During the Depression, many had nothing... and the few that did were almost equally as miserable. This movie displays a dance marathon, held for the entertainment of the latter, and the expense of the former. The contestants dance for daily meals and a place to sleep, and the weak hope of a prize, if they are the last couple standing. The rules are cruel, and whilst the many dancers fight to remain standing, the audience is served snacks and fast-food. The film shows how callous people can be, sometimes. The plot is magnificent, the story-telling excellent. Acting(Sarrazin can exude an extraordinary amount of emotion through his eyes), casting, editing(with extremely few slightly weak moments), pacing, direction, cinematography, lighting, music, production design, everything, it's all amazing. This is a very difficult film to watch(which is by no means to say that I regret doing so). It is not entertainment, nor is it something to escape one's everyday life with. It is brutal and uncompromising, a window into an era and an event, both of which show humanity at its worst. A masterpiece. I intend to look for other films by Pollack, there is no doubt about that... fortunately, my fiancée has told me that he has done lighter fare(I would prefer watching something less bleak than this for the next of his movies I view). This is a very important movie, particularly in today's world, where reality shows are all over TV. I recommend this to anyone certain that they can sit through it. 8/10
130 Reviews
A Grisly, Sickly Entertaining Film
evanston_dad20 February 2007
A brutally bleak screen adaptation of the pulpy Horace McCoy novella, about a Depression-era dance marathon where down-and-outers drive themselves to the brink of exhaustion to win the cash prize.
This film has become relevant again today in the age of reality T.V., where people tune in to watch strangers be humiliated, rejected and made fun of. Meanness and suffering sells today, and apparently it sold back then as well. The M.C. of the dance marathon, played wonderfully by Gig Young in one of his last (if not the last) film performances before the troubled actor murdered his wife and then killed himself, creates little narratives and dramas around each of the dancers, so that the audience can have their favorites to root for. Every once in a while, someone will show off a special talent, singing a song or hoofing a little dance number, and the audience will throw change at them, which the performer then frantically scrabbles up like a desperate pigeon. The cast of dancers is led by Jane Fonda, in a break-out role as Gloria, the jaded woman-of-the-world who's seen it all and doesn't want to see anymore; Susannah York, as a pretentious wannabe actress, who acts up a storm during a mesmerizing breakdown scene; Red Buttons, as an aging ex-serviceman who struggles to keep up with the young kids around him; and Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedelia, as a sweet couple of country bumpkins who are desperate to win the cash for their unborn baby. And yes, that is Al Lewis (aka Grandpa Munster) lurking around in the background as one of the dance marathon officials.
Director Sydney Pollack vastly improves on the source material, making something much richer and deeper out of McCoy's lurid novella. He uses an edgy, jarring style that's suited perfectly to the material, and which he would never again display.
"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" holds a sort of grisly fascination over its audience. Bleak as it is, it's also entertaining in a rather morbid way, making us feel like we're members of the audience watching this sick spectacle and making it that much harder for us to condemn the film audience without labeling ourselves as hypocrites.
Grade: A
This film has become relevant again today in the age of reality T.V., where people tune in to watch strangers be humiliated, rejected and made fun of. Meanness and suffering sells today, and apparently it sold back then as well. The M.C. of the dance marathon, played wonderfully by Gig Young in one of his last (if not the last) film performances before the troubled actor murdered his wife and then killed himself, creates little narratives and dramas around each of the dancers, so that the audience can have their favorites to root for. Every once in a while, someone will show off a special talent, singing a song or hoofing a little dance number, and the audience will throw change at them, which the performer then frantically scrabbles up like a desperate pigeon. The cast of dancers is led by Jane Fonda, in a break-out role as Gloria, the jaded woman-of-the-world who's seen it all and doesn't want to see anymore; Susannah York, as a pretentious wannabe actress, who acts up a storm during a mesmerizing breakdown scene; Red Buttons, as an aging ex-serviceman who struggles to keep up with the young kids around him; and Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedelia, as a sweet couple of country bumpkins who are desperate to win the cash for their unborn baby. And yes, that is Al Lewis (aka Grandpa Munster) lurking around in the background as one of the dance marathon officials.
Director Sydney Pollack vastly improves on the source material, making something much richer and deeper out of McCoy's lurid novella. He uses an edgy, jarring style that's suited perfectly to the material, and which he would never again display.
"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" holds a sort of grisly fascination over its audience. Bleak as it is, it's also entertaining in a rather morbid way, making us feel like we're members of the audience watching this sick spectacle and making it that much harder for us to condemn the film audience without labeling ourselves as hypocrites.
Grade: A
unique for its time
mukava99121 May 2007
THEY SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY? This movie stays in the memory, partly because it stands out from other mainstream Hollywood products of its time in subject matter (the dance marathons of the 20s and 30s) and tone (pitilessly and harshly negative; even the humor is bleak). The message: life (the marathon) is a desperate rat race with a rigged outcome.
How certain actors end up with certain roles depends on the crazy complicated game known as Hollywood casting, but sometimes even a miscast performer will bring an unexpected something to the table and triumph. Such was the case with Bette Davis in ALL ABOUT EVE (written with Claudette Colbert or Gertrude Lawrence in mind) and such is the case with Jane Fonda in a role that would have been better suited to someone like Stella Stevens. Fonda overcomes the odds as Gloria, the morbidly cynical and impoverished young woman whose brief life has been a series of abuses, disappointments and defeats. Even though the actress looks and speaks like a patrician, her defiant, angry, controlled desperation burns through the superficialities. Her performance culminates in an emotional meltdown which she handles with skill. It was her great breakthrough as a screen actress.
Another career peak is reached by Gig Young who, as the master of ceremonies, personifies all the dishonesty, cruelty and pathos of the marathon itself. Bonnie Bedelia and Susannah York also score as different kinds of vulnerable innocents. Michael Sarrazin as Fonda's dance partner serves as the passive instrument that allows Fonda to play out her tortured personal drama. His unchanging wounded puppy dog expression speaks for itself.
Ironically, the musical arrangements by John Green, a brilliant and very active composer of early 30's popular songs (including "Body and Soul"), sound more like Lawrence Welk than a real third-rate dance band of the early Depression era. As musical supervisor of this film I wonder if it was Green who anachronistically included songs that hadn't even been written when the story takes place, including "I Cover the Waterfront" (1933) and "Easy Come, Easy Go" (1934), both of which Green composed himself.
For some reason the scriptwriter chose to move the story to 1932 from its original placement in 1934 by author Horace McCoy in the novel on which this film is based. At one point an old lady tells Fonda and Sarrazin that they are her favorite dance couple because they're wearing the number "67" which is the year she was born (1867). Later Fonda calculates her age: "Sixty-five." Which enables us to figure out that the action is taking place in 1932. In another scene Fonda, referring to Bonnie Bedelia, quips, "If she's not pregnant, then I'm Nelson Eddy." Eddy didn't become a nationally known name until 1935 when he teamed with Jeanette MacDonald. He didn't even appear in a major motion picture until 1933 (DANCING LADY, MGM). A woman of 1932 would have been more likely to say "Bing Crosby" or "Rudy Vallee" or even "Russ Columbo." So one can't help wondering why the screenwriter bothered to move the action backwards by two years.
Exhausted couples staggering around a dance floor under a shining, spinning ball composed of mirror fragments that reflect off the ceiling, walls and floor - a symbol of Earth and the cosmos around it and oppressed humanity on the bottom grimly pressing on. That's the film in a nutshell.
How certain actors end up with certain roles depends on the crazy complicated game known as Hollywood casting, but sometimes even a miscast performer will bring an unexpected something to the table and triumph. Such was the case with Bette Davis in ALL ABOUT EVE (written with Claudette Colbert or Gertrude Lawrence in mind) and such is the case with Jane Fonda in a role that would have been better suited to someone like Stella Stevens. Fonda overcomes the odds as Gloria, the morbidly cynical and impoverished young woman whose brief life has been a series of abuses, disappointments and defeats. Even though the actress looks and speaks like a patrician, her defiant, angry, controlled desperation burns through the superficialities. Her performance culminates in an emotional meltdown which she handles with skill. It was her great breakthrough as a screen actress.
Another career peak is reached by Gig Young who, as the master of ceremonies, personifies all the dishonesty, cruelty and pathos of the marathon itself. Bonnie Bedelia and Susannah York also score as different kinds of vulnerable innocents. Michael Sarrazin as Fonda's dance partner serves as the passive instrument that allows Fonda to play out her tortured personal drama. His unchanging wounded puppy dog expression speaks for itself.
Ironically, the musical arrangements by John Green, a brilliant and very active composer of early 30's popular songs (including "Body and Soul"), sound more like Lawrence Welk than a real third-rate dance band of the early Depression era. As musical supervisor of this film I wonder if it was Green who anachronistically included songs that hadn't even been written when the story takes place, including "I Cover the Waterfront" (1933) and "Easy Come, Easy Go" (1934), both of which Green composed himself.
For some reason the scriptwriter chose to move the story to 1932 from its original placement in 1934 by author Horace McCoy in the novel on which this film is based. At one point an old lady tells Fonda and Sarrazin that they are her favorite dance couple because they're wearing the number "67" which is the year she was born (1867). Later Fonda calculates her age: "Sixty-five." Which enables us to figure out that the action is taking place in 1932. In another scene Fonda, referring to Bonnie Bedelia, quips, "If she's not pregnant, then I'm Nelson Eddy." Eddy didn't become a nationally known name until 1935 when he teamed with Jeanette MacDonald. He didn't even appear in a major motion picture until 1933 (DANCING LADY, MGM). A woman of 1932 would have been more likely to say "Bing Crosby" or "Rudy Vallee" or even "Russ Columbo." So one can't help wondering why the screenwriter bothered to move the action backwards by two years.
Exhausted couples staggering around a dance floor under a shining, spinning ball composed of mirror fragments that reflect off the ceiling, walls and floor - a symbol of Earth and the cosmos around it and oppressed humanity on the bottom grimly pressing on. That's the film in a nutshell.
A memorable, tragic story with roots in reality
mufeedah21 November 2002
"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is such a fascinating film that it made worthwhile a little research into the dance marathon craze of the 1920s and early 1930s. According to the DVD extra, the set was modeled on the old Aragon Ballroom, built in the 1920s on the Lick Pier at Santa Monica, California. The once-elegant ballroom had grown seedy by the early 1950s, at which time it enjoyed a brief revival as the location of early Lawrence Welk show broadcasts. In the 1960s, the Aragon was again revamped under a different name as a short-lived rock concert venue - with appearances by Alice Cooper (is his pre-Cooper days) and Jim Morrison of the Doors. It was destroyed by fire shortly afterward.
Marathon dancing was, according to most historians, as brutal and exploitive as it is depicted in "Horses." It was for that reason that this early 20th century variety of Roman coliseum culture was banned in much of the country by the late 1930s.
