D.C. Cab (1983)

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers:

Topper Carew (story) and
Joel Schumacher (story) ...

Release Date:

16 December 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Action

Tagline:

Let the wackiest Cab Co. in Town take you for a ride!

Plot:

The tale of a hapless group of cabbies and a rundown cab company owned by Harold. Albert comes to town...

Plot Keywords:

Taxicab | Robbery | Airport | Railroad | Female Nudity

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Max Gail	...	Harold
Adam Baldwin	...	Albert Hockenberry
Mr. T	...	Samson
Charlie Barnett	...	Tyrone
Gary Busey	...	Dell
Gloria Gifford	...	Miss Floyd
Marsha Warfield	...	Ophelia
Bill Maher	...	Bob
Otis Day	...	Bongo
Paul Rodriguez	...	Xavier
Whitman Mayo	...	Mr. Rhythm
Peter Paul	...	Buddy (as Peter Barbarian)
David Paul	...	Buzzy (as David Barbarian)
Irene Cara	...	Irene Cara
Diana Bellamy	...	Maudie

Also Known As:

Mr. T and Company (Philippines: English title)
Street Fleet

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Company:

Guber-Peters Company, The

Trivia:

Jim Carrey auditioned for the film. 'Joel Schumacher' turned him down because he felt Carrey was too talented to be in an ensemble.

Quotes:

Tyrone: [shouting in megaphone] You better come out now, you scumbags!
Harold: Cops don't talk like that.
Tyrone: They do to me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fright Show (1985)

Soundtrack:

Knock Me On My Feet

Evidently they didn't trust Mr. T (or Gary Busey)

The 4 erroneous assumptions made in the making of D.C. Cab:

- Casting out of comedy clubs garuantees that said comedians will be funny on-screen as they trample through even the blandest of scripted "comedy".

- Audiences won't mind that Mr T, despite being on the poster, video boxes and all other advertising related to film is actually a small cog in the comedy wheel.

- Devoting a large narrative strand to where-are-they-now?/who-were-they-then? regular Irene Cara will ensure timeless appeal to Irene Cara fans for years to come.

- Idealistic Adam Baldwin is not made of cardboard.

These failings aside, the movie offers a few ace Busey moments (You ever done drugs/I don't remember.).

In short, it's an ensemble comedy, in the same Hollywood line that gave the world Revenge of the Nerds, the Police Academy movies, and Summer School. This movie sits somewhere below these. The cast is a little overcrowded, with too much of the "plot" devoted the weakest parts of the ensemble.

Just out curiosity: How hard is it to write a movie around Mr T or Gary Busey? It seems that too often T is forever looped into heavy-with-a-heart-of-gold roles, while Busey just gets 2nd bananas, villains and maniacs.