“Tip on a Dead Jockey” (1957), is playing on Turner Classic Movies on Friday, August 10 (actually Saturday August 11) at 4:00 a.m. est. Closed captioned.
Dorothy Malone and Robert Taylor sing a duet.
Tip on a Dead Jockey looks at the plight of a veteran pilot who is suffering from what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder. Lloyd Tredman (Robert Taylor) has decided to drift along in life, hiding away from family and friends in Madrid. His wife (Dorothy Malone) was about to divorce him, at his request, but changes her mind and goes after her man. Taylor is living on the fringes of Madrid society, giving rowdy parties and avoiding work. He is also carrying on a mild flirtation with his neighbor (Gia Scala) wife of his service buddy (Jack Lord). After losing his shirt when a jockey is killed during a race, Taylor is handed an offer by Martin Gabel–a simple matter of flying some currency from one point to another–illegal but not dangerous. He at first refuses then accepts the offer to save Lord from doing it and becoming a criminal. Taylor has to overcome his terror of flying to help his friend. Marcel Dalio provides some comic relief as does Joyce Jameson as a drunken lady who doesn’t know how she ended up in Taylor’s bed. Nothing goes smoothly, of course, drugs enter the picture and Taylor has to decide what he will or will not do. The film was originally scheduled to be directed by Orson Welles but he dropped out and Richard Thorpe took over. Not a great film but solid entertainment done professionally by a very good cast. Review by me for TCM.
Here are some of the promotional materials for the film:
Robert Taylor Actor 
Once again, our favorite star is neglected for Summer Under the Stars for a day of his own but some of his films are still being shown. And some of the “day honorees” are really obscure.
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Oh how I miss the convenience of TCM. At least I have a DVD library. I always enjoyed this film although he could have been a bit more romantic with Dorothy Malone. His choice I understand as he thought he was too old for romantic roles “at his age”, and he did play less romantic roles in the late 1950’s, much to the chagrin of his fans. He remained so handsome as he aged. age giving him an added charisma.
Thanks Judith for the update and photos
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I think Mr. Taylor didn’t want to be put in the position or romancing women who were young enough to be his daughter. In this film, though, I think that the character found it impossible to engage emotionally. Thanks for writing.
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