ABC
Winkler Films
Not part of a collection.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
People are the ultimate spectacle.
In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress, a middle-aged sailor, a delusional blonde and a pregnant girl.
- Original title
- They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
CinemaSerf
Jul 15, 2025 · via TMDB
Despite the constant streams of sweat on display here, there is something physically and emotionally arid about this two hours of cinematic torture. With the depression in full swing, the down-at-heart “Gloria” (Jane Fonda) heads to California in the hope of becoming a starlet. Meantime, equally disheartened “Robert” (Michael Sarazin) is frustrated that he can’t make a career at the other end of the camera. Desperate for cash, they join a throng of other unfortunate folks in a dance marathon which awards the winners $1,500 (minus deductions!). The whole thing is rather cynically administered by “Rocky” (Gig Young) and as the dancers go round the floor, so we go round the dancers and we meet an group of people whose problems and demons are laid bare. First amongst those somewhat tragic equals would appear to be “Alice” (Susannah York) but it’s a close run thing with a pregnant couple really struggling to keep pace and with, for me anyway, the most poignant of all - the sailor (Red Buttons) who had done his bit for Uncle Sam, but was now reduced to this most torturous form of fund raising which his body was now ill equipped to handle. As the days pass, and the excellent make-up artists do their work, the visceral nature of the characterisations emerge unrelentingly, leaving us with a distinctly uncomfortable watch that exposes a fruitlessly venal culture based on the premise of dog eat dog. Perhaps, though, as these people endure physically and psychologically, they might begin to realise that the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow isn’t actually the cash, but a sense of self-respect. The last ten minutes settle things in quite traumatic fashion and suffice to say there is no chocolates and Champagne. The dialogue is sparingly potent with gentleness and optimism gradually replaced by a stoic realisation of the relentlessness of their predicament and I think Sarazin, Fonda and particularly York give the performances of their careers in the slow-burning exposé of human toxicity.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Jane Fonda
Gloria Beatty
Michael Sarrazin
Robert Syverton
Susannah York
Alice LeBlanc
Gig Young
Rocky Gravo
Red Buttons
Sailor
Bonnie Bedelia
Ruby Bates
Michael Conrad
Rollo
Bruce Dern
James Bates
Al Lewis
Turkey
Robert Fields
Joel
Severn Darden
Cecil
Allyn Ann McLerie
Shirl
Madge Kennedy
Mrs. Laydon
Jacquelyn Hyde
Jackie
Felice Orlandi
Mario
Art Metrano
Max
Paul Mantee
Jiggs
Tim Herbert
Doctor
Tom McFadden
Second Trainer
Noble 'Kid' Chissell
First Trainer
Ian Abercrombie
Male Dancer #74 (Uncredited)
Fritzi Burr
Nurse (Uncredited)
Minta Durfee
Marathon Spectator (Uncredited)
Philip H. Lathrop
Director of Photography
Donfeld
Costume Design
Sydney Pollack
Director
Lynn Stalmaster
Casting
Irwin Winkler
Producer
Robert Chartoff
Producer
Johnny Green
Original Music Composer
James Poe
Screenplay
Sternenhoch
Pikku suorasuu
Pavlínka
Bread and Salt
Srdce v soumraku
Smrť šitá na mieru
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The Godfather Part II
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Dec 10, 1969