This movie uses fictitious characters to tell a story that appears to be remarkably accurate from a historical point of view. Jane Fonda's ultra-cynical, sharp-tongued character, Gloria, along with ruthless manager/promoter Rocky (played by Gig Young), contrast perfectly with the eerily-resigned and unpretentious Robert (Michael Serrazin). The casting and dialogue are brilliant. The visual effects are haunting.
This film is not for everyone. But for those interested in the social pathology that allows human suffering to become a form of amusement, the malicious ill-treatment of the poor, or the harsh realities of the depression era, this is multifaceted cinema that can be watched again and again, each time yielding new subtleties. It is a morbidly fascinating character study that reflects a truly desperate time.
For those watching on DVD, it is advisable to see the short background feature before the movie in order to fully appreciate its context. The movie is unforgettable, a true classic.
Marathon dancing was, according to most historians, as brutal and exploitive as it is depicted in "Horses." It was for that reason that this early 20th century variety of Roman coliseum culture was banned in much of the country by the late 1930s.
This movie uses fictitious characters to tell a story that appears to be remarkably accurate from a historical point of view. Jane Fonda's ultra-cynical, sharp-tongued character, Gloria, along with ruthless manager/promoter Rocky (played by Gig Young), contrast perfectly with the eerily-resigned and unpretentious Robert (Michael Serrazin). The casting and dialogue are brilliant. The visual effects are haunting.
This film is not for everyone. But for those interested in the social pathology that allows human suffering to become a form of amusement, the malicious ill-treatment of the poor, or the harsh realities of the depression era, this is multifaceted cinema that can be watched again and again, each time yielding new subtleties. It is a morbidly fascinating character study that reflects a truly desperate time.
For those watching on DVD, it is advisable to see the short background feature before the movie in order to fully appreciate its context. The movie is unforgettable, a true classic.
People as Expendable Cattle
nycritic22 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
In this movie's only moment of deadpan black humor, a nurse asks Gloria Beatty (Jane Fonda) after an exhausting dance session that has lasted nearly 1,000 hours, "Can I get you something for your feet?" Her response, as black as night, is, "How about a saw?" Taken out of context, her retort would inspire at least a barf of nervous laughter -- comic relief mirroring the temporary relief that particular something would give Gloria. But knowing the fury that her character has, this dissatisfaction with life in general, it wouldn't be a far stretch to see her amputate her feet right off and be done with it as the band plays on and Gig Young herds his cattle into mindless motion, for a promise of a little over one grand as a prize. She has nothing, she expects nothing -- and this is her last exit to a better life.
Such is the heroine of Horace McCoy's novel of the same name, which appeared in 1935 and told a story so lurid it could not possibly be true: that of the horror of dance marathons in which people down on their luck danced for interminable hours with brief "rest periods" no longer than 15 minutes, and all for free food and money. The ultimate price to pay for an era of abundance turned inside out into the belly of the beast the Depression Era was. All the time while Ginger and Fred danced under the stars and brought Hollywood magic to their eyes, all false promises. The greater irony is that its plot is set right at the edge of the world: the West, where dreams have been known to come true, especially for aspiring actors looking for their Big Break. That it was written by someone who was himself in the fringes is only fitting: some of the more effective stories come from people at the edges of society.
In a tone similar to Hubert Selby's REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, several characters are caught under the wheels of the American Dream and the need to escape the rampant poverty that had the nation under a vise. Dancing with Gloria are Robert Syverton (Michael Sarrazin), who seems to have committed a crime which makes this a story told in extensive flashbacks; Alice LeBlanc (Susannah York), who with partner Joel (Robert Fields) aspired to be a star; Ruby (Bonnie Bedelia) and James (Bruce Dern), a young married couple expecting their first child; and the Sailor (Red Buttons), a veteran of dance marathons. Rocky (Gig Young), the emcee, holds the ultimate poker card as to who will win this coveted prize and has the morals of a two-dollar bill.
What neither of them begin to suspect is that there is no light at the end of this tunnel. Rocky, the emcee, as corrupt as he is, is the only one who knows the final outcome and plays the game and each contestant until many of them literally fall dead... or worse, become raving lunatics moving for the sake of moving. Like the quick fix that the characters of REQUIEM were hooked on, he is just that to these people who soon progress from dancers full of life to zoned-out zombies in one horrific shot where we see their reflections through shards of broken glass, their eyes staring, looking at nothing, as they shuffle about in mock-dancing.
Alice will lose her dreams and turn into a shell of her former self: a scene in which she tries to seduce Robert is painful, especially when it happens right by a picture of an actress she emulates, Jean Harlow. Gloria will become even more bitter, and a sense of Hell on Earth will be the dominant feeling once the stakes become higher. And throughout it all, the dance.
But if the dancing in itself is punishing, nothing can account or compare to the two horrifying sequences where all of the contestants must race around the ballroom and avoid at all costs at being the last three couples, grounds for elimination. The first of them runs for the entire duration of its ten minutes and is a reverse chariot sequence in BEN HUR: instead of chariots, there are desperate people -- one of them, Ruby, is seven months pregnant -- and instead of a whip we have the emcee. It is interminable, and hits home at just how inhuman this contest is. The second one is even more terrible: the unforgettable image of Jane Fonda dragging the Sailor behind her back, a symbolic horse trying to remain in the game.
THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? comes with a heavy dose of nihilism that would be the tone set throughout the Seventies and in many ways, it can be said that Seventies cinema began in 1969 with this and with MIDNIGHT COWBOY, both films about the underbelly of society. Every performance in the movie is on-target including that of Michael Sarrazin who is looks like a non-entity but is more the chewed-up remains of the dream machine. Sydney Pollack uses a number of flashy techniques appropriate of the time -- flashcuts, stylized sequences that seem out of a narrative structure -- and in doing so has created his own masterpiece. Timeless, the story of human exploitation is even more relevant today with the advent of reality game shows like Fear Factor and its self-degrading contestants. It's an ugly portrayal of us as a society, willing to partake in the spectacle of seeing people worse than we are acting little more than animals destined for carnage.
Such is the heroine of Horace McCoy's novel of the same name, which appeared in 1935 and told a story so lurid it could not possibly be true: that of the horror of dance marathons in which people down on their luck danced for interminable hours with brief "rest periods" no longer than 15 minutes, and all for free food and money. The ultimate price to pay for an era of abundance turned inside out into the belly of the beast the Depression Era was. All the time while Ginger and Fred danced under the stars and brought Hollywood magic to their eyes, all false promises. The greater irony is that its plot is set right at the edge of the world: the West, where dreams have been known to come true, especially for aspiring actors looking for their Big Break. That it was written by someone who was himself in the fringes is only fitting: some of the more effective stories come from people at the edges of society.
In a tone similar to Hubert Selby's REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, several characters are caught under the wheels of the American Dream and the need to escape the rampant poverty that had the nation under a vise. Dancing with Gloria are Robert Syverton (Michael Sarrazin), who seems to have committed a crime which makes this a story told in extensive flashbacks; Alice LeBlanc (Susannah York), who with partner Joel (Robert Fields) aspired to be a star; Ruby (Bonnie Bedelia) and James (Bruce Dern), a young married couple expecting their first child; and the Sailor (Red Buttons), a veteran of dance marathons. Rocky (Gig Young), the emcee, holds the ultimate poker card as to who will win this coveted prize and has the morals of a two-dollar bill.
What neither of them begin to suspect is that there is no light at the end of this tunnel. Rocky, the emcee, as corrupt as he is, is the only one who knows the final outcome and plays the game and each contestant until many of them literally fall dead... or worse, become raving lunatics moving for the sake of moving. Like the quick fix that the characters of REQUIEM were hooked on, he is just that to these people who soon progress from dancers full of life to zoned-out zombies in one horrific shot where we see their reflections through shards of broken glass, their eyes staring, looking at nothing, as they shuffle about in mock-dancing.
Alice will lose her dreams and turn into a shell of her former self: a scene in which she tries to seduce Robert is painful, especially when it happens right by a picture of an actress she emulates, Jean Harlow. Gloria will become even more bitter, and a sense of Hell on Earth will be the dominant feeling once the stakes become higher. And throughout it all, the dance.
But if the dancing in itself is punishing, nothing can account or compare to the two horrifying sequences where all of the contestants must race around the ballroom and avoid at all costs at being the last three couples, grounds for elimination. The first of them runs for the entire duration of its ten minutes and is a reverse chariot sequence in BEN HUR: instead of chariots, there are desperate people -- one of them, Ruby, is seven months pregnant -- and instead of a whip we have the emcee. It is interminable, and hits home at just how inhuman this contest is. The second one is even more terrible: the unforgettable image of Jane Fonda dragging the Sailor behind her back, a symbolic horse trying to remain in the game.
THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? comes with a heavy dose of nihilism that would be the tone set throughout the Seventies and in many ways, it can be said that Seventies cinema began in 1969 with this and with MIDNIGHT COWBOY, both films about the underbelly of society. Every performance in the movie is on-target including that of Michael Sarrazin who is looks like a non-entity but is more the chewed-up remains of the dream machine. Sydney Pollack uses a number of flashy techniques appropriate of the time -- flashcuts, stylized sequences that seem out of a narrative structure -- and in doing so has created his own masterpiece. Timeless, the story of human exploitation is even more relevant today with the advent of reality game shows like Fear Factor and its self-degrading contestants. It's an ugly portrayal of us as a society, willing to partake in the spectacle of seeing people worse than we are acting little more than animals destined for carnage.
Desperate dancing.
st-shot22 November 2009
There's a bushel of fine performances to be found on the pier dance hall floor in this grim depression era story about marathon dancers. A popular entertainment in its day the competition would go on round the clock for days with contestants working themselves into a state of exhaustion and collapse in the hope of winning a meager prize. With massive unemployment across the country there was no shortage of contestants and Horses is filled with hard luck cases.
Director Sidney Pollack keeps the pace brisk by inter-cutting scenes between his large cast then amps things up further with dizzying elimination races. Hard luck hoofers Michael Sarrizin, Sussanah York, Red Buttons, Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedelia all contribute powerful performances while Jane Fonda with hard edged cynicism delivers arguably the best acting job of her career. It is Gig Young as the emcee however that steals the film. A light comedy actor in most films Young's jaded good looks and forced optimism ("Yowsa, yowsa") to rouse the audience into thinking the torture on the floor is wholesome entertainment is an incredible portrait of calibrated hypocrisy and exploitation.
Horses oozes cynicism from start to finish with no let up. There is not an ounce of comedy relief and the few scenes that take place outside the dark stifling dance hall in the welcome sun serves only the despair back inside where a sentimental audience tosses coins to a pregnant Bonnie Bedelia warbling "The best things in life are free." Without any upbeat distractions the film can become an endurance of melancholy for the viewer but Pollack and company keep things highly absorbing most of the way in what might be termed a dark piece of historical nostalgia .
