Taxi!

Review by Laurence Marcus

Having made his name on television in comedy, not least of all from 1956 to 1960 in Hancock's Half Hour and then in his own series Citizen James from 1960 to 1962, Taxi! was something of a departure for Sid James, it being a drama series with an element of humour and most definitely not, as labelled elsewhere, a comedy - drama.

Taxi! was created by Ted Willis, who had developed Dixon of Dock Green. It was claimed that his inspiration came from London cab drivers willingness to provide stories of life on the road. However, it is entirely possible that Mr Willis was also influenced by a book with the same title published on 1 January 1963. Taxi! by Maurice Levinson, was an autobiographical book written by a taxi driver of 30 years' experience. Mr Levinson's book had some intriguing chapters with titles such as Some Passengers and Strange Experiences and The Taxi and the Prostitute. Taxi! the series, arrived six-months later.

Sid was cast as Sid Stone, a driver who shares his cab with one of his flatmates, Fred Cuddell, played by Bill Owen (Last of the Summer Wine). The other flatmate, also a London cabbie but with his own vehicle, is young Terry Mills, played by young Ray Brooks (Big Deal). The three have a close relationship and whenever Sid gets tangled up in the problems of others (which is often and usually through no fault of his own), they are always on hand to lend support. Sid's girlfriend in the series is Madeleine played by Vanda Godsell a prolific character actor who never became a star in her own right but appeared in over 100 screen roles which included two Pink Panther films; 1964's A Shot in the Dark (as Madame LaFarge) and 1976's The Pink Panther Strikes Again (as Mrs Leverlilly).

At first the critics seemed to be very cool on Taxi! although many admitted that the series was not without promise. One critic remarked that he didn't know if there was such a thing as the average London taxi driver, but if there was, 'he probably looks very much like Mr James and no doubt has his crisp humour.' Dennis Potter (yes, that Dennis Potter) writing in the Daily Herald on 11 July 1963, sang the praises of Sid; 'Gifted with a face like soggy boiled greens, he has the kind of rough, warm personality that demands a damp roll-up, a cloth cap, and at least a passing acquaintance with rhyming slang. The story started well too,' Potter continued. 'A few seemingly authentic glimpses of the cabby's life suggested interesting yarns to come, but there was too much of the usual production-line fiction. Yet the subject is interesting, and Sid James clocked up a superb performance.'

The first episode, which concerned the hunt for the killer of an old taxi-driver, involved Sid in a scene with a prostitute (remember that chapter in Mr Levinson's book) and a 'dock-side punch-up.' Richard Sear of the Daily Mirror rather erroneously referred to the series as, 'a new BBC documentary-type drama on cab life,' but thought that this 'could be (Sid James') best series since he left Hancock.' Sear was definitely a fan from the off. '...behind the anger and the sorrowing, there was always a glint of gold - Sid's heart beating under the cabby badge. Few comedians can step so swiftly and easily into straight stuff as he did. Fewer spit out a cuss word with such genial venom. I'll flag this cabby down again.'

Ted Willis either wrote or co-wrote all thirteen episodes of the first season but when Taxi! returned for more touting in 1964 he had departed and was replaced by Harry Driver and Jack Rosenthal, two Manchester lads best known, up to that time, as scriptwriters for Coronation Street but who had also teamed up to write three episodes of the previous year’s Comedy Playhouse series. Bill Owen was also absent from series two but Bert and Dolly - (Toke Townley - Emmerdale's Sam Pearson and Clare Kelly - The Cuckoo Waltz) had moved into the upstairs flat. Madeleine was now replaced in Sid's affections by Sandra played by Diane Aubrey (Z Cars) The series was now doing well enough to be given a Saturday early evening primetime slot (6.30pm).

There was lots of location filming for both series with Sid James driving a cab around London. He got so used to it he told Philip Blake of the Radio Times that 'whenever I hear someone shout "Taxi!" my foot automatically goes for the brake. The second season, also thirteen episodes long, featured in a semi regular role James Beck as another cab driver, long before he swapped his badge for a Home Guard uniform in Dad's Army. Also appearing at various times throughout both series were James Bolam, Julia Foster, Derren Nesbitt, Glyn Houston, Anthony Booth, Dudley Foster and Sid's eventual screen wife in Bless This House, Diana Coupland. 

Sadly, the fact that only one episode (The Villain from 7 August 1963) has survived the notorious tape wiping of Britain's rich and accomplished television history, means we have little left to assess in the way of a review, but if we were to take this single episode (which is on YouTube) as an example, it would seem as though we have been cheated of revisiting some excellent 1960s television as well as a chance to see Sid James give a fine non-comedic role whilst still being, well...incomparably Sid James.