THEY SHOOT HORSES DON’T THEY? (1969)

DVD (2008)

I think that there must have been something in the water in 1969 as there was a whole bevy of great films released that year, here are a handful of those films.

Anne of the Thousand Days
Easy Rider
Hello Dolly!
Midnight Cowboy
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
True Grit
The Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

This review is about the latter of these films, ‘They Shoot Horses Don’t They?’ directed by Sydney Pollack., based on the 1935 novel of the same name by Horace McCoy

SETTING

The film tells the story of the 1930's dance marathons that were held to give middle class people a source of entertainment and poorer people a chance to earn some money. ($1,500 in this film).

Dance Marathons (which were also called Walkathons), were an American trend of the 1920s and 1930s. They were in fact human endurance contests in which couples danced almost non-stop for hundreds of hours (as long as a month or two), competing for prize money. The Great Depression at the time was a great incentive for people to enter.
The concept of the marathon: couples danced until they dropped. The attraction of the marathon was the guaranteed 3 meals a day, a free, dry place to sleep, free showers and the huge payoff of to the winner.
The contestants were permitted scheduled bathroom, meal and nap breaks but otherwise had to keep moving to the music.

THE FILM

The grim, depressing story starts as Robert Syverton (Michael Sarrazin) starts looking out over the sea, reminiscing when he was a young boy watching as a horse runs through a meadow before being shot.

The building where the dance marathon is to be held is looking over the sea, and Robert goes in to look for a dance partner (you must have a partner, and if you lose your partner while inside then you have seventeen hours to find another one or else you are disqualified). Inside he meets up with bitchy loaner Gloria Beatty (Jane Fonda), who is a cynical and sharp tongued woman who answers to every question and comment with pure malice.
Other noticeable contestants Alice (Susannah York), who hopes there will be a talent scout in the audience; James (Bruce Dern) and his very pregnant wife Ruby (Bonnie Bedelia), who are destitute and have no means to support their future child; the sailor (Red Buttons), who fought in the first World War and has heart problems.

The MC of the event is the fast-talking and enigmatic Rocky (Gig Young), who profits off of the misery of others and has little regret about it.
He is out to milk the dancers for all they are worth, doing his best behind the scenes to make them seem pathetic.
Folks will come and pay to see that

Days pass, and so do some of the dancers, falling to the floor in exhaustion and losing their place in the race. The surviving person can remain to dance alone but have a limited time to locate another partner. More pressure! Young continues his harassment, urging the remaining players to Move It! Move It! He has a show to put on.

Rocky wants the despair and poverty to shine through, then more people will pay to watch.

As he, who at once point secretly destroys Alice's flamboyant dresses so she won't appeal to the audience, points out that the people need to observe misery because watching it helps them through life and helps them forget about their own problems.

Days turn into weeks. The remaining dancers are racked with pain in their legs and back. They begin eying each other with evil stares trying to assess the fellow's stamina. Partners begin to change.

Can you imagine being on your feet for virtually 48 days straight?
Swollen ankles, aching limbs and medical emergencies ensue, not to mention going bonkers, and hallucinating.

Just when you think things can't get any worse in the movie, they do. Then the rules change about five hours from the end of the dance – ten minutes before the end of the film.

I won't tell you what happens to the individual couples, or how the film ends. All I will say is that this tragic film is saved from being wholly depressing by the skill and finesse with which the actors play their assigned roles.

WHAT I THOUGHT

I didn't think that this film is really a classic, but it is still very intriguing.
It is a faithful and tasteful literary adaptation of McCoy’s book with subtle and patient direction from Sydney Pollack.

The story that is told is an devastating experience of total despair, and because of that it’s not really a film that you will want to watch too often.

It’s pretty hard work watching these tortured souls who all have dreams that can't possibly be reached by taking the easy road. The atmosphere is perfect, not too graphic but grim enough to reflect off of the several key characters.

