They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

(1969)

★ 7.6 IMDb · 382 votes

Genres: Drama

Year: 1969

Runtime: 120 мин

Country: United States of America

Director: Сидни Поллак

Cast: Джейн Фонда, Michael Sarrazin, Сюзанна Йорк, Гиг Янг, Red Buttons, Бонни Беделиа, Michael Conrad, Брюс Дерн, Al Lewis, Robert Fields

Plot

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.

Gloria is a young woman of the Depression. She has aged beyond her years and feels her life is hopeless, having been cheated and betrayed many times in her past. While recovering from a suicide attempt, she gets the idea from a movie magazine to head for Hollywood to make it as an actress. Robert is a desperate Hollywood citizen trying to become a director, never doubting he'll make it. Robert and Gloria meet and decide to enter a dance marathon, one of the crazes of the 1930's. The grueling dancing takes its toll on Gloria's already weakened spirit, and she tells Robert that she'd be better off dead, that her life is hopeless - all the while acting cruelly and bitterly, alienating those around her, trying to convince him to shoot her and put her out of her misery. After all, they shoot horses, don't they?