Jane Fonda in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? During the Great Depression, there was an odd and inhumane form of entertainment…Dance marathons. These were held due to the shortage of money for picture shows and cabarets. All would start with 100 couples, and they would dance until there was one couple left standing. Dance marathons were often brutal; people would pass out from exhaustion, have heart attacks, and virtually lose their minds. The rules of dance marathons were simple: you must have a partner, always move (no standing still), and if the emcee calls you up to perform (you must have an act) whether it be singing, dancing, or reciting Shakespeare.

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is an adaptation of Horace McCoy’s 1935 novel chronicling the events of a dance marathon held at a Santa Monica Pier for over 2 months.

The film centers around seven characters: Gloria (Jane Fonda), an aspiring actress who enters the marathon hoping for a win, Robert (Michael Sarrazin), an innocent bystander who gets roped into joining the competition, Alice LeBlanc (Susannah York), a theatre actress hoping to gain exposure from the competition, James (Bruce Dern) and Ruby (Bonnie Bedelia) a married couple who are expecting their first child, Harry or “Sailor” (Red Buttons) a sailor who is nearing his 50s, and Rocky the emcee (Gig Young), a charismatic and manipulative man who is overseeing the marathon.

Michael Sarrazin in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

The horrors of the dance marathon in the film shows the audience what the contestants endured. They must always have a partner (if they do not have one, they must find one in the next 24 hours, or they will be eliminated); there are three mandatory 10-minute breaks for eating (contestants must still be moving while eating), showering, and resting all for the grand prize of $1,500.

The film is a depressing (forgive the pun) tale of the American Dream. Gloria is entering the competition for the money, and she desperately wants to win the money so she can go someplace better (when her partner comes down with bronchitis, she pleads with Rocky to enter the competition alone), Robert is entering out of pure accident (He walks in and stumbles over a sign which causes him to be placed with Gloria), Alice LeBlanc is there for big Hollywood actors and directors to gain attention from them, James and Ruby are recent winners of a dance marathon in Iowa, Harry is there for fun, and Rocky is the emcee of the event making sure the marathon is a entertaining as possible.

Rocky the emcee is the villain of the film, enticing the crowd with his “Yowza, yowza, yowza!” quotes and charisma. He also steals Alice’s white dress which causes her to become irate, he fabricates stories of each performer that does an act to gain sympathy, and he tries to convince Robert and Gloria to marry for the sake of entertaining the audience. This is all due to his childhood.

Bonnie Bedelia, Bruce Dern, Jane fonda, and Michael Sarrazin in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

The film’s third acts reveal the price our characters pay for the “dream.” Gloria talks with Rocky and discovers that the winning couple will not receive the $1,500 prize (they will remove a certain amount for food, showering, and room and board) after hearing this, she asks Robert to euthanize her. Robert cannot even see or feel the sun, Alice has a mental breakdown, Harry has a heart attack and dies, and Rocky reveals that he is the son of a traveling evangelist whose “healing” prayers were all an act (just like the marathon). James and Ruby are in the last three remaining couples, struggling to keep up. It all culminates with Robert being arrested for killing Gloria; when the police officers ask why he did it, he responds with, “They shoot horses, don’t they?”  This is reminiscent of “Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown.” from Chinatown (another film that is similar in themes).

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Was nominated for 9 Academy Awards for Best Director for Sydney Pollack, Best Actress for Jane Fonda, Best Supporting Actress with Susannah York, Editing was Fredric Steinkamp, Production Design for Harry Horner and Frank R. McKelvy together, Adapted Screenplay for James Poe and Robert E. Thompson, Costume Design with Donfeld, Score with another duo Johnny Green and Albert Woodbury, and winning one for Supporting Actor for Gig Young at the end of all of that. It currently holds the record for the film with the most nominations without a Best Picture nomination, as of December 2024, perhaps someday it will change.

This film is tough to find since it was released by ABC Pictures (which went defunct in 1973) and Palomar Pictures (which also went defunct later in 1974). It was eventually released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1999, then re-issued on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment in 2004, and its first Blu-Ray release in 2017 by Kino Lorber. It currently is not streaming anywhere, and DVD copies of the film typically sell from $20 to $40.

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Made its debut on Turner Classic Movies on December 11th. 2024 as a part of Rob Marshall’s picks for this month and a collaboration with The American Cinematheque. Perhaps the channel will have another marathon and you can catch it then.