Classic 60s Movie: They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
January is Classic 60s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Zach Jansen.
Movie Title: They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Year: 1969
Writers: James Poe and Robert E. Thompson, based upon the novel by Horace McCoy
Lead Actors: Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Gig Young (Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner), Susannah York, Red Buttons, Bruce Dern, Bonnie Bedelia
Director: Sydney Pollack
IMDb Plot Summary: The lives of a disparate group of contestants intertwine in an inhumanely grueling dance marathon.
Why I Think This Is A Classic 60s Movie: What better way to wrap up an industry-changing decade than with film that epitomizes the complete opposite of everything Old Hollywood was about. In the same year that the bleak (yet hopeful) Midnight Cowboy won Best Picture, this dark, cynical, and fatalistic drama about a depression-era dance competition threw the very definition of desperation and (ultimately) hopelessness in your face and refused to let up. By the end of the film, we the audience have gone through the wringer just as much as the characters — but at least we get to walk away from the melee fully intact.
Really, though, the reason I love, adore, and admire They Shoot Horses, goes back to my first sentence: it’s different from 99% of the films that came before it. It’s a deliberate dark turn in approach to storytelling and theme and characters. The 1960s is practically defined by the bright, cheerful musicals it spawned — West Side Story, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Oliver!, Hello, Dolly!, among dozens of others — and why those are fantastic, enjoyable movies, they don’t offer the same kind of soul bearing substance that They Shoot Horses does. You don’t just care about Gloria and Robert and Harry (the sailor) and Alice and James and Ruby, you become them. You’re on the dance floor with them, suffering through the hours of movement, forcing your body to move in the stamina destroying derbies, falling in love and out of love, wondering if it’s all worth it…
I feel that They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is one of the few films that is less a film and more an experience. And any movie that pulls you in so deeply should always be considered not only a classic but an exemplary example of filmmaking at its very best.
My Favorite Moment In The Movie: The derbies are intense and thrilling, but for me, nothing beats the penultimate scene between Gloria and Robert.
***SPOILER ALERT FOR VIDEO***
My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie: A couple:
ROCKY: My old man never got out of the fourth grade. When it came to people, he didn’t know his ass from his elbow. You know what he was? He was a faith healer. I used to travel the circuit with him. I was the one he healed. I was the shill to get the crowd set up. “Walk, my boy. When I lay my hand on you, you will walk.” You will walk. Sodden old bastard. He thought it was him they believed in, but it was me.
This is a great little monologue because it sums up Rocky’s existence: He’s still the shill who sets up the crowd, but he’s also become his father in that the crowd doesn’t believe in him now, it believes in the dancers. But through Gig Young’s delivery, it’s difficult to tell if he knows that.
And the last lines are fantastic for how they serve as a metaphor for everything in life, including life itself: We’re forever dancing without any idea as to when we’ll finally be able to sit back and pick up our feet.
ROCKY: (last lines of film) Here they are again, folks! These wonderful, wonderful kids! Still struggling! Still hoping! As the clock of fate ticks away, the dance of destiny continues! The marathon goes on, and on, and on! HOW LONG CAN THEY LAST?
Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie: There are numerous parallels to the movies — especially the behind-the-scenes of movies. This includes Gloria comparing life to central casting (and also comparing the contestants to cattle, as in a casting cattle call), Rocky calling the marathon/contest a “show,” and trading sexual favors for a better role (the notorious “casting couch”). And there’s the fact that Glory and Robert have failed at making it in Hollywood, not to mention Alice as the desperate ingénue-wannabe.
There are also many references to the animalistic nature of the dance marathon: the aforementioned cattle call, the weaker contestants getting picked off and eliminated, the peanut gallery throwing coins (or “peanuts”), the contestants herded about as if in a zoo, and the final scene when Robert tells the police why he helped Gloria.
As mentioned above, the film also plays a powerful metaphor for life. We start fresh and ready to go. Everything’s pretty much take it as it comes, and we find ways to stay on our feet and survive. But then there’s the long haul: It’s exhausting to keep going on, painful even; others can’t handle it and they fall to the wayside. Yet there’s a chance that it’ll all be worth it, that if we fight and overcome the trials and tribulations we’ll win the big prize at the end. But it turns out there is no big prize; there’s no glory to be had other than to say you were there. It’s just darkness and pain. (I suppose that’s an atheistic view of the film, but when something’s seeping with cynicism what other way can it be read?)
Thanks, Zach! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!
Twitter: @WriterZach.
We already have a set of classic 70s movies, 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 60s Movies.
We have 30 volunteers. I have put in bold those who have already sent their guest post to me.
Ipsita Barik — Rosemary’s Baby
Ipsita Barik — Bonnie and Clyde
Bookman Film — The Sound of Music
Brandnewusedcar — Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Markham Cook — Jules et Jim
Steve Cook — The Blue Max
JasperLamarCrab — 2001: A Space Odyssey
N D — Lonely are the Brave
Drew Dorenfest — Easy Rider
Rick Dyke — Fail Safe
Felicity Flesher — The Music Man
PaulG — Lawrence of Arabia
D.L. Gill — Zulu
Jeff Guenther — Cool Hand Luke
Kate Hagen — Repulsion
John Henderson — Night of the Living Dead
John Henderson — The Odd Couple
John Hörnschemeyer — The Graduate
Zach Jansen — They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Will King — The Pink Panther
William Leitch — If…
Lisaisfunny — Blow Up
Jack McDonald — Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Nick — Lonely are the Brave
Daryl Powell — The Apartment
jprichard — Persona
Ally Shina — The Jungle Book
Mark Twain — The Loved One
Liz Warner — The Manchurian Candidate
Michael Waters — Dr. No
For those who have signed up, but have yet to email me your post, please do so ASAP.
Thanks in advance!
For the original post explaining the series, go here.
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