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Film Review

'They Shoot Horses': Dance Of Destiny

By Steve Wells
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

There is a scene in Sydney
Pollack's "They Shoot Horses,
Don't They?" in which Susannah
York, brilliantly playing a would-be
Jean Harlow-like actress waiting to
be discovered, becomes hysterical,
screaming that "things" are crawling
all over her. Gig Young, as the
shady, anything-for-a-buck member
of a grueling 1932 dance marathon,
calms her down as best he can. Jane
Fonda, giving the performance of
her career as an embittered contestant
named Gloria, says to Mr.
Young, "I would of thought you'd
put her on display and charge a
little extra," to which he replies,
"No, this is too real."

There is much irony in the
master of revels' answer due to the
fact that he sees only this and
maybe one other incident as being
"too real," whereas everything
which takes place in the film
deserves that classification. Too real
for comfort, that is. Human degradation
is the theme of "They Shoot
Horses, Don't They?" and Mr.
Pollack's portrait of Depression-
America is not pretty. It is
horrifying.

First Prize

What prompts the contestants to
subject themselves to the physical
and mental tortures of the seemingly
eternal "dance of destiny" is the
$1,500 first prize which allegedly
awaits the couple with the greatest
endurance. Most of them come
with dreams, which soon fade away
into nightmarish realities. But since
they are all in a state of desperation,
they continue as long as they
can - until they are disqualified, or
quit because of fatigue, or are taken
sick, or simply get lucky and die.

With the sphere of mirrors
hanging above, the dance floor
takes on a garish, carnival aura.
Some contestants are backed by
sponsors, such as Jonathan's Iron
Tonic. Life and death thereby take
on a crass commercialism. To the
dancers, it's a contest; to Mr.
Young, it's a show; to director
Pollack, it's a microcosm of the
outside world.

Mr. Pollack rarely lets the action
leave the oceanside auditorium. He
keeps us entranced while switching
his focus from one couple to
another, each representing different
aspirations, viewpoints, beliefs, and
ways of life. His direction is at its
best in the fast-paced derby scenes
which show the contestants racing
around a makeshift track wearing
gym suits, tripping over each other,
carrying collapsed partners, trying to
remain in contention. One slow
motion sequence makes the torture
all the more vivid by capturing the
pain and anguish displayed on the
characters' faces.

Melodramatic Ending

Mr. Pollack builds the human
drama carefully and then lets it
explode in the melodramatic ending,
which unfortunately does not
come off quite as convincingly as it
should. We also must take critical
issue with his awkward employment
of "flash-forwards." But both
of these points are secondary to the
director's arrest of our mind and
emotions, which is achieved through
the fine delineation of the characters.

Gloria and her baby-faced partner,
Robert, are the couple in
whom we are most interested
because they are the ones who
ultimately reach an epiphany concerning
the futility of the dancers'
efforts. Gloria enters the contest an
independent, conservatively attractive
girl with much determination.
As the marathon wears on and as
her appearance becomes increasingly
bedraggled, she closely examines
the moral fiber of her counterparts
and herself. Concurrently, she develops
a caustic awareness of the
impossibility of anyone's real victory.
During one of the ten minute
rest periods which the dancers are
awarded every two hours, a matron
tells her she should be sleeping, and
Gloria states in a detached manner,
"I'd just wake up."

Robert's realization of the facts
is slower and more subtly depicted,
for he is somewhat of an innocent.
Nonetheless, by the time Gloria is
ready to attempt her escape, he
understands and sympathizes with
her outlook, and when his no
longer independent partner asks for
assistance, he rationalizes the situation
and willingly obliges.

Defeated Couple

Playing the defeated couple,
Miss Fonda and Michael Sarrazin
construct unforgettable performances,
giving their characters
more than the necessary amount of
dramatic potency. In most other
movies, these two portrayals would
stand out from the others, but in
'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"
at least four others share the
spotlight. No film of the past year
(except possibly "Midnight Cowboy")
can equal this one's high
caliber of acting.

Aside from Mr. Young and Miss
York (both of whom, along with
Miss Fonda, are Academy Award
nominees), Red Buttons delivers a
powerful interpretation of an old
sailor with nimble feet and a
not-so-nimble heart who equates
humans with cattle. And Bonnie
Bedelia cannot be overlooked for
her turn as a struggling pregnant girl
who is reduced to singing "The Best
Things In Life Are Free" because
she needs the pennies the onlookers
throw at her (note the extended
irony). This six-way acting tour de
force proves to be Mr. Pollack's
trump card.

This is a film which you will not
leave laughing. It demands to be
taken seriously, for it confronts you
with some unpleasant facts of
human nature and then leaves you
without having removed them. This
is what makes "They Shoot Horses,
Don't They?" so shocking and,
accordingly, so exciting.

(Now at the Paramount)