Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Jilted Jockey (1958) User Reviews

A jockey named Tic is asked to throw a race to save his marriage

[kfo9494 · 7/10 · 22 April 2013]

In this episode we get into the world of horse racing when a jockey, Tic Barton, is asked to lose a race with the expectation of being paid $10,000 for the trouble. A cad named Johnny Starr is behind the scheme to lose the race plus is also secretly seeing Tic's wife behind his back. Already we would not be sadden if Johnny is the victim of some unfortunate accident.

During the race the horse, Bright Magic, seems sluggish and Tic advises that he thinks the horse was drugged. Believing Johnny Starr is behind situation, Tic goes to see Starr. And here Tic does something that is always a bad thing in a 'Perry Mason' show- Tic takes his gun along with him. When Johnny throws Tic out of his apartment, Tic hears a gunshot. It so happened that Johnny Starr is killed with Tic's gun and now Lt Tragg is wanting to serve a murder warrant.

Perry will defend Tic in court on the charges where we hear about the scheme to lose the race. It is not long before someone in the witness box is confused by Perry's examination. The confusion will start a series of events that will led Perry to discover the true murderer.

Even though the episode seemed to be dragging, when we get to the courtroom things pick up quite nicely. The show was well written and the actors portrayal was excellent. A nice mystery that was a good watch.

Racing and Art

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 23 July 2012]

Billy Pearson thoroughbred jockey, art expert, and big winner on Fifties Quiz shows stars as a jockey who like Pearson in real life comes back from a serious injury and is about to ride the favorite in the Pacific Derby. But wife Barbara Lawrence and her boyfriend gambler Don Durant want him to throw the race. When a sluggish favorite loses and Durant winds up very dead within minutes after Pearson confronting him, the jockey needs a criminal defense attorney fast. So who you going to call, Perry Mason.

The trial is the key in this episode which involves Raymond Burr breaking down a prosecution witness's testimony which was that he heard two shots went to the door of his apartment which was across the hall from the deceased and saw Pearson running from same. The second was sifting through a nice list of alternate suspects. With William Hopper and Barbara Hale's help, Burr ferrets out the real murderer with a devastating cross examination on the stand.

You wonder why William Talman and Ray Collins even bother at times.

Your not going to let him frame me will you judge!

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 26 July 2012]

***SPOILERS*** With three year old colt "Bright Magic" razor sharp for his upcoming race the $100,000.00 Pacific Derby at the Del Mar Race Track the local bookies fearing they'ed be wipe out if he wins, with hundreds of thousands of dollars being placed on him, decide to get to the horse's jockey Tic Barton, Billy Pearson, in paying him off to throw the race. Race track hustler Johnny Starr, Don Durant, using Tic's wife Gloria, Barbara Lawrence, to get her husband to pull "Bright Magic" is told to go take a hike by Tic. Even though him not going through with it would cost Tic his marriage. A marriage that's already on the rocks with Gloria having an affair with Starr behind Tic's back!

Running in the Pacific Derby "Bright Magic" with victory in sight suddenly runs out of gas and barley finishes in the money with hundreds of those who bet on him ending up losing their shirts! Tic who did everything he could to win the race is now accused of throwing it and now facing a lifetime suspension! As it soon becomes crystal clear "Bright Magic" was doped up before the race by someone in the stables who was caring for him who was obviously paid off by Starr to do it! Angry as hell Tic confronts Starr at his hotel room and is kicked out by him only to have Starr shot and killed by someone who visited him just before Tic showed up. But with him being the only one on the scene and his gun found inches from Starr's body Tic's the one indited for Starr's murder!

With Tic who for a time was on the lamb getting Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, to defend him things start heating up in the backstretch of the Del Mar Racetrack with Perry together with his private investigator Paul Drake, William Hopper, uncovering a number of clues to who really murdered Starr and the true reasons behind his demise!

