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Actors: Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Gig Young, Red Buttons, Bonnie Bedelia, Bruce Dern
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about They Shoot Horses, Don't They? |
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Based on the novel of the same name by Horace McCoy, this 1969 movie is set in a ballroom during a marathon dance competition in the early 1930s. These brutal, endless shows were sort of the "reality TV shows" of that era: competitive dancers moved around the floor till they dropped, in pursuit of a cash prize. Gloria (Fonda) is a cynical, no-b.s. gal hoping to score big, Robert (Sarrazin) a young and wide-eyed innocent by comparison. Susannah York plays Alice, a glamour girl who loses all composure and goes nuts and dirty as a result of the pressure. This study in social pathology, of hollow victories in a game that is perpetually rigged, reflected the bitter side of the late 1960s as well as the time in which it is set. Nominated for 9 Academy Awards, only Gig Young walked away with a Best Supporting Actor Oscar as the ever-jovial emcee.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of They Shoot Horses, Don't They? |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1930's-1950's
Job/Profession/Poverty Story?
Yes
Job:
- dancer
Abuse on the job story?
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair type
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn wavey
Events of movie makes character more...
- sad
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) very skinny
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
City?
Yes
City:
- rude people
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
- sports arena
- bar
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- depressed/sad
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- seeing breasts
- sex under blankets
If lots of song/dance...
- lot of dancing
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Jazz/r&b
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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