They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - Film Review

I have not seen this film in ages but it was a joy to rediscover it again however, this film is no joyful romp. It's depressing as hell, it's not a movie I would watch repeatedly but I was glad to catch up with it again.

The film is set in the USA depression-era where dance marathons were seen as a way to make some money but after watching this film, you are left wondering if robbing a bank would be easier. These down-and-outers drive themselves to the brink of exhaustion to win the cash prize, here $1,500. These dance marathons could last weeks and the need to bring in audiences meant the organisers would come up was outrageous stunts. As the competition, progresses the weaker couples are eliminated when they either give up or collapse.

If 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. They run around in what reminds you of the chariot sequence in the film 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.

One of the characters that really tugged at me was the pregnant wife Ruby who towards the end was draged her around the dance floor played by Bonnie Bodelia. 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 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.

Matinee idol Gig Young is a dream as the rancid emcee, and as a deluded British actress, Susannah York gives the performance of a lifetime. The performances are what makes the picture haunting Forty-six years later and if you get the chance give it a go.