They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

The lives of a disparate group of contestants intertwine in an inhumanely grueling dance marathon.

• Director: Sydney Pollack
• Genre:Drama
• Runtime:120 minutes

Cast

Jane Fonda : Gloria
Michael Sarrazin: Robert
Susannah York : Alice
Gig Young : Rocky
Red Buttons : Sailor

Robert Syverton (Michael Sarrazin), who once dreamed of being a great film director, recalls the events leading to an unstated crime. In his youth, he saw a horse break its leg, after which it was shot and put out of its misery. Years later, he wanders into a dance marathon about to begin in the shabby La Monica Ballroom, perched over the Pacific Ocean on the Santa Monica Pier, near Los Angeles. He is recruited by emcee Rocky (Gig Young) as a substitute partner for a cynical malcontent named Gloria (Jane Fonda) when her original partner is disqualified due to an ominous cough.

Among the other contestants competing for a cash prize of $1500 are Harry Kline (Red Buttons), a middle-aged sailor; Alice (Susannah York), a would-be Jean Harlow with delusions of grandeur, and her partner Joel (Robert Fields), an aspiring actor; and impoverished farm worker James (Bruce Dern) and his pregnant wife Ruby (Bonnie Bedelia). Early in the marathon the weaker pairs are eliminated quickly, while Rocky observes the vulnerabilities of the stronger contestants and exploits them for the audience’s amusement. Already frayed nerves are exacerbated by the theft of one of Alice’s dresses and Gloria’s displeasure at the attention Alice receives from Robert. In retaliation, she takes Joel as her partner, but when he receives a job offer and departs, she aligns herself with Harry.

Weeks into the marathon, Rocky—in order to spark the paying spectators’ enthusiasm—stages a series of derbies in which the exhausted remaining contestants, clad in track suits, must race around the dance floor, with the last three couples eliminated. Harry suffers a fatal heart attack during one of these, and an undeterred Gloria lifts him on her back and crosses the finish line. It is clear that Harry dies as Gloria drags him, and she unloads him on Alice, which causes her to suffer a nervous breakdown. Robert and Gloria, now without partners, once again pair up. Read more