Robert Taylor's first appearance in an MGM film occurred in 1935, over two decades before this picture was released. He would remain with the Lion for a few more years, so this wasn't the end for him. Part of Mr. Taylor's long-term success was his ability to adapt to different trends in the motion picture industry.
He headlined films in all sorts of genres, though MGM execs were reluctant to feature him in musicals. Interestingly, he has a short musical number here with costar Dorothy Malone at the piano...proving he has a fine singing voice.
As for Miss Malone, she was coming off a recent Oscar win for her role as a sultry schemer in Universal's WRITTEN ON THE WIND. She is not a sexual predator in this picture, but she's still quite a siren and suitably glamorous. Dorothy Malone once told an interviewer she preferred working in westerns, probably because those roles complemented her down-to-earth Texas manner. But she's great in sudsy melodramas.
TIP ON A DEAD JOCKEY is a mixture of romantic melodrama, post-war malaise and adventure. Taylor and Malone are on the verge of divorce when the story begins. She leaves Reno, deciding to give the union another try and hurries off to Madrid where he's living as an expatriate with a comical roommate (Marcel Dalio).
There is also a handsome neighbor (Jack Lord) who flew with Taylor in the war. Complicating matters is Lord's European wife (Gia Scala) who is pregnant and happily married to Lord...but still an object of desire, or at least considerable affection, for Taylor.
When Malone arrives, she initially keeps the truth about their marital status from Taylor, who believes the divorce was finalized. In fact, he's been celebrating his "freedom." One thing I really like about the script is how writer Charles Lederer drip-feeds pieces of information about the characters' pasts and their present-day motivations. As a result, we gradually get more absorbed in the goings-on of the group and become part of their conflicts and struggles to be happy.
The adventure portion of the drama kicks in when a mysterious tycoon (Martin Gabel) offers Taylor a job to retrieve a locked box from Cairo and transport it back to Madrid. Taylor is told that only cash is inside the box. But there are also drugs.
At first Taylor turns down the risky assignment and Lord signs on instead. But when it becomes too dangerous and Lord nearly dies, Taylor steps in and takes over. This allows Taylor's character to be heroic and exorcise some demons, since he cracked up in Korea and hasn't flown since that time.
The flight sequences are impressive. The psychological angle about Taylor's inability to fly seems like a metaphor for Taylor being sexually impotent. Hence, his need to separate from Malone...before he regains his mojo. Fortunately, he completes the mission and reunites with Malone before the final fadeout.
As for the meaning of the title, there is a jockey who appears midway during a racetrack sequence. Taylor originally refuses to haul the smuggled goods, because he thinks he will win big on a horse he owns at the track. Gabel has the jockey killed during the race, so Taylor will lose on the bet and need to fly the man's plane.
I enjoyed the story so much, I watched the film again a short time later. It contains shades of corruption and the threat of heartbreak, before last-minute redemption.
He headlined films in all sorts of genres, though MGM execs were reluctant to feature him in musicals. Interestingly, he has a short musical number here with costar Dorothy Malone at the piano...proving he has a fine singing voice.
As for Miss Malone, she was coming off a recent Oscar win for her role as a sultry schemer in Universal's WRITTEN ON THE WIND. She is not a sexual predator in this picture, but she's still quite a siren and suitably glamorous. Dorothy Malone once told an interviewer she preferred working in westerns, probably because those roles complemented her down-to-earth Texas manner. But she's great in sudsy melodramas.
TIP ON A DEAD JOCKEY is a mixture of romantic melodrama, post-war malaise and adventure. Taylor and Malone are on the verge of divorce when the story begins. She leaves Reno, deciding to give the union another try and hurries off to Madrid where he's living as an expatriate with a comical roommate (Marcel Dalio).
There is also a handsome neighbor (Jack Lord) who flew with Taylor in the war. Complicating matters is Lord's European wife (Gia Scala) who is pregnant and happily married to Lord...but still an object of desire, or at least considerable affection, for Taylor.
When Malone arrives, she initially keeps the truth about their marital status from Taylor, who believes the divorce was finalized. In fact, he's been celebrating his "freedom." One thing I really like about the script is how writer Charles Lederer drip-feeds pieces of information about the characters' pasts and their present-day motivations. As a result, we gradually get more absorbed in the goings-on of the group and become part of their conflicts and struggles to be happy.
The adventure portion of the drama kicks in when a mysterious tycoon (Martin Gabel) offers Taylor a job to retrieve a locked box from Cairo and transport it back to Madrid. Taylor is told that only cash is inside the box. But there are also drugs.
At first Taylor turns down the risky assignment and Lord signs on instead. But when it becomes too dangerous and Lord nearly dies, Taylor steps in and takes over. This allows Taylor's character to be heroic and exorcise some demons, since he cracked up in Korea and hasn't flown since that time.
The flight sequences are impressive. The psychological angle about Taylor's inability to fly seems like a metaphor for Taylor being sexually impotent. Hence, his need to separate from Malone...before he regains his mojo. Fortunately, he completes the mission and reunites with Malone before the final fadeout.
As for the meaning of the title, there is a jockey who appears midway during a racetrack sequence. Taylor originally refuses to haul the smuggled goods, because he thinks he will win big on a horse he owns at the track. Gabel has the jockey killed during the race, so Taylor will lose on the bet and need to fly the man's plane.
I enjoyed the story so much, I watched the film again a short time later. It contains shades of corruption and the threat of heartbreak, before last-minute redemption.