driver sparks off a series of comical and hilarious gags. It isn’t long before the company’s inspector soon gives him a real dressing-down. The taxi splutters and gives a rough time to its customers. An automaton, the inspector’s wife’s double, pays for it.
A succession of chases, pranks, punches follow up one after the other. A whacky film from beginning to end with an incomparable punch line!
Nationalities: Luxemburg, American
Actor: Jack Cooper
Length: 19' 6"
Genre: slapstick
Sound: silent with soundtrack
Original elements: black & white
Producer: Mack Sennett-Pathé Exchange
Original language: French
A BRIEF HISTORY : Taxi Spooks
This film was produced by Mack Sennett (1880-1960), the father of slapstick comedy in the United States of America. Joint founder of the Keystone studios in 1912, Mack Sennett launched the careers of Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, among others&hellip In 1917 he left Keystone and founded the Mack Sennett Comedies Corporation which joined forces with Pathé in 1923.
Taxi Spooks was part of the Taxi Driver Series, which was one of the last series of the age of silent film produced by the Mack Sennett-Pathé Exchange Inc. between September 1928 and June 1929. The series, which staged the escapades of a dazed taxi driver, included six short films (Taxi for Two, A Taxi Scandal, Taxi Beauties, Taxi Spooks, Taxi Dolls, Caught in a Taxi). All were directed by Del Lord (1894-1970) and starred Jack Cooper (1890-1970), a comedian who worked at Mack Sennett for ten or so years.
The French print of this American film was distributed by the le Comptoir Français de Distribution de Films (Franfilmdis) under the title Frégoli malgré lui (Fregoli despite himself). Thanks to Europa Film Treasures and Georges d&rsquoAcunto, this film has finally found its original title.
