Happy 111th Birthday Robert Taylor!
August 5, 2022
Robert Taylor at 6 months of age, 1912.
28th Birthday, 1939 at a party given by Barbara Stanwyck.
Probably 1938. Stanwyck, Taylor and cake.
Louis B. Mayer celebrates the Taylor birthday in 1940 or 1941.
Unknown, probably the 1930s.
Probably 1949.
1961–with Ursula.
From all the fans who still love you.
“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:
High Wall, 1947, is playing on Turner Classic Movies on Monday August 8 at 10 p.m. est. Closed captioned. 
I highly recommend this film. Robert Taylor is playing totally against type as an injured war veteran who has a haematoma on his brain that is causing him to act irrationally. This is so far from the glamorous Taylor we know and love and demonstrates his amazing range as an actor.
High Wall is a departure for Robert Taylor. In the 30’s he portrayed mostly handsome society boys. In 1941 he toughened up his image with Johnny Eager. This is an entirely different path. The lead character, Steven Kenet, has returned from a job flying freight in Asia after his service in WW II. He’s eager to see his wife and displeased to find out she has a job. Kenet is even more displeased when he discovers she is having an affair with her boss. To complicate matters, he has a brain injury and is suffering blackouts and other symptoms. Seeing his wife in her lover’s apartment triggers rage and violence. The wife is dead and Kenet is the only suspect. He confesses and is committed to a mental institution for psychiatric evaluation. The unique thing about the film to me is Taylor’s ability to play vulnerability. Kenet is neither a pretty boy nor a villain. He is a man in torment.
Taylor uses his shoulders beautifully to portray hopelessness. They droop in the scenes where the character is locked in solitary confinement. After his operation they are straight. The confusion on his face when he’s offered an opportunity to see his son at the hospital is masterful as he passes through a range of emotions moving from delight to doubt to anger to confusion. There is a remarkable sequence in which Kenet is dragged off after attacking a visitor. Taylor’s body positions change constantly–this is hardly the “wooden” acting for which he is so often condemned. Another great sequence is his walk up the stairs at the end to see his son. Kenet’s face radiates joy. The camera work is stylish and the chiaroscuro is masterful. This movie was apparently not well received in its time probably because it isn’t the “Robert Taylor” people expected and it is largely forgotten now. It deserves to be remembered. Review by me for the IMDb.
Some behind-the-scenes photos:
Robert Taylor with co-stars Audrey Totter and Bobby Hyatt.
This gallery contains 7 photos.
by May Mann Baer (wife of Buddy Baer, Ursus in Quo Vadis) 1950 Original photos and captions, There are things that Bob Taylor is prouder of than his record as a fine actor and romantic idol. Rome. There was great … Continue reading
Stand Up and Fight, 1939, is playing on Turner Classic Movies on Friday July 27 at 7:45 a.m. Closed captioned.
Cynical Southern gentleman Blake Cantrell (Robert Taylor) is forced to sell his plantation and seek employment with a stagecoach company run by Captain Starkey (Wallace Beery) and owned by lovely Susan (Florence Rice). But is the company actually illegally transporting slaves? And can a leopard, the cavalier Blake, actually change its spots?
I didn’t expect much from this movie, and was thoroughly and positively surprised by the sharp writing and ebullient acting, and contrary to many A-movies of its day its aim is no way an aesthetic ‘arty’ one. Made in 1939, this movie addresses all sorts of controversial issues, and they have a way of taking you by surprise along the way. The movie is really about abolitionism and treats its subject with remarkable subtlety, although why and how the lynch-mob, the one that we encounter in the last third of the film, goes after white man Starkey is never made quite clear. Cantrell’s gradual moral reform is well-explained and plausible, not least because of Taylor’s warmth and humanity in the part. Yes, he is handsome, but here it is almost besides the point. Wallace Beery has a field day with the larger-than-life captain, very cleverly balancing on the edge of buffoonery but with plenty of edge and ambiguity.
See it, it makes a deep impression. Review by Michael Bo from Copenhagen, Denmark for the IMDb.
Candid calisthenics continue with Robert Taylor of “Stand Up and Fight” taking a stance on the baseball diamond.
Left to right: Robert Taylor; Wallace Beery with Mr. Taylor; Mr. Taylor, Mr. Beery and Director Woody vanDyke.
Robert Taylor Actor 