They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Directed by Sydney Pollock
Written by James Poe and Robert E. Thompson from a novel by Horace McCoy
1969/US
IMDb link
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Gloria Beatty: Maybe it’s just the whole world is like central casting. They got it all rigged before you ever show up.[/box]

A grueling and inhumane dance marathon stands in for all the misery of the Great Depression.  Not ideal for Lockdown viewing but an excellent film with some great performances.

The film takes place at the height of the Great Depression.  The story is told in flashback though I wasn’t really sure of this until the end.  Desperate people crowd a dance hall to be contestants in a dance marathon in order to win the $1,500 prize, awarded to the last couple standing.  There is a 10 minute break every two hours.  The proceedings are orchestrated by heartless capitalist emcee Rocky (Gig Young).

We meet Gloria Beatty (Jane Fonda) a cynical, disillusioned young woman who is about at the end of her rope.  When her own partner is ruled too sick to participate she pairs up with Robert (Michael Sarrazin). Glamorous Alice (Susannah York) and her partner dream of being scouted for Hollywood during the contest.  The aging “Sailor” (Red Buttons) tries for the prize with his partner.  Farmer James (Bruce Dern) struggles along with his young pregnant wife Ruby (Bonnie Bedalia).

The dance goes on for weeks.  It is interrupted by cruel “Derbies” in which the exhausted contestants are forced to engage in a foot race to keep their spot.  As the story goes on partners change several times.  Sleep depravation drives several people mad.

There is not a ray of hope in this depressing film.  Corruption, greed, exploitation, despair, misery, illness, and death combine in a kind of bad luck soup.  Nonetheless, it was possible to admire the film’s several outstanding performances and its superb production values.

Gig Young won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.  The film was nominated in the categories of Best Director; Best Actress (Fonda); Best Supporting Actress (York); Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Costume Design; Best Film Editing; and Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation).