They Shoot Horses Don't They? (1969)

Set in the Great Depression, specifically 1932, a young drifter (Michael Sarrazin) finds himself recruited in a dance marathon and partnered with a bitter cynic (Jane Fonda). They are among several desperate characters hoping to win the $1,500 first prize. Based on the 1935 novel by Horace McCoy and directed by Sydney Pollack. This critically acclaimed and commercially successful movie is one of the great films of the 1960s. McCoy's novel was greatly admired by the French who viewed it as existential. Attempts to film it had been talked about since its publication. Reputedly, there was talk of filming it in the thirties with Bette Davis and ironically Henry Fonda which never came to fruition and in the early 1950s, there were rumors of Charles Chaplin doing it with a young Marilyn Monroe. Pollack's film (the best film he ever made) is a fairly faithful adaptation of the McCoy novel although there is some additional material (like the Susannah York character) not in the book. It casts a beautifully crafted (Harry Horner's art direction and Donfeld's costumes are impeccable) if bleak eye on the human condition. With minimal exceptions, Pollack keeps a claustrophobic atmosphere by keeping the film confined within the dance ballroom. The film features a fiercely committed performance by Jane Fonda that never slips out of character. Her rage, bitterness and anger simmering beneath her restive personality. The performances down to the bit parts are superb although Sarrazin's character is more reactive than the other characters which makes him less interesting. With Gig Young (in his Oscar winning performance), Red Buttons, Bruce Dern, Bonnie Bedelia, Allyn Ann McLerie, Madge Kennedy and Robert Fields.