Director Sidney Pollack keeps the pace brisk by inter-cutting scenes between his large cast then amps things up further with dizzying elimination races. Hard luck hoofers Michael Sarrizin, Sussanah York, Red Buttons, Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedelia all contribute powerful performances while Jane Fonda with hard edged cynicism delivers arguably the best acting job of her career. It is Gig Young as the emcee however that steals the film. A light comedy actor in most films Young's jaded good looks and forced optimism ("Yowsa, yowsa") to rouse the audience into thinking the torture on the floor is wholesome entertainment is an incredible portrait of calibrated hypocrisy and exploitation.
Horses oozes cynicism from start to finish with no let up. There is not an ounce of comedy relief and the few scenes that take place outside the dark stifling dance hall in the welcome sun serves only the despair back inside where a sentimental audience tosses coins to a pregnant Bonnie Bedelia warbling "The best things in life are free." Without any upbeat distractions the film can become an endurance of melancholy for the viewer but Pollack and company keep things highly absorbing most of the way in what might be termed a dark piece of historical nostalgia .
Nothing but Cattle
claudio_carvalho16 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
In 1932, in the Great Depression, a group of hopeless people participates of a dance marathon contest on the Santa Monica Pier in California. Among them are the bitter and disillusioned Gloria (Jane Fonda); a sailor (Red Buttons) that fought in the war; the aspirant actress and actor Alice (Susannah York) and Joel (Robert Fields); the farmer James (Bruce Dern) and his pregnant wife Ruby (Bonnie Bedella); all of them expecting to win the award of US$ 1,500.00. Gloria's partner has a threatening cough and is disqualified before the contest. However, the Master of Ceremony Rocky (Gig Young) summons the stranger Robert (Michael Sarrazin) to replace her partner and dance with Gloria. Along more than forty days, the weakest couples are disqualified from the contest. When Rocky proposes that the exhausted Gloria and Robert get married during the dance marathon to raise money with the gifts, Rocky discloses that the winners will have their expenses deducted from the prize resting almost nothing from the US$ 1,500.00. Gloria leaves the contest with Robert and asks him for an ultimate solution for her suffering. "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is one of the most impressive and depressive movies I have ever seen. I read Horace McCoy's unforgettable novel when I was a fourteen year-old teenager and I recall how sad I was with this tragic story of human suffering and the comparison of people with cattle. Later I saw this movie twice on VHS (last time on 16 March 2000) and yesterday I saw it on DVD. The direction and performances are top-notch and in the end I was weirdly depressed despite knowing the story and the conclusion. My vote is nine. Title (Brazil): "A Noite dos Desesperados" ("The Night of the Desperate")
Dance Marathon Macabre
Joewadesmith19 December 2002
Viewing "They Shoot Horses, Don't They" is like rubbernecking a horrific traffic accident, or watching a train wreck. The images, no matter how painful, are too disturbing to turn away. This movie documents the depression era pathos by showing us a glimse of a group of dance-marathon contestants battling it out for a winner-take-all purse. Their lives become symbolic of their efforts in the marathon: inexorable pain, constant cramping, and a constant questioning of just "why live in all this misery?" Eventually, the lead performances, especially those of Susanna York and Jane Fonda, show at once characters strong-willed but overcome by simple animal survival. The rest of the stellar cast captures this bleakness as well (watch a young Bonnie Bedelia sing for thrown pennies!!!). Eventually the movie painfully climaxes to let one realize the issues raised by the movie title. The film is stunning in capturing the simple struggle of humanity; it's a must-see, but only once!!!
Hard To Watch, But A Memorable Story
ccthemovieman-14 June 2007
When I saw this movie in the theater over 35 years ago, I found it very interesting and one of those movies you don't forget about an hour after you leave the theater. This was a haunting type of story, especially when my folks, who went with me, informed me that these marathon type of dance contests really did happen. The characters might have been fictional, but not story of these awful contests.
Jane Fonda plays the central character, "Gloria Beatty," an angry-at-the-world and profane woman who certainly has a cynical attitude. It almost echoed her real-life persona at the time, but I won't go there. I was more fascinated with Gig Young's performance in this film as the ruthless dance promoter - emcee "Rocky." To me - and Academy Award voters - his performance stands out among all the others, even though everyone does an outstanding job. That includes director Sydney Pollack, who had only made a few movies until this one.
The deep cast in this film did not include big-name stars but they were known celebrities: actors like Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Red Buttons, Bonnie Bedalia, Bruce Dern and Al Lewis.
This is a sad tale of desperate people in desperate times trying to make a few extra bucks during the Great Depression years. Dancing in pairs, they literally risked their health by trying to stay on their feet by dancing longer than every other couple. One became mentally exhausted just watching these poor people on screen trying to survive these "marathons."
Like a lot of movies which deal with unpleasant topics, this is a haunting film that will leave you thinking about it for a long time afterward. I can't say I enjoyed watching it the second time around, on VHS - Fonda's nastiness too much to take - but I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from watching this movie. It's a story about an unique event in American history guaranteed to be one you won't forget.
Jane Fonda plays the central character, "Gloria Beatty," an angry-at-the-world and profane woman who certainly has a cynical attitude. It almost echoed her real-life persona at the time, but I won't go there. I was more fascinated with Gig Young's performance in this film as the ruthless dance promoter - emcee "Rocky." To me - and Academy Award voters - his performance stands out among all the others, even though everyone does an outstanding job. That includes director Sydney Pollack, who had only made a few movies until this one.
The deep cast in this film did not include big-name stars but they were known celebrities: actors like Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Red Buttons, Bonnie Bedalia, Bruce Dern and Al Lewis.
This is a sad tale of desperate people in desperate times trying to make a few extra bucks during the Great Depression years. Dancing in pairs, they literally risked their health by trying to stay on their feet by dancing longer than every other couple. One became mentally exhausted just watching these poor people on screen trying to survive these "marathons."
Like a lot of movies which deal with unpleasant topics, this is a haunting film that will leave you thinking about it for a long time afterward. I can't say I enjoyed watching it the second time around, on VHS - Fonda's nastiness too much to take - but I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from watching this movie. It's a story about an unique event in American history guaranteed to be one you won't forget.
"I've got my eye on you!" ... "Which one?"
moonspinner556 July 2002
This is the movie that "The Day of the Locust" might have aspired to be. It captures the tone of desperation and helplessness of Depression-era characters (would-bes, wanna-bes, and fade-outs) like few films I've seen. It's a fascinating downer, ripe with interesting losers and gritty drama. Jane Fonda's performance as a marathon-entry at the end of her rope ranks with her very best work, and Oscar-winner Gig Young is smashing as the M.C. Also superb: Susannah York as a glamor girl who gets her clothes (and sanity) dirty, and Red Buttons as an over-the-hill sailor. There's not a happy or hopeful moment in sight, but for gripping human drama you could do no better. James Poe and Robert E. Thompson adapted their screenplay from Horace McCoy's novel; Sydney Pollack directed, impeccably. ***1/2 from ****
Fascinating but tragic movie about desperate people dancing at a competitive contest during the Depression Era
ma-cortes28 March 2019
1932 , Great Depression . A group of hopeless and unfortunate people participate at a dance marathon contest on the Santa Monica Pier in California . Among them is the disillusioned and frustrated Gloria (Jane Fonda , formerly Julie Christie and Barbra Streisand turned down this character) . While recovering from a suicide attempt, she gets the idea from a movie magazine to head for Hollywood to make it as a player and subsequently to take part at the marathon . Later on , Robert (Michael Sarrazin) is suddenly involved into the dance marathon , but never doubting he'll make it . Robert and Gloria meet and decide to enter the dance marathon , one of the crazes of the 1930's. Reckless contestants enter a dance marathon in the hopes of winning a cash price , not realizing that they will be driven to exhaustion . How long will they last ? . The grueling dancing takes its toll on Gloria's already weakened spirit, and she tells Robert that she'd be better off dead, that her life is hopeless and all the while acting cruelly and bitterly . People are the ultimate spectacle . After all, they shoot horses, don't they?
Sydney Pollack's rendition of Horace McCoy's prestigious novel about the competitive dance marathon of the Depression Era , including overblown and and impressive interpretations . We are given a depressing view of ruthless humanity , but it results to be riveting . This a thought-provoking , brooding and powerful period piece depicting the tumultuous lives of a misfit group of contestants , dealing with the desperation of the Depression years , while the dancers intertwine in an inhumanely grueling dance marathon , adding some frightening and frantically derby sequences , in which participants donning roller skates . The implication around the competitors' situation turns out to be a motley microcosm of a wider-reaching American malaise . Although being rather pretentious and safely distanced by the Depression period and the continuous flashback and flash-forward narrative . Settings are pretty well designed to show the environment and period piece , though it seems to be some claustrophobic , at times . And decent language written by the notorious screenwriter James Poe attempting to capture the intricate sense of the original dialogue written by Horace McCoy . Jane Fonda gives a good acting as the bitter Gloria , a young woman of the Depression who has aged beyond her years and feels her life is hopeless , having been cheated and betrayed many times in her past , alienating those around her, trying to convince to shoot and put out of her misery. Acceptable Michael Sararrazin as a desperate Hollywood citizen attempting to be a director and he suddenly becomes involved in a grueling dancing . Jane Fonda was the main favorite to win the Best Actress Oscar for her acting in this film, so it came as a surprise when she lost to Maggie Smith for The prime of Miss Brodie (1969) . Exceptional , though strident acting from Gig Young who got his Academy Award for performing the promotor of this thirties dance marathon . Support cast is frankly extraordinary , such as : Susannah York , Red Buttons , Bonnie Bedelia , Michael Conrad , Bruce Dern , Art Metrano , Severn Darden , Jacquelyn Hyde , Madge Kennedy , Al Lewis and many others . It was enthusiastically received when first realesed and had a string of Academy Award nominations , several of them for its performances . This is a multi-awarded movie for its cast , and sensational costumes , production design , musical score by Johnny Green and photography by Philip H. Lathrop .
The motion picture well produced by two great producers : Irwin Winkler/Robert Chartoff from Rocky saga , and was competently directed by Sydney Pollack , though using a peculiar narration , plenty of flash-back and forth images . The film had a great number of prizes and nominations , such as : Oscar 69 : support cast , actor Gig Young , though it holds the record for the movie with the most Academy Award nominations without a nomination for Best Picture: Nine ; Golden Globes : support actor Gig Young ; N.Y Film Critics : Actress : Jane Fonda ; British Academy Support actress : Susannah York . Sydney Pollack was a magnificent director , producer and secondary actor with several hits on all kind of genres , such as : ¨This property is condemned¨, ¨The way we were¨, ¨Absence of malice¨, ¨ 3 days of the Condor¨, ¨The scalphunters¨, ¨Jeremiah Johnson¨, ¨Bobby Deerfield¨, ¨The electric horsememan¨, ¨The firm¨ , ¨Out of Africa¨ , ¨Tootsie¨, ¨Yakuza¨ , ¨Sabrina¨, ¨Havana¨, ¨Random hearts¨, and his last movie , the documentary : ¨Sketches of Frank Gehry¨, among others . The flick will appeal to Jane Fonda fans and drama enthusiasts.