The film does have a slight claustrophobic feeling, with only the first five minutes being shot outdoors, a brief moment in the middle where Sarrazzin opens a backdoor to watch the sunset, and the finale.

Sydney Pollack shot the film in sequence that had a tremendous influence on his actors, who after awhile began suffering physically and emotionally.
It obviously enhanced their performance, since everyone involved with the film dishes out spectacular performances.

The most memorable performances are from Jane Fonda and Gig Young, which are both cruel and cold.
Jane Fonda plays her character in such a bitter, angry fashion; she never, ever looks happy or cheerful.

Gig Young’s MC doesn't exactly exhibit the joy of performance, and he certainly doesn't give a damn about the people in the building.
He is a repugnant character who shouts gleefully towards the contestants while on the floor, but is really crooked and emotionally hollow.

Red Buttons, best known for his gift for comedy, delivers a magnificent performance as the Sailor. Bonnie Bedelia gives a wonderful performance as the immature Ruby, who has no means of supporting her baby once it is born, and hints that she was forced to participate

(Bruce Dern plays her husband in another grand performance).

I thought that there was only one real flaw, but quite a big one.
Personally I thought that the use of flash-forwards almost destroy the shocking ending.

These flash-forwards screech to you that something dreadful will happen in the closing shots, and so when it actually happens you might feel numb, but you won't feel the sense of horror that you would have done without them.
While there is a slight twist of our expectations at the conclusion, it still does not throw us off as much as it should

AWARDS

The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards

Best Director, Sydney Pollack
Best Actress, Jane Fonda
Best Supporting Actor, Gig Young
Best Supporting Actress, Susannah York
Best Adapted Screenplay, Robert E. Thompson and James Poe (adapted from the novel, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy)
Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design
Best Score
Best Editing
With Gig Young winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

FILM INFORMATION

Director: Sydney Pollack

Cast: Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Red Buttons, Susannah York, Gig Young, Bonnie Bedelia, Bruce Dern, Michael Conrad, Al Lewis, Severn Darden, Madge Kennedy.

Length: 121 mins.
Deluxe colour.
Writers: James Poe and Robert E. Thompson from Horace McCoy's novel.

DVD

· Format: PAL
· Region: Region 2 Number of discs: 1
· Classification: 15
· Studio: Freemantle Home Entertainment
· DVD Release Date: 13 Oct 2008
· Run Time: 120 minutes
· ASIN: B001EJW0T0

The DVD is scant on extras; all you get is a scene selection, languages, trailer, both letterboxed & panned/scanned prints, and the "making of" featurette produced back in 1969.

THE MUSIC

Naturally given the nature of the film, this film contains a lot of the 30's era music.
The soundtrack is:

1. Main Title: Easy Come, Easy Go
The Studio Orchestra
2. Sweet Sue, Just You
The House Band
3. Paradise
The Turntable Band
4. Medley: Coquette - I'm Yours
The House Band
5. The Japanese Sandman
The Trio
6. Derby I: By The Beautiful Sea - Can-Can
The House Band
7. Easy Come, Easy Go
The House Band, Vocal: Lynn Willis
8. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
The Big Band
9. The Best Things In Life Are Free
The House Band, Vocal: Bonnie Bedelia
10. Medley: Body And Soul - I Cover The Waterfront
The John Green Quartet
11. Medley: Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? - I Found A Million Dollar Baby
The Trio - The Quintet
12. Out Of Nowhere
The House Band
13. Derby II: California, Here I Come - The Derby Fanfare
The House Band

MORE INFORMATION

If you would like to read more about the Dance Marathon’s go to

http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Renee/DanceMarathons.html

IN CONCLUSION

This film is completely absorbing, and will stay with you for a long time after watching it.
Yes it’s forty years old, but as it’s set in the 30’s it doesn’t really feel dated.
If you haven't seen it yet, I sincerely recommend that you do as soon as practical for you.
It’s not an easy film to watch, but it is well worth watching.