Review of Tip on a Dead Jockey

Tip on a Dead Jockey was a supporting role for 37 year old Jack Lord who was just starting out in his career as an actor. The film itself kinda plods along for the most part, but Jack totally saves the film. The cast is fantastic. Robert Taylor is a great leading man, Dorothy Malone is a decent leading lady. Gia Scalia shimmers as Lord's wife Paquita and the actor who plays Toto (who's name has slipped my memory at present) is adorable. Together they make a relatively slow and uninteresting story under normal circumstances enjoyable. However had Jack Lord not been in this film, I don't believe the movie would have made it at all. The writing isn't all that fantastic. And the main premise that Taylor's character is suffering from PSTD after experiencing too much death while flying, though a good plot, isn't enough to carry the picture on it's own. The writers did do a decent job however of finding a way to make him conquer his demons, and that helped bring a bit of life to an otherwise lifeless storyline. The title however is really a misnomer, as racing and Jockeys isn't anywhere close to the main plot theme. However, I would definitely recommend this film for the simple pleasure of seeing Jack Lord's performance. He is the reason I have given this film 10 stars. They are all for him! Though Lord would not make it as a film star, finding his niche in Television as the head of Hawaii five-O eleven years later, Jack's performance as Jimmy in this film is absolutely superb, and is a must see for Lord fans world wide.