Sydney Pollack's rendition of Horace McCoy's prestigious novel about the competitive dance marathon of the Depression Era , including overblown and and impressive interpretations . We are given a depressing view of ruthless humanity , but it results to be riveting . This a thought-provoking , brooding and powerful period piece depicting the tumultuous lives of a misfit group of contestants , dealing with the desperation of the Depression years , while the dancers intertwine in an inhumanely grueling dance marathon , adding some frightening and frantically derby sequences , in which participants donning roller skates . The implication around the competitors' situation turns out to be a motley microcosm of a wider-reaching American malaise . Although being rather pretentious and safely distanced by the Depression period and the continuous flashback and flash-forward narrative . Settings are pretty well designed to show the environment and period piece , though it seems to be some claustrophobic , at times . And decent language written by the notorious screenwriter James Poe attempting to capture the intricate sense of the original dialogue written by Horace McCoy . Jane Fonda gives a good acting as the bitter Gloria , a young woman of the Depression who has aged beyond her years and feels her life is hopeless , having been cheated and betrayed many times in her past , alienating those around her, trying to convince to shoot and put out of her misery. Acceptable Michael Sararrazin as a desperate Hollywood citizen attempting to be a director and he suddenly becomes involved in a grueling dancing . Jane Fonda was the main favorite to win the Best Actress Oscar for her acting in this film, so it came as a surprise when she lost to Maggie Smith for The prime of Miss Brodie (1969) . Exceptional , though strident acting from Gig Young who got his Academy Award for performing the promotor of this thirties dance marathon . Support cast is frankly extraordinary , such as : Susannah York , Red Buttons , Bonnie Bedelia , Michael Conrad , Bruce Dern , Art Metrano , Severn Darden , Jacquelyn Hyde , Madge Kennedy , Al Lewis and many others . It was enthusiastically received when first realesed and had a string of Academy Award nominations , several of them for its performances . This is a multi-awarded movie for its cast , and sensational costumes , production design , musical score by Johnny Green and photography by Philip H. Lathrop .
The motion picture well produced by two great producers : Irwin Winkler/Robert Chartoff from Rocky saga , and was competently directed by Sydney Pollack , though using a peculiar narration , plenty of flash-back and forth images . The film had a great number of prizes and nominations , such as : Oscar 69 : support cast , actor Gig Young , though it holds the record for the movie with the most Academy Award nominations without a nomination for Best Picture: Nine ; Golden Globes : support actor Gig Young ; N.Y Film Critics : Actress : Jane Fonda ; British Academy Support actress : Susannah York . Sydney Pollack was a magnificent director , producer and secondary actor with several hits on all kind of genres , such as : ¨This property is condemned¨, ¨The way we were¨, ¨Absence of malice¨, ¨ 3 days of the Condor¨, ¨The scalphunters¨, ¨Jeremiah Johnson¨, ¨Bobby Deerfield¨, ¨The electric horsememan¨, ¨The firm¨ , ¨Out of Africa¨ , ¨Tootsie¨, ¨Yakuza¨ , ¨Sabrina¨, ¨Havana¨, ¨Random hearts¨, and his last movie , the documentary : ¨Sketches of Frank Gehry¨, among others . The flick will appeal to Jane Fonda fans and drama enthusiasts.
A Depression Era Reality Show...
Isaac585513 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
A few months ago, I saw 1969's THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? for the first time in its entirety. I had heard a lot about this film when it was first released and had seen bits and pieces of it in the past,but I found watching the entire film to be a devastating and shattering experience. I must concur with another poster's comparison to the marathon dance contest participants to today's reality show contestants...there is an air of desperation surrounding these people that is sad and frightening to watch. Some of these people have pinned their entire existence on winning this marathon and you just know everyone can't win. As a matter of fact, if memory serves, we never find out who won, because the film focuses on those losers who have pinned their entire lives on this and don't make it. Jane Fonda should have won the Best Actress Oscar for her Gloria Beatty, a strong yet pathetic creature who MUST win this marathon. Michael Sarrazin had the role of his career as Robert, the young man who becomes Gloria's partner by fate and becomes drawn into her web of depression and loneliness. Gig Young won an Oscar for his ultra-slick turn as the host and promoter of the marathon. Memorable characterizations of other participants in the marathon are offered by Suhsannah York, Red Buttons, Bonnie Bedelia, and Bruce Dern. This film is not for very taste, but can be a haunting yet satisfying film experience for those who can handle it. Definitely not for the faint of heart and way ahead of its time. Exceptional direction by Sidney Pollack.
An exhausting movie in every way...
secondtake29 May 2010
They Shoot Horses, Don't They (1969)
This is almost a mainstream experimental film, coming out of the New Hollywood transformation, and it has a huge reputation. It centers around the basically true events of a typical late-1920s dance marathon, with contestants dancing (and resting at times) for weeks straight (four or five weeks wasn't unusual). Naturally, contestants freak out and get obsessive and generally push their limits, and that ultimately is what the movie portrays.
I found it a bore. I like Sydney Pollack's approach to movies, in general, and he's directed some real gems. I can tolerate Jane Fonda, too, and she is an irritable, pushy young woman in this one, pretty convincing. There are other characters with similar selfish, and increasingly tired, attitudes, and by half way through you realize that it's a downer movie with nearly everyone snarly and mean and deceptive. By the end, with the great climax hinted at a couple times along the way, you expect and get the culmination of all that.
But it's a pretty linear experience, almost entirely shot in the gymnasium serving as a dance hall. The spectators are barely mentioned (and there are generally very few). The bands providing the dance music are dull (and maybe incorrect for the times--not only is there an all-Black group, which might have been included, but one of them is a mixed race group, and this isn't a barrier crossed until the late 1930s, a decade later). People's attitudes struck me as more 1960s than 1920s, with women openly crude and aggressive, and maybe this is my own shortcoming (I see the aggressive, successful women in Reds as more accurate, for whatever reason).
Mostly there is nothing much happening except a kind of petty competition between two women, and with two men half caring and just tagging along. And everyone getting weary. It's a spectacle, for sure, but imagine watching it for a month? And then squeezing that boredom into a two hour movie, narrative one liner with a strained script. Loaded with awards and praise, but not here.
This is almost a mainstream experimental film, coming out of the New Hollywood transformation, and it has a huge reputation. It centers around the basically true events of a typical late-1920s dance marathon, with contestants dancing (and resting at times) for weeks straight (four or five weeks wasn't unusual). Naturally, contestants freak out and get obsessive and generally push their limits, and that ultimately is what the movie portrays.
I found it a bore. I like Sydney Pollack's approach to movies, in general, and he's directed some real gems. I can tolerate Jane Fonda, too, and she is an irritable, pushy young woman in this one, pretty convincing. There are other characters with similar selfish, and increasingly tired, attitudes, and by half way through you realize that it's a downer movie with nearly everyone snarly and mean and deceptive. By the end, with the great climax hinted at a couple times along the way, you expect and get the culmination of all that.
But it's a pretty linear experience, almost entirely shot in the gymnasium serving as a dance hall. The spectators are barely mentioned (and there are generally very few). The bands providing the dance music are dull (and maybe incorrect for the times--not only is there an all-Black group, which might have been included, but one of them is a mixed race group, and this isn't a barrier crossed until the late 1930s, a decade later). People's attitudes struck me as more 1960s than 1920s, with women openly crude and aggressive, and maybe this is my own shortcoming (I see the aggressive, successful women in Reds as more accurate, for whatever reason).
Mostly there is nothing much happening except a kind of petty competition between two women, and with two men half caring and just tagging along. And everyone getting weary. It's a spectacle, for sure, but imagine watching it for a month? And then squeezing that boredom into a two hour movie, narrative one liner with a strained script. Loaded with awards and praise, but not here.
Eugh...
augurar26 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
When I saw this film, I initially thought it was incredibly unrealistic. But it turns out, to my surprise, the historical aspects of this film are pretty close to reality. Apparently dance marathons in the 1920s and 30s, also known as "walkathons", did proceed something like the one depicted in the film. Many of the details of the competition — 10 minutes of sleep per hour, several meals a day eaten while standing, sponsors, contestant performances, the proposed "wedding", special endurance events — actually occurred in historical dance marathons. Even the ending is not too far from reality — in 1928 a Seattle woman attempted suicide after finishing in fifth in one such competition.
However, despite the apparent historical accuracy of this film, it remained unconvincing due to poor writing and characterization. The character played by Jane Fonda was supposed to seem desperate and bitter, I think, but just came off as cruel and dislikable. She wasn't just defensive, she seemed to go out of her way to hurt and antagonize those around her. What a b****, seriously. The male lead was also underdeveloped; his only character traits were a sort of perpetual bewilderment and a vague fondness for the ocean and/or the sun. The MC was probably supposed to seem like a long-time showman with occasional moments of sympathy for the contestants, but his alternations between kindness and callousness just seemed inconsistent. The other characters functioned as sort of bipedal set pieces and were given even less depth and development than the main characters. In fact, the only development that seemed to happen during the film was a long, slow slide into exhaustion, both for the characters and the audience.
This brings me to my second complaint — the pacing was rather poor. Due to the nature of the competition, there were long periods where nothing was happening. These could have been used to give us some more insight into the characters' thoughts, feelings, or motivations but instead the audience was treated to periods of boredom, sporadically broken up by miscellaneous events, few of which had any real significance to the story. The ending just came out of nowhere for me, although I figured out midway through what was going to happen due to the clumsily-administered flashbacks and film title. It was as if, after reaching a certain desired length for the film, they decided it had to end somehow and this was the quickest way. Since we never really got to see why the whole thing mattered so much to the female lead, there was no motivation for her sudden plunge into suicidal despair at the end. The intended metaphor is of a broken-legged horse, writhing in suffering on the ground. But all that I saw in front of me was a bitter woman who was apparently unable to cope with the tragedy of a ripped stocking, an unsuccessful acting career, and a rigged endurance competition. And the laconic male lead, while seeming to exude a sort of naive sympathy for everyone around him, didn't seem to have any good reason for assisting in the act. If he really cared about the Jane Fonda character, he would've taken the gun away from her and put her to bed.
