Fantastic!

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A good cast – Robert Taylor, Dorothy Malone, Gia Scala, Martin Gabel, Marcel Dalio, Jack Lord and Joyce Jameson – struggle in a poor screenplay by Charles Lederer, allegedly based on the short story of the same name by Irwin Shaw. I say "allegedly" because Shaw's New Yorker magazine short story is actually a variation on "Casablanca". Aside from the fact that the lead character here is broke, it's very easy to match the players. Thus Taylor has the Bogart role, Gia Scala is Ingrid Bergman, Martin Gabel is Peter Lorre, while Jack Lord impersonates the Paul Henreid character. And needless to say, Irwin Shaw's Bogartian hero is a disillusioned, cynical romantic. In fact, Shaw's story is significantly set in Paris (not Madrid) and is thoroughly suffused with a "Casablanca" atmosphere of disillusionment, as well as being cynical and sharp. Unfortunately, none of this makes it to the M-G-M movie. Instead Tip's plot concentrates on the hero's wife (who is only mentioned in passing in Shaw's story as an ex-wife). The movie is also padded out with a lot of comic relief routines from Marcel Dalio and Joyce Jameson (who are not present in Shaw at all). The only plot elements which actually correspond are our hero's loss of his shirt on a dead jockey and his getting involved in Smith's smuggling racket. The rest of this attempted film noir not only deviates completely from what Shaw wrote , but is totally unlike Shaw in characterization and mood. Reading the story, you are instantly struck by the "Casablanca" parallels, You'd never guess such a connection in a million years with the movie! The picture is tricked out to 98 minutes by means of a lot of dialogue padding. Dorothy Malone's scenes particularly requite quite a lot of trimming. She's also none too flatteringly costumed or photographed. Richard Thorpe's direction, as well as all other credits including Rozsa's music score, rate as strictly routine.

You would think that from the title of this 1957 film, you'd be seeing racetracks and jockeys in abundance. This is not the case as the film turns out to be a rather routine story of smuggling drugs.Believe it or not, Robert Taylor and his co-star Dorothy Malone sing at the piano.For a couple that has supposedly divorced, they seem very compatible when together with the exception of one scene.Martin Gabel plays the heavy in this film and how ironic it is to see him in one scene with Jack Lord. Go know that fate would play such a trick on both men as they later succumbed to Alzheimer's.The mid to late 1950s was not a good time for Taylor. His young good looks were going and the heavy lines possibly from heavy smoking, which later killed him, were showing. No wonder he switched to television in the 1960s with the highly successful The Detectives.Marcel Dallio attempts to bring some comic relief to the film, especially when he reverses I thank you from the bottom of my heart.These films dealing with people having to confront their fears are usually not the best. This is not an exception to that rule.

Tip on a Dead Jockey, is a good introspective movie with character studies of people in turmoil. Robert Taylor plays a former fly boy that has lost his nerve, his love and his honor. He moves to Spain to get away, and forget how afraid he is of everything. He has a house guest, many parties, many days at the races and little of anything else. Lloyd Tredman (Taylor) is a very troubled man. He has divorced his wife Phyllis (Dorothy Malone) without any explanation and she goes to Spain to find out why. The reason he says, is because he is all used up, too many times he sent flyers out to certain death, and there is just nothing left for him to give. Martin Gabel offers him $25,000 to fly in and out of Spain and drop a package filled with money, but Lloyd can not go, too afraid, so he gives the job to Jimmy (Jack Lord) his best friend. Lloyd thinks he is love with Paquita (Gia Scala), Jimmy's wife. Gabel tells him this is his chance with her if Jimmy does not return. He leaves, runs away, but is summoned back to console Paquita when Jimmy is 3 days late. Phyllis accuses him of trying to murder Jimmy because of Paquita, and he goes over the edge and slaps her. This scene is worth the whole movie. Dorthy Malone, as the embittered and confused ex-wife is great in this scene, with Taylor at his best as the accused. In the end he flies the plane, after he regains his courage, and finds that Gabel has hidden heroine in the package. He alerts the authorities and they arrest Gable and his helpers. He then goes to Phyliss to mend the marriage. Robert Taylor is always good as the man with the hidden past as in "High Wall", "Rogue Cop", and "Ride Vaquero".

A late-in-his-career movie for a classic actor, Robert Taylor is just the man for this role-he wants to make some money but finds out it is "bad" money, and how will he fix the situation?....Dorothy Malone is, well, a 50's actress that was put into a lot of movies in the decade-this is one of them........overall, this is a "fly the plane in and out of fields late at night" movie, and it does it's job well.....(and Mr. Taylor's side kick was in two Bogart movies, Casablanca and To Have and Have Not, so he has good credentials). A Recommended movie.