***SPOILERS*** It's in the courtroom that Perry realizes that the reason for Starr's murder was that he squelched on paying off, with $5,000,00, the person he was to pay to dope up the horse! It was he the horse doper who wanted it both ways in getting paid off by the horse's outraged owner Dion Bannion, Hough Sanders, for not reporting a beating he gave him to the police as well as Starr in getting the job of doping "Bright Magic" done for him. In fact it was Starr not paying off that sealed his fate in not being able to come up with the pay off money or air tight alibi that would have cleared him of Starr's murder!

Barb Again

[darbski · 10/10 · 12 June 2017]

**SPOILERS** There are enough episodes with the "man in the closet, behind the door, or curtain, etc.". when the giveaway is someone as tall and statuesque as Barbara Lawrence married to a short guy like Billy Pearson. Yeah, I know... political correctness and all that, just look at nature. Tough as it is to admit, us short guys (5'8" and lower) are at a distinct disadvantage.

And, the one they chose was Barbara Lawrence, a serious hottie. She's dirty, betraying Tic (the jockey, and Perry's client). He's honest, but the dirtbags dope the very promising colt anyway. Now, I'll bet that they could, right at the end of the race in question, have asked the California Horse Racing Board (Commission) for a test on their colt, but they didn't.

Perry figures it out, and all is well. Another jockey got beat up and started the ball rolling in Billy's direction. The killer is a hell of an actor, Joe De Reda, whose facial expressions are definitely worth watching. Very good courtroom drama, and an unusual camera placement and angle in Perry's office add to the different approach to this episode. The Cinematography in the racing scenes, though is some of the very best you'll ever see. Frank Redman was director of photography on this show, and it is just terrific. The ending scene is set up looking into Perry's office from outside his balcony into his office.

Now, how much trouble Gloria and Bannion are in depends on how much the D.A.needs their testimony. With her ultimate betrayal of Tic, Gloris (Barbara) is gonna get stung hard in divorce rulings, but it's a real stretch to link her up directly to the doping incident. Bannion absolutely should have gone to the racetrack authorities over Eddie Davis' admission, so he's in some serious trouble, in spite of the fact that HIS jockey and trainer were clean.

One more point, and this is for all the Perry fans like me out there. Fifty two years later, in an episode of "The Mentalist", Patrick Jane uses the phrase "the case of the jilted jockey" in the beginning scenes of that show called "The Red Ponies" another very good racetrack drama; I recommend both of these programs...

Why not just get a paraffin test?

[paulengelnyc · 9/10 · 22 April 2020]

If the victim was killed by a gunshot from close range. why wouldn't Perry Mason have insisted on a paraffin test once he found Tic hiding in his friend's apartment? It would've determined that Tic had not recently fired a gun and would've removed him as a suspect.

The Case of the Jilted Jockey

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 30 November 2022]

Jockey Tic Barton goes to see Perry Mason about a divorce matter. He later hires Mason to defend him on a murder rap.

The dead man is Johnny Starr (Don Durant) who has been fooling around Barton's wife. Starr is also known to fix races.

He offered Barton money to throw a race. On the day another horse regarded as a favourite loses.

Barton goes to confront Starr and gets involved in a scuffle. Starr is later shot dead by Barton's gun.

Well Tragg thinks that Tic Barton is obviously guilty. Perry Mason has other ideas.

Barton does not have much luck, wife's a floozy and now he needs all the help he can get.

The story springs to life in the courtroom. Biased witnesses, people with bruises. A lot of people need to be demolished in the witness box.

Mason finds a lot of flaws as Starr double crossed a lot of people.

"These apartments are far from soundproof"

[jsh-23719 · 8/10 · 31 March 2022]

I like this episode. Just one thing that hasn't been mentioned. If the neighbor could usually hear everything that went on in the hall, why didn't he hear Tic when he hit the wall after he was thrown out of Starr's apartment? Looks like that would have been loud enough for the neighbor to have run to his door even before the first shot. Oh well.

Perry and the Little People

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 19 December 2021]

A jockey is accused of killing the guy who has been fooling around with his wife and Perry is called in. This plot is sort of dull and the characters seem to be walking through their parts.