There were a couple of other things that bothered me here and there. One thing was the pointless partner-swapping somewhere in the middle of the film. The Fonda character has known the Sarrazin character for a few weeks at most, most of which was spent shuffling around half-asleep. Why would she even care if he sleeps with some woman? The whole thing just seemed contrived and unnecessary. A second quibble was with one of the last scenes of the movie, where the male lead utters the movie's line that makes the movie's title. To all you would-be screenwriters out there: DON'T EXPLAIN THE F***ING SYMBOLISM! It's enough to show the woman falling down like the horse in the meadow. We don't need to have the guy specifically tell the audience what it meant.
If I had to say the one defining flaw of the movie, it was that it spent too much time showing us the particulars of the event and not enough letting us get to know the characters. Interestingly enough, by placing the focus on the event itself and not on its participants, the film effectively denies the characters their humanity, showing them instead as little more than livestock. As a result, the drama is reduced to spectacle and the viewer is placed in the same role as the people who attended these events back in the 20s and 30s. I don't think this was intentional, but it was still interesting. It kind of makes you wonder: why am I watching this?
However, despite the apparent historical accuracy of this film, it remained unconvincing due to poor writing and characterization. The character played by Jane Fonda was supposed to seem desperate and bitter, I think, but just came off as cruel and dislikable. She wasn't just defensive, she seemed to go out of her way to hurt and antagonize those around her. What a b****, seriously. The male lead was also underdeveloped; his only character traits were a sort of perpetual bewilderment and a vague fondness for the ocean and/or the sun. The MC was probably supposed to seem like a long-time showman with occasional moments of sympathy for the contestants, but his alternations between kindness and callousness just seemed inconsistent. The other characters functioned as sort of bipedal set pieces and were given even less depth and development than the main characters. In fact, the only development that seemed to happen during the film was a long, slow slide into exhaustion, both for the characters and the audience.
This brings me to my second complaint — the pacing was rather poor. Due to the nature of the competition, there were long periods where nothing was happening. These could have been used to give us some more insight into the characters' thoughts, feelings, or motivations but instead the audience was treated to periods of boredom, sporadically broken up by miscellaneous events, few of which had any real significance to the story. The ending just came out of nowhere for me, although I figured out midway through what was going to happen due to the clumsily-administered flashbacks and film title. It was as if, after reaching a certain desired length for the film, they decided it had to end somehow and this was the quickest way. Since we never really got to see why the whole thing mattered so much to the female lead, there was no motivation for her sudden plunge into suicidal despair at the end. The intended metaphor is of a broken-legged horse, writhing in suffering on the ground. But all that I saw in front of me was a bitter woman who was apparently unable to cope with the tragedy of a ripped stocking, an unsuccessful acting career, and a rigged endurance competition. And the laconic male lead, while seeming to exude a sort of naive sympathy for everyone around him, didn't seem to have any good reason for assisting in the act. If he really cared about the Jane Fonda character, he would've taken the gun away from her and put her to bed.
There were a couple of other things that bothered me here and there. One thing was the pointless partner-swapping somewhere in the middle of the film. The Fonda character has known the Sarrazin character for a few weeks at most, most of which was spent shuffling around half-asleep. Why would she even care if he sleeps with some woman? The whole thing just seemed contrived and unnecessary. A second quibble was with one of the last scenes of the movie, where the male lead utters the movie's line that makes the movie's title. To all you would-be screenwriters out there: DON'T EXPLAIN THE F***ING SYMBOLISM! It's enough to show the woman falling down like the horse in the meadow. We don't need to have the guy specifically tell the audience what it meant.
If I had to say the one defining flaw of the movie, it was that it spent too much time showing us the particulars of the event and not enough letting us get to know the characters. Interestingly enough, by placing the focus on the event itself and not on its participants, the film effectively denies the characters their humanity, showing them instead as little more than livestock. As a result, the drama is reduced to spectacle and the viewer is placed in the same role as the people who attended these events back in the 20s and 30s. I don't think this was intentional, but it was still interesting. It kind of makes you wonder: why am I watching this?
Masterpiece
toronyiana21 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Depression, inhumanity and failure, they all lead to a feeling of despair and a sense that there is not much to continue fighting for. Why humans shouldn't have their pain diminished in the same manner horses do when they are hurt?
A dance marathon, presented also as a horse racing competition where the contestants have to fight for a prize enduring unimaginable conditions while others participate in the audience just to feel a little less miserable with their own lifes. It is also a reflection on how reality TV shows are today, everyone looking for some sort of ''entertainment''.
YOWZA! YOWZA! YOWZA!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman22 February 2001
This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Set in the 1930s, it revoleved around a group of people entering/running a depression dance marathon. The group entering the contest(The principle characters being Fonda, Sarrazin, York, Buttons, Bedilia, Fields)Can't pass up the seven meals a day, or the top prize of 1500 dollars, no matter how grueling the dance will be. Fonda, is a drifter looking for money, Sarrazin wanders into the contest by accident, York and Fields are an actor and actress hoping to be "Discovered", and Buttons is also looking for money. The management of the contest is represented by Young, Lewis, and (To a lesser extent)Conrad. While this is not a "Pick me up" movie, it is definitely worth seeing. The cast is excellent, and the movie moves along well. Director Sydney Pollack filmed the movie in sequence, which helps to show the fatigue that the characters are feeling. They Shoot horses was nominated for nine academy awards, inglinging Best actress(Fonda), Best Supporting Actress(York) and Best Director(Pollack).
However, only Gig Young walked away with the statuette(For best Supporting Actor) and he deserved every inch of it. Playing against typecasting, he knew he was getting the role of a lifetime and he gives one of the best performance of his career. I actually liked Rocky, with his White Tux and his "Yowza!Yowza!Yowza!" I don't know if I would have liked the character if Gig Young had not been in the role.
Overall, this movie is definitely worth seeing. If you have a chance, give it a look.
10/10 ***** out of *****
However, only Gig Young walked away with the statuette(For best Supporting Actor) and he deserved every inch of it. Playing against typecasting, he knew he was getting the role of a lifetime and he gives one of the best performance of his career. I actually liked Rocky, with his White Tux and his "Yowza!Yowza!Yowza!" I don't know if I would have liked the character if Gig Young had not been in the role.
Overall, this movie is definitely worth seeing. If you have a chance, give it a look.
10/10 ***** out of *****
Pre-TV Reality Show and human nature at its ugliest...
ElMaruecan822 April 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Watching Sidney Pollack's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?", it is impossible not to think of reality shows and their piles of human souls desperate for success' shortcuts. Indeed, whenever there will be depression and desperation, such shows will exist. The only difference is that during the Great Depression, when Horace McCoy wrote the novel, there was no screen between the audience and the contestants, a thinner progress than the fact that, contrarily to Rome's gladiators, contestants didn't kill each other, though they seriously jeopardized their physical and mental health.
The film centers on a Dance Marathon, one of the 30's crazes, set in a West Coast ballroom, the concept is so vicious that you wonder why sensitive people would go to such extremes. From a 2010's standpoint, it makes sense as there's no difference between this and programs like "Survivor" or "Fear Factor", and no more between the charismatic Master of Ceremony, played by Gig Young and a TV host who displays hypocritical empathy toward contestants while developing new tricks to increase their suffering. Watching Young's Oscar-winning performance, we wonder whether we should despise his cynicism or enthusiastically respond to his repeated "Yowsa!"
Young embodies the bittersweet appeal reality TV shows, something that is part of human nature to which German language found a word for: 'shadenfreude'. When someone falls or fails, we're somewhat glad to be in the comfortable viewer's side. We don't like other people's successes, but any sight of a human being in a less favorable position is most welcome. That's how depressing a depression is, when we can't feel better for our own achievements, we do it by proxy, by enjoying someone's failure. Regarding the Dance Marathon, whoever will win the 1500 dollars prize will be less interesting than the dozens of delightful losers.
Take the character Alice, played by Susannah York, she's a young actress coming with her partner, together they expect to catch the eye of a director. Alice is like today's wannabe Cyrus or Kardashian who don't believe in bad publicity and think fame precedes artistic achievement. Later, Rocky reveals that he deliberately took her dresses and make-up, because she was spoiling the game by not looking messy and exhausted as she was supposed to be. He says about the audience that they "just want to see a little misery out there so they can feel a little better maybe." This revelation will come as a shock to Robert (Michael Sarrazin), an aspiring director who naively thought he was in a contest, rather than a show. Like in Ancient Rome, those who don't have 'bread and wine' make the 'circus' to the haves. Seriously, did he forget he was sponsored?
There are also two tragic characters: Kline, an aging sailor, played by wonderful character actor Red Buttons, the WWI veteran knows the marathon and teaches a few tricks to Robert. And there's a pregnant Okie farmer's wife played by unrecognizable Bonnie Bedelia (she was John McClane's wife in "Die Hard"), and entrusted with more than she can cope with, and nor her husband (Bruce Dern) or the doctors or Rocky think that she might endanger her kid's life or her own. The sight of this little heavy-loaded women forced to run that awful ten-minute derby is one of the most disturbing sights of the movie along with Kline's death, desperately dragged by Gloria Betty (Jane Fonda) till the finish line.
The power of Pollack's directing is to switch from the contestants' perspective to Rocky's (and his partner played by Al Lewis). For instance, you see the participants groaning at the derby's white lines being painted and then you see the puppet masters of this tragicomedy, and you wonder why these people who can leave at any time let their health and sanity being sucked out by these heartless bastards in tuxedos. The reason is simple: the two points of view never meet, except for Robert and Gloria. And all naturally, they leave the show. When Gloria learns that the winner will pay the expenses, that's too much to accept, she understands that "the whole world is like central casting. They got it all rigged before you ever show up."
As Gloria, Jane Fonda is the soul of the story, a perpetually malcontent woman whose participation was the last string on which to hang her faith on life. But while the film is mainly focused on Fonda, it starts with flashbacks from Robert's childhood - one involving a beautiful black stallion, falling and then mercilessly put out of his misery- and then it's punctuated with images of Robert being arrested and interrogated for what seems to be a murder. I thought that (accidentally) knowing Gloria would die, would spoil my enjoyment. As a matter of fact, from the title to the poster, and the arrest scenes, we understand that it's a matter of time before the contest finally get the most of her, and makes her death inevitable.
This is not depression as an Era, or as the disillusioned New Hollywood movies that provided the great unequaled masterpieces of American cinema, but plain and bleak 'state of mind' depression. It's like a feeling of psychological claustrophobia in an agoraphobia-inducing world, too many people and not enough souls to reach or reach yours. The ball-room, with all its flashiness and shiny floor, is the extraordinary metaphor of this Depression, however you define it. And Fonda conveys her sadness so convincingly that we no longer feel sorry for her when Robert pulls the trigger. As he says to the disbelieving cops: "they shoot horses, don't they?". Gloria didn't break her leg though, only her spirit, and that's something you can't recover from.
"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"is one of the most depressing movies I saw, even more because it hasn't lost one ounce of relevance, proving that History keeps repeating itself, staged by the worst of human nature. What an exhausting depressing, haunting and unforgettable movie!
