As the contest grinds on, couples break down physically and drop out. Robert is consumed with claustrophobia and a desire to get outside into the sun. Gloria is tiring and having difficulty walking for the derby without his help.

Simels, Steve (June 21, 1996). "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020.Highly recommend if you are a fan of symbolism or literature concerning social justice particularly gender issues. The dance contest itself is a major symbol in the book. It inflicts suffