They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
“People are the ultimate spectacle.”
Sydney PollackCast
Jane Fonda Michael Sarrazin 
Susannah York 
Gig Young 
Red Buttons 
Bonnie Bedelia
Credits
Written by: Horace McCoy
Plot
During the Great Depression, desperate contestants enter a marathon dance competition in Los Angeles, hoping to win a prize. As days and weeks pass, they are pushed to exhaustion by a cynical host, while the bitter Gloria and the passive Robert form an uneasy friendship. Based on Horace McCoy's novel, with Jane Fonda and Gig Young, who won an Oscar.
Sinekatalog’s take
A bleak, powerful allegory of the Depression and of entertainment as exploitation. Fonda's performance is a harsh high point of her career, and the film's ending is shattering.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.
Ratings
IMDb: 7.8 / 10 (22,160 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.
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