The film centers on a Dance Marathon, one of the 30's crazes, set in a West Coast ballroom, the concept is so vicious that you wonder why sensitive people would go to such extremes. From a 2010's standpoint, it makes sense as there's no difference between this and programs like "Survivor" or "Fear Factor", and no more between the charismatic Master of Ceremony, played by Gig Young and a TV host who displays hypocritical empathy toward contestants while developing new tricks to increase their suffering. Watching Young's Oscar-winning performance, we wonder whether we should despise his cynicism or enthusiastically respond to his repeated "Yowsa!"
Young embodies the bittersweet appeal reality TV shows, something that is part of human nature to which German language found a word for: 'shadenfreude'. When someone falls or fails, we're somewhat glad to be in the comfortable viewer's side. We don't like other people's successes, but any sight of a human being in a less favorable position is most welcome. That's how depressing a depression is, when we can't feel better for our own achievements, we do it by proxy, by enjoying someone's failure. Regarding the Dance Marathon, whoever will win the 1500 dollars prize will be less interesting than the dozens of delightful losers.
Take the character Alice, played by Susannah York, she's a young actress coming with her partner, together they expect to catch the eye of a director. Alice is like today's wannabe Cyrus or Kardashian who don't believe in bad publicity and think fame precedes artistic achievement. Later, Rocky reveals that he deliberately took her dresses and make-up, because she was spoiling the game by not looking messy and exhausted as she was supposed to be. He says about the audience that they "just want to see a little misery out there so they can feel a little better maybe." This revelation will come as a shock to Robert (Michael Sarrazin), an aspiring director who naively thought he was in a contest, rather than a show. Like in Ancient Rome, those who don't have 'bread and wine' make the 'circus' to the haves. Seriously, did he forget he was sponsored?
There are also two tragic characters: Kline, an aging sailor, played by wonderful character actor Red Buttons, the WWI veteran knows the marathon and teaches a few tricks to Robert. And there's a pregnant Okie farmer's wife played by unrecognizable Bonnie Bedelia (she was John McClane's wife in "Die Hard"), and entrusted with more than she can cope with, and nor her husband (Bruce Dern) or the doctors or Rocky think that she might endanger her kid's life or her own. The sight of this little heavy-loaded women forced to run that awful ten-minute derby is one of the most disturbing sights of the movie along with Kline's death, desperately dragged by Gloria Betty (Jane Fonda) till the finish line.
The power of Pollack's directing is to switch from the contestants' perspective to Rocky's (and his partner played by Al Lewis). For instance, you see the participants groaning at the derby's white lines being painted and then you see the puppet masters of this tragicomedy, and you wonder why these people who can leave at any time let their health and sanity being sucked out by these heartless bastards in tuxedos. The reason is simple: the two points of view never meet, except for Robert and Gloria. And all naturally, they leave the show. When Gloria learns that the winner will pay the expenses, that's too much to accept, she understands that "the whole world is like central casting. They got it all rigged before you ever show up."
As Gloria, Jane Fonda is the soul of the story, a perpetually malcontent woman whose participation was the last string on which to hang her faith on life. But while the film is mainly focused on Fonda, it starts with flashbacks from Robert's childhood - one involving a beautiful black stallion, falling and then mercilessly put out of his misery- and then it's punctuated with images of Robert being arrested and interrogated for what seems to be a murder. I thought that (accidentally) knowing Gloria would die, would spoil my enjoyment. As a matter of fact, from the title to the poster, and the arrest scenes, we understand that it's a matter of time before the contest finally get the most of her, and makes her death inevitable.
This is not depression as an Era, or as the disillusioned New Hollywood movies that provided the great unequaled masterpieces of American cinema, but plain and bleak 'state of mind' depression. It's like a feeling of psychological claustrophobia in an agoraphobia-inducing world, too many people and not enough souls to reach or reach yours. The ball-room, with all its flashiness and shiny floor, is the extraordinary metaphor of this Depression, however you define it. And Fonda conveys her sadness so convincingly that we no longer feel sorry for her when Robert pulls the trigger. As he says to the disbelieving cops: "they shoot horses, don't they?". Gloria didn't break her leg though, only her spirit, and that's something you can't recover from.
"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"is one of the most depressing movies I saw, even more because it hasn't lost one ounce of relevance, proving that History keeps repeating itself, staged by the worst of human nature. What an exhausting depressing, haunting and unforgettable movie!
A Nihilistic Allegory for Profit-Driven Society
jzappa24 February 2011
In a competition-based social order, such as ours, more should ask why the impoverished never seem to improve their living conditions. But there are people who are successful! Could it be that they always have been? That they stay that way by keeping everyone else fighting, distrusting, conniving, with the idea of attaining the prize of wealth, which is already systematically divvied up amongst an elite handful and protected as such? This disturbing mood picture boils down to the impending existentially compassionate act of a human being, which he cannot help but associate with an act of the same kind that had a profound effect on him in his youth. The act from his past is socially accepted, the one in his future a capital crime. Both extinguish the misery of a life beyond its own control, no matter how much it strives to express its freedom. Reflecting upon this momentous instant of his past, he happens upon an event that, in a time of depression, promises financial security, thus a fierce swarm of competition. He becomes involved due to the reluctant necessity of another human being with similar needs.
This young man defined by his book-ending experiences had big dreams that were crushed. He finds himself now competing with others of big aspirations, young, old, impoverished, pregnant, all encouraged, indeed compelled, to pair with the opposite sex, more for the sake of spectators whose values must be reflected in the competition's spectacle. The weaker pairs are swiftly eradicated, exploited for the spectators' amusement. Already desperate circumstances are worsened by unresolved crime, leading to deepened internal strife, intensified competition. Job offers for some cause rejection by others, realignment, taking sides.
The competition lasts insufferably long, and spikes in its amusement value are needed by the powers-that-be to distract the spectators from its obvious misery. So sport is staged using the contestants, masqueraded in cheerful spirit wear. Injuries, even fatal ones, are no matter. It continues. These burdens are loaded from one contestant to another, nervous breakdowns causing further realignments. The powers-that-be remain unaffected.
Ultimately, it's the sacred institution of marriage that the powers-that-be utilize for the climactic publicity stunt, promising rewards, honors. The human with broken dreams and his chance counterpart cannot bring themselves to pretend the necessary emotion for the purely profit-driven ritual, and reveal the entire epic contest to be nothing of what it appears to be. When they can no longer maintain their integrity by being involved, they're left with nothing. Not even hope. What's one to do? When one's in such misery, and the other's willing to do anything to extinguish it, what does the law become? A mere protector of the very sham set of values engendered by the shamelessly exploitative competition? With this key American film, Sydney Pollack conveyed early signs that he could bring together and harness an ensemble cast effectively. It reaches moments of hypnotic artistry in its New Wave-inspired cutting that adds more internal psychology to the male lead, quiet character moments and energetic dance sequences. This is head and shoulders above any other film to the late director's name, as it lacks the sugar-coated worthiness hampering his serious attempts to tackle important themes in his later, mostly formulaic work, though work which comprises some classic, star-studded Hollywood thrillers, romances and comedies.
But one of the highest achievements of his work here, I feel, is rooted in my notion that the film heroes who involve me most aren't romantic icons, they don't epitomize masculinity or necessarily get the girl. They have not offensive linemen or Medal of Freedom recipients. They're common people who are confronted with a necessity and face their predicament. The vast American majority was starving, careers were without hope, the public was unable to comprehend what had occurred. Most of them had been raised to trust that if you worked hard and persisted, and otherwise behaved yourself, prosperity would befall you. But during the Depression, catastrophe, poverty and loss befell multitudes. This grim spectacle of hardship is more than a suggestion of that era. It's a glass-half-empty microcosm of capitalism.
The film's loaded with strong acting, from Red Buttons whose career as a comedian somehow deepens the desperation his character suffers, Susannah York who captures the tragedy of a woman with no insight into her loss of touch with reality, a stunningly innocent Bonnie Bedelia before she was Mrs. McClaine, from Michael Sarrazin as young man whose blow of mercy presages and caps his life, which is ultimately as insignificant as everyone else's in this society where all are subjugated, a life perhaps only significant to Gloria. Gloria, a contagion of existential desolation, is the petrified and petrifying chance counterpart of the man with broken dreams, as well as a great tragic heroine. Not like this is anything unusual, but Jane Fonda gives a dramatic performance that endows the film with personal spotlight and emotionally spellbinding might more effectively even than the film's brilliant, abstract use of flashes forward in sudden, subconscious, highly stylized cuts. Swollen-eyed, unkempt, stinking of must and smoke, Gig Young is inspired, a pointed change from his customary gourmet roles, as the powers that be, a man arguably as cynical and misanthropic as his desperate contestants.
The film's awash with rather stunning period strokes, the songs, settings, costumes language, all so unsettling in such imperative ways. While the cameras remain, as if they had been condemned to do so, in the ballroom, capturing the fine points of the rising hopelessness of the dancers, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? becomes a marathon of collapse and futility. The circular arrangements of the dancers, the movement that heads nowhere, are the allegories of this existentialist metaphor for life.
This young man defined by his book-ending experiences had big dreams that were crushed. He finds himself now competing with others of big aspirations, young, old, impoverished, pregnant, all encouraged, indeed compelled, to pair with the opposite sex, more for the sake of spectators whose values must be reflected in the competition's spectacle. The weaker pairs are swiftly eradicated, exploited for the spectators' amusement. Already desperate circumstances are worsened by unresolved crime, leading to deepened internal strife, intensified competition. Job offers for some cause rejection by others, realignment, taking sides.
The competition lasts insufferably long, and spikes in its amusement value are needed by the powers-that-be to distract the spectators from its obvious misery. So sport is staged using the contestants, masqueraded in cheerful spirit wear. Injuries, even fatal ones, are no matter. It continues. These burdens are loaded from one contestant to another, nervous breakdowns causing further realignments. The powers-that-be remain unaffected.
Ultimately, it's the sacred institution of marriage that the powers-that-be utilize for the climactic publicity stunt, promising rewards, honors. The human with broken dreams and his chance counterpart cannot bring themselves to pretend the necessary emotion for the purely profit-driven ritual, and reveal the entire epic contest to be nothing of what it appears to be. When they can no longer maintain their integrity by being involved, they're left with nothing. Not even hope. What's one to do? When one's in such misery, and the other's willing to do anything to extinguish it, what does the law become? A mere protector of the very sham set of values engendered by the shamelessly exploitative competition? With this key American film, Sydney Pollack conveyed early signs that he could bring together and harness an ensemble cast effectively. It reaches moments of hypnotic artistry in its New Wave-inspired cutting that adds more internal psychology to the male lead, quiet character moments and energetic dance sequences. This is head and shoulders above any other film to the late director's name, as it lacks the sugar-coated worthiness hampering his serious attempts to tackle important themes in his later, mostly formulaic work, though work which comprises some classic, star-studded Hollywood thrillers, romances and comedies.
