''Taxi 13'' is a 1928
silent film comedy produced and distributed by
Film Booking Offices of America
Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an Anglo-Americ ...
and directed by
Marshall Neilan
Marshall Ambrose "Mickey" Neilan (April 11, 1891 – October 27, 1958) was an American actor.
Early life
Born in San Bernardino, California, Neilan was known by most as "Mickey." Following the death of his father, the eleven-year-old Mickey N ...
. The film stars
Chester Conklin
Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with Ma ...
in what is FBO's first film with a pre-recorded soundtrack.
Once thought lost, a copy evidently survives at
Cineteca Nazionale
Cineteca Nazionale is a film archive located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1949. By law it manages the so-called legal deposit, with the task of collecting, preserving and disseminating the productions of Italian cinema. It is the only Italian ...
, Rome.
The Library of Congress Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''Taxi 13''
/ref>
Critical reception
A review in ''Harrison's Reports
''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...
'' said, "This is neither funny enojugh to be called a comedy nor serious enough to be called a drama.' Despite a few good points, it added, "But on the whole it is not a particularly good picture".[
]
Cast
*Chester Conklin
Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with Ma ...
as Angus Mactavish
* Ethel Wales as Mrs. Mactavish
*Martha Sleeper
Martha Sleeper (June 24, 1910 – March 25, 1983) was a film actress of the 1920s–1930s and, later, a Broadway stage actress. She studied dancing for five years with Russian ballet master, Louis H. Chalif, at his New York dancing studio. ...
as Flora Mactavish
*Hugh Trevor
Hugh Trevor (born Hugh Trevor-Thomas; October 28, 1903 – November 10, 1933) was an American actor whose short career began at the very end of the silent era in 1927. He would appear in nineteen films in the scant six years during which he wa ...
as Dan Regan
*Lee Moran
Lee Moran (June 23, 1888 – April 24, 1961) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter.
Moran was active in vaudeville before he began performing in films at Nestor Studios in 1909. He transcended the silent film era of mot ...
as Dennis Moran
*Jerry Miley as Mason
*Charles Byer
Charles Byer (February 28, 1893 – November 28, 1953) was an American film actor of the silent era.Babington & Barr p. 133 He appeared in films for a variety of companies including Fox, Paramount, Tiffany, and First National Pictures. He playe ...
as Berger
''unbilled''
*Godfrey Craig as Mactavish Child
*George Dunning as Mactavish Child
*Louise Fazenda
Louise Fazenda (June 17, 1895 – April 17, 1962) was an American film actress, appearing chiefly in silent comedy films.
Early life
Fazenda was born in her maternal grandparents' house in Lafayette, Indiana, the daughter of merchandise broke ...
*Jackie Sturnberg as Mactavish Child
* Billy Watson as Mactavish Child
*Coy Watson
James Caughey Watson Jr. (November 16, 1912 – March 14, 2009), professionally known as Coy Watson, was an American child actor of the silent era, who was from an extended family of nine siblings of fellow performers known as The Watson Family. ...
as Mactavish Child
*Delmar Watson
David Delmar Watson (July 1, 1926 – October 26, 2008) was an American child actor and news photographer.Nelson, Valerie J"Delmar Watson, child actor turned news photographer, dies at 82" ''Los Angeles Times''. October 28, 2008.Andres, Holly J.F ...
as Mactavish Child
*Gloria Watson as Mactavish Child
*Harry Watson as Mactavish Child
*Louise Watson
The Watson Family are an American family of nine sibling actors who are known as "the first family of Hollywood." They were initially active as child actors in silent motion picture films.
Since August 2022, Garry Watson (b. 1928) has been the onl ...
as Mactavish Child
*Vivian Watson as Mactavish Child
References
External links
*
allmovie/synopsis; ''Taxi 13''
lobby poster
1928 films
Films directed by Marshall Neilan
Film Booking Offices of America films
1928 comedy films
Silent American comedy films
American black-and-white films
1920s rediscovered films
American silent feature films
Rediscovered American films
1920s American films
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