Not really bad, but certainly not as provocative as its clever title would suggest. The appealing James Coburn is a grifter who jumps parole and plots a bank robbery at LAX on the day the Russian Premier is due to arrive. It takes a LONG time for that plot to become clear. It's episodic, sporadically suspenseful and occasionally funny. Coburn runs into the likes of sexy but bright Nina Wayne, wealthy Boston dowager Rose Marie and the gorgeous Camilla Sparv. Coburn & Sparv have a lot of chemistry, though it's unclear why they're even together. Bernard Girard's script is very malformed. The supporting cast includes a nearly silent Aldo Ray, Robert Webber as an uptight security man, and the always enjoyable Severn Darden as one of Coburn's sweaty cohorts. DEAD HEAT ON A MERRY GO ROUND is perhaps now more famous for featuring the then Columbia Studio contract player Harrison Ford (he has one line).