But one of the highest achievements of his work here, I feel, is rooted in my notion that the film heroes who involve me most aren't romantic icons, they don't epitomize masculinity or necessarily get the girl. They have not offensive linemen or Medal of Freedom recipients. They're common people who are confronted with a necessity and face their predicament. The vast American majority was starving, careers were without hope, the public was unable to comprehend what had occurred. Most of them had been raised to trust that if you worked hard and persisted, and otherwise behaved yourself, prosperity would befall you. But during the Depression, catastrophe, poverty and loss befell multitudes. This grim spectacle of hardship is more than a suggestion of that era. It's a glass-half-empty microcosm of capitalism.
The film's loaded with strong acting, from Red Buttons whose career as a comedian somehow deepens the desperation his character suffers, Susannah York who captures the tragedy of a woman with no insight into her loss of touch with reality, a stunningly innocent Bonnie Bedelia before she was Mrs. McClaine, from Michael Sarrazin as young man whose blow of mercy presages and caps his life, which is ultimately as insignificant as everyone else's in this society where all are subjugated, a life perhaps only significant to Gloria. Gloria, a contagion of existential desolation, is the petrified and petrifying chance counterpart of the man with broken dreams, as well as a great tragic heroine. Not like this is anything unusual, but Jane Fonda gives a dramatic performance that endows the film with personal spotlight and emotionally spellbinding might more effectively even than the film's brilliant, abstract use of flashes forward in sudden, subconscious, highly stylized cuts. Swollen-eyed, unkempt, stinking of must and smoke, Gig Young is inspired, a pointed change from his customary gourmet roles, as the powers that be, a man arguably as cynical and misanthropic as his desperate contestants.
The film's awash with rather stunning period strokes, the songs, settings, costumes language, all so unsettling in such imperative ways. While the cameras remain, as if they had been condemned to do so, in the ballroom, capturing the fine points of the rising hopelessness of the dancers, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? becomes a marathon of collapse and futility. The circular arrangements of the dancers, the movement that heads nowhere, are the allegories of this existentialist metaphor for life.
The Schadenfreude Must Go On, and On, and On, and...
Xstal19 March 2023
There's a dance that takes a while to complete, where desperate couples on the edge seek to compete, a depression era show, through the day and night they go, if you're not beat, can get some sleep, you'll find there's plenty food to eat. This marathon can take some time to dance, you'd be amazed at just how long you have to prance, we're talking months not weeks or days, sends your mind into a haze, and boils for your toils will have to lance.
I've lost track how many times I've watched this, Jane Fonda, Susannah York, in fact the whole cast is outstanding, while the story of the lengths people will go to during hard times is beyond belief, as is the pleasure the crowd gets from it.
I've lost track how many times I've watched this, Jane Fonda, Susannah York, in fact the whole cast is outstanding, while the story of the lengths people will go to during hard times is beyond belief, as is the pleasure the crowd gets from it.
the 40 year separation
ptb-823 March 2009
This beguiling and mesmerizing piece of cinematic poetry is a melancholy masterpiece, a great companion piece to the more sinister and despairing DAY OF THE LOCUST. Both films detail the depression era sadness and desperation of wannabees and losers rendered prickly and desperate by poverty and Hollywood imagery. THEY SHOOT HORSES is a really great and bitter film, a superbly realized reality check in its anti musical point of view on life in the early 30s. Perhaps CABARET can be added to make a trilogy of deluded people and their astonishing disillusionment...... Today in 2009 I realize I am 40 years beyond the film's production which was 40 years beyond the time it is set.... and we are in another financial depression. The irony! With simply terrific emotional performances by a truly gorgeous post-Bonnie Jane Fonda and the mysteriously now AWOL Michael Sarrazin with sub leads creepy Bruce Dern and gasping Red Buttons and a fragile Harlow-like Susannah York... all in a grinding music stew of financial nervousness. Gig Young as an oily MC was a clear front-runner before Joel Grey trumped him in the Oscar stakes for such a similar role. Other films like QUEEN OF THE STARDUST BALLROOM, or the incredible ruined ballroom scene from THE WRESTLER only add to the admiration of this film when each seen in quick succession as I did. THEY SHOOT HORSES is a major piece of genuinely epic suspenseful sadness. Just great. The human spectacle as a carnival race of ordinary people's small lives.
Life is a dance competition
Mr_Bug_Tunny1 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Life is a dance competition They shoot horses, don't they?
Set in the 1930's, years of the depression, the Great War behind them and another to come, we find a whole generation that is trying to cope with a raw and harsh reality. The message this movie conveys is the same as the cold, pathetic and pessimistic view of life that the existentialist movements being born were spreading around.
We all wanted to know who would win. We were unsure who to root for —certainly not Jane Fonda's apathetic character. Then who? The washed out wannabe and talentless actress or her egocentric partner; the married couple that blind themselves with some sort of a possible "lived happily ever after" ending? No. None of them could win. All the characters are selfish and blind to reality with hopes of winning something that is ephemeral. Inside the dance floor they are stripped naked of their dignity and humanity. The only character who seems free of this heaviness turns out to be the worst of them, encarnating those that permit others to give up.
Mr. Pollack very effectively introduces us into a world where life is an unending dance marathon. The struggle in life, like the struggle to keep dancing, is meaningless and empty; a mere movement that seems to go on and on until it crashes to an end. Contestants begin the challenge enthusiastically and motivated because they have a goal, a purpose. But we shockingly discover that people compete, not against each other as initially believed, but with the inevitable pull of gravity to the floor. This is why we're not really surprised at Gloria when she decides to shoot herself once she's outside. Loosing the competition is, in fact, death, and death is more reasonable, more real than "dancing away" through life. Death is the only certainty. Those who don't die dancing will die anyway, despite any resistance.
In the end they were all cattle, lining up to be fattened before being slaughtered: an existence void of any meaning. A movie worth watching thanks to Mr. Pollack's brilliant directing and real, sober and contained performances, all committed to the point the movie wants to make. 7/10
Set in the 1930's, years of the depression, the Great War behind them and another to come, we find a whole generation that is trying to cope with a raw and harsh reality. The message this movie conveys is the same as the cold, pathetic and pessimistic view of life that the existentialist movements being born were spreading around.
We all wanted to know who would win. We were unsure who to root for —certainly not Jane Fonda's apathetic character. Then who? The washed out wannabe and talentless actress or her egocentric partner; the married couple that blind themselves with some sort of a possible "lived happily ever after" ending? No. None of them could win. All the characters are selfish and blind to reality with hopes of winning something that is ephemeral. Inside the dance floor they are stripped naked of their dignity and humanity. The only character who seems free of this heaviness turns out to be the worst of them, encarnating those that permit others to give up.
Mr. Pollack very effectively introduces us into a world where life is an unending dance marathon. The struggle in life, like the struggle to keep dancing, is meaningless and empty; a mere movement that seems to go on and on until it crashes to an end. Contestants begin the challenge enthusiastically and motivated because they have a goal, a purpose. But we shockingly discover that people compete, not against each other as initially believed, but with the inevitable pull of gravity to the floor. This is why we're not really surprised at Gloria when she decides to shoot herself once she's outside. Loosing the competition is, in fact, death, and death is more reasonable, more real than "dancing away" through life. Death is the only certainty. Those who don't die dancing will die anyway, despite any resistance.
In the end they were all cattle, lining up to be fattened before being slaughtered: an existence void of any meaning. A movie worth watching thanks to Mr. Pollack's brilliant directing and real, sober and contained performances, all committed to the point the movie wants to make. 7/10
Thank the Lord they Don't Do this to Directors-Film Suffers from Its Period **12
edwagreen5 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Yauzer, Yauzer. "They Shoot Horses, Don't They,?" is only moderately successful in recreating the dance marathon of the 1930s during the depression years.
Jane Fonda and Susannah York received well-deserved Oscar nominations for their portrayals as dance contestants eager to win the big prize for survival. As Gloria, the heroine of dance hall contests, Fonda was the embodiment of a period of social turmoil in America. Her utter despair and hopelessness as a born loser is well depicted in the film. York, as an aspiring actress, who seduces, Sarrazin, partner to Fonda, seems to be in a whirlwind of utter chaos. Her cracking up scene in a shower following the collapse of Red Buttons is memorable and poignant.
We feel the tiredness of the contestants as the hours pass and they desperately try to stay on course so as not to be eliminated. Due to the depression-like atmosphere, there is still plenty of food for the aspiring contestants to eat. It's very hard to conceive that Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedelia, who plays his pregnant wife, could endure so many hours of this torment. The lackluster effect is somewhat offset by the derby sequences. Played with the tunes of California Here I Come and By the Sea, By the Sea the contestants jog quickly so as to avoid elimination. Red Buttons portrays an aging sailor who does a nice tap dance scene but it's too much for him in the end.
As the marathon emcee, Gig Young won a best supporting Oscar. This award was his 3rd nomination. He had been nominated for his alcoholic portrayals in both the drama "Come fill the Cup," in 1951 and the delightful comedy, "Teacher's Pet,"in 1958. In 'Horses' he is right on step with the contestants, following their every movement. He is sort of like a town barker. Seemingly sympathetic to the contestants, he is nonetheless a businessman at heart.
The film is truly a haunting portrayal of what marathon dancers went through in their quest for survival. Those revolving chandeliers shows a possible elegance in a period of want and deprivation. The problem is the gloom and doom depicted in the film. After all, even the Great Depression ended. It's still difficult to figure out the Sarrazin character. Was he victim of the depression, a lunatic or a loner caught up in an air of hopelessness?
Jane Fonda and Susannah York received well-deserved Oscar nominations for their portrayals as dance contestants eager to win the big prize for survival. As Gloria, the heroine of dance hall contests, Fonda was the embodiment of a period of social turmoil in America. Her utter despair and hopelessness as a born loser is well depicted in the film. York, as an aspiring actress, who seduces, Sarrazin, partner to Fonda, seems to be in a whirlwind of utter chaos. Her cracking up scene in a shower following the collapse of Red Buttons is memorable and poignant.
We feel the tiredness of the contestants as the hours pass and they desperately try to stay on course so as not to be eliminated. Due to the depression-like atmosphere, there is still plenty of food for the aspiring contestants to eat. It's very hard to conceive that Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedelia, who plays his pregnant wife, could endure so many hours of this torment. The lackluster effect is somewhat offset by the derby sequences. Played with the tunes of California Here I Come and By the Sea, By the Sea the contestants jog quickly so as to avoid elimination. Red Buttons portrays an aging sailor who does a nice tap dance scene but it's too much for him in the end.
As the marathon emcee, Gig Young won a best supporting Oscar. This award was his 3rd nomination. He had been nominated for his alcoholic portrayals in both the drama "Come fill the Cup," in 1951 and the delightful comedy, "Teacher's Pet,"in 1958. In 'Horses' he is right on step with the contestants, following their every movement. He is sort of like a town barker. Seemingly sympathetic to the contestants, he is nonetheless a businessman at heart.
The film is truly a haunting portrayal of what marathon dancers went through in their quest for survival. Those revolving chandeliers shows a possible elegance in a period of want and deprivation. The problem is the gloom and doom depicted in the film. After all, even the Great Depression ended. It's still difficult to figure out the Sarrazin character. Was he victim of the depression, a lunatic or a loner caught up in an air of hopelessness?
Once Seen, Never Forgotten
seymourblack-128 September 2012
Warning: Spoilers
"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" makes such an indelible impression on anyone who sees it that they're never likely to either forget it or mix it up with any other movie they've ever seen. It's rare indeed for any movie to possess this kind of power but the sheer intensity of its story, the desperation of its characters and the quality of its cast really do make this film extremely memorable and quite unique.
This depression-era drama about the experiences of a group of poverty stricken people who enter a dance marathon at a run-down ballroom on the Santa Monica Pier near L.A. describes the hopes that motivate them and also shows the suffering and humiliation that they experience as they struggle against impossible odds to chase their dreams of a $1,500 prize or the fame and fortune that could follow, if they get spotted by any of the talent scouts who might be in the audience. The depressing reality, however, is that the promises of these prizes (for different reasons) are both a sham and the contestants' endeavours are all in vain.
Gloria Beatty (Jane Fonda) is a would-be actress whose experiences have made her very bitter and deeply cynical. She's habitually unpleasant to everybody she encounters but is, nevertheless, very determined to win the marathon. When her original partner is not allowed to compete for medical reasons, she quickly finds herself teamed up with Robert Syverton (Michael Sarrazin) who's an ex-farm boy who just happened to be in the vicinity and hadn't arrived with any intention of competing.
Alice LeBlanc (Susannah York) is another aspiring actress who, despite her circumstances, takes a great pride in her appearance because she's convinced that she's likely to be recruited by some movie producer who'll spot her obvious talent. Harry Kline (Red Buttons) is an old sailor who lies about his age to enter the competition and is sure that his extensive experience of taking part in similar marathons will stand him in good stead this time around.
Ruby (Bonnie Bodelia) is a heavily pregnant young woman who, together with her husband James (Bruce Dern), is competing in the hope of winning enough money to help with the expense of having their first baby.
The ballroom full of couples who start the marathon are continually urged on by Rocky (Gig Young) who's the promoter of the event. He periodically hollers "Yowsa, Yowsa, Yowsa" to rouse both the competitors and the audience and every week "ups the stakes" by organising a Derby, which is a frantic, energy sapping, walking race which leads to the last three couples being eliminated on each occasion.
What transpires during the marathon illustrates forcibly just how hopeless the lives of the competitors are, how futile their attempts to improve their circumstances are and how mercilessly their misfortunes are exploited by Rocky who never misses an opportunity to add to the contestants' humiliation and anguish. All this is done to entertain his audience who derive pleasure from watching the systematic degradation of less fortunate people and also leads to all the dancers losing their dignity and self respect.
Gig Young's performance is sensational and made even more remarkable by the fact that his role is so different to those he normally played during his career. He's thoroughly convincing as the sleazy villain of the piece and exceptionally good at conveying his character's callous attitude to the competitors as he cruelly mocks their predicaments. Michael Sarrazin is ideal as the passive Robert who simply allows himself to be swept along by events and almost nonchalantly accepts whatever fate throws at him. Jane Fonda and Susannah York make their characters unforgettable and Red Buttons is marvellous as the determinedly optimistic and energetic "old salt".
"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is a tragic and very human story which, despite its depressing subject matter and shocking conclusion, is both thought provoking and riveting from start to finish.
This depression-era drama about the experiences of a group of poverty stricken people who enter a dance marathon at a run-down ballroom on the Santa Monica Pier near L.A. describes the hopes that motivate them and also shows the suffering and humiliation that they experience as they struggle against impossible odds to chase their dreams of a $1,500 prize or the fame and fortune that could follow, if they get spotted by any of the talent scouts who might be in the audience. The depressing reality, however, is that the promises of these prizes (for different reasons) are both a sham and the contestants' endeavours are all in vain.
Gloria Beatty (Jane Fonda) is a would-be actress whose experiences have made her very bitter and deeply cynical. She's habitually unpleasant to everybody she encounters but is, nevertheless, very determined to win the marathon. When her original partner is not allowed to compete for medical reasons, she quickly finds herself teamed up with Robert Syverton (Michael Sarrazin) who's an ex-farm boy who just happened to be in the vicinity and hadn't arrived with any intention of competing.
Alice LeBlanc (Susannah York) is another aspiring actress who, despite her circumstances, takes a great pride in her appearance because she's convinced that she's likely to be recruited by some movie producer who'll spot her obvious talent. Harry Kline (Red Buttons) is an old sailor who lies about his age to enter the competition and is sure that his extensive experience of taking part in similar marathons will stand him in good stead this time around.
Ruby (Bonnie Bodelia) is a heavily pregnant young woman who, together with her husband James (Bruce Dern), is competing in the hope of winning enough money to help with the expense of having their first baby.
The ballroom full of couples who start the marathon are continually urged on by Rocky (Gig Young) who's the promoter of the event. He periodically hollers "Yowsa, Yowsa, Yowsa" to rouse both the competitors and the audience and every week "ups the stakes" by organising a Derby, which is a frantic, energy sapping, walking race which leads to the last three couples being eliminated on each occasion.
What transpires during the marathon illustrates forcibly just how hopeless the lives of the competitors are, how futile their attempts to improve their circumstances are and how mercilessly their misfortunes are exploited by Rocky who never misses an opportunity to add to the contestants' humiliation and anguish. All this is done to entertain his audience who derive pleasure from watching the systematic degradation of less fortunate people and also leads to all the dancers losing their dignity and self respect.
Gig Young's performance is sensational and made even more remarkable by the fact that his role is so different to those he normally played during his career. He's thoroughly convincing as the sleazy villain of the piece and exceptionally good at conveying his character's callous attitude to the competitors as he cruelly mocks their predicaments. Michael Sarrazin is ideal as the passive Robert who simply allows himself to be swept along by events and almost nonchalantly accepts whatever fate throws at him. Jane Fonda and Susannah York make their characters unforgettable and Red Buttons is marvellous as the determinedly optimistic and energetic "old salt".
"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is a tragic and very human story which, despite its depressing subject matter and shocking conclusion, is both thought provoking and riveting from start to finish.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
jboothmillard30 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
From Oscar and Golden Globe nominated director Sydney Pollack (Tootsie, Out of Africa), I was confused by the meaning of the title which I had heard a number of times, so I was very interested to give it a go and hope for the best. Basically, set in the Depression era of America, a big dance marathon competition is going on in the shabby La Monica Ballroom, located over the Pacific Ocean on the Santa Monica Pier, near Los Angeles. Many couples are competing for a cash prize of $1500, with Master of Ceremonies Rocky (Oscar and Golden Globe winning, and BAFTA nominated Gig Young, he beat Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider) keeping an eye on proceedings, and as time goes by giving no regard for their well being. Couples in the competition include hopeless feeling Gloria (Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Jane Fonda) and new wannabe Hollywood film director dancing partner Robert (BAFTA nominated Michael Sarrazin), middle aged sailor Harry Kline (Golden Globe nominated Red Buttons), delusional Jean Harlow lookalike Alice (BAFTA winning, and Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Susannah York) and her aspiring actor dance partner Joel (Robert Fields), and farm worker James (Bruce Dern, Laura's father) with his pregnant wife Ruby (Bonnie Bedelia). As the competition goes on the weaker couples are eliminated when they either give up or collapse, but Rocky is not concerned as he cares more about entertaining the audience watching them. Weeks pass with most of the contestants remaining to take part in the run included with the dancing, in this run Harry collapses, and Gloria carries his body for victory, and when he is found out to be dead from a heart attack Alice suffers a nervous breakdown. Gloria and Robert had split as dance partners, but without another person for each other they are forced back together as a pair, and they are asked by Rocky to get married for more publicity, including gifts from Mrs. Laydon (Madge Kennedy), but she refuses. It is discovered after this that due to expenses the prize money is being used, meaning there is hardly anything to be won, and shocked the couple drop out of the competition, and Gloria confesses how empty she feels and wants Robert to assist her in suicide, he shoots her in the head with her permission, the winner of the dance marathon is never revealed. Also starring Michael Conrad as Rollo, Al Lewis as Turkey and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes' Severn Darden as Cecil. Fonda as the struggling woman, York as the strange lookalike, and Young as the monstrous competition manager give really good performances, the story has an overwhelming dark side, and baring in mind the time this is set in you can believe it, these competitions really happened, and you can completely sympathise with the characters as they force themselves to carry on dancing, a good dark drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Music for Johnny Green and Albert Woodbury and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, it was nominated the BAFTAs for Best Film Editing and Best Screenplay, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama. Good!
spineless
msultan27 June 2003
What a beautiful title! Unfortunately, that's all this movie has to it.
The beauty is very quickly forgotten 3 minutes into the movie.
There is no tension to keep the viewer going; the result is a boring
movie with a uselessly aggressive Jane Fonda whose despair
seems to be a result of her b****y nature. There is no explanation
to her negativism, so she comes across as nothing but an
annoying bully who can't get anything right. We have no reason to
sympathize with her. Robert is more sympathetic, although he
lacks personality.
The movie moreover fails at representing the Depression through
its actions, so we have to be reminded by the characters in the
movie that we're in the middle of the Depression ("She's 65 if she
was born in 67"). If this movie aims to be a psychological portrait
of a breakdown, it fails miserably at doing so. It is only normal to
be tired after staying up for all this time, so I don't understand what
this movie brings in; there is no progression or evolution. There is
no depth to either the story or the characters, nothing exceptional
about the photography or the soundtrack, so what's it about?
The beauty is very quickly forgotten 3 minutes into the movie.
There is no tension to keep the viewer going; the result is a boring
movie with a uselessly aggressive Jane Fonda whose despair
seems to be a result of her b****y nature. There is no explanation
to her negativism, so she comes across as nothing but an
annoying bully who can't get anything right. We have no reason to
sympathize with her. Robert is more sympathetic, although he
lacks personality.
The movie moreover fails at representing the Depression through
its actions, so we have to be reminded by the characters in the
movie that we're in the middle of the Depression ("She's 65 if she
was born in 67"). If this movie aims to be a psychological portrait
of a breakdown, it fails miserably at doing so. It is only normal to
be tired after staying up for all this time, so I don't understand what
this movie brings in; there is no progression or evolution. There is
no depth to either the story or the characters, nothing exceptional
about the photography or the soundtrack, so what's it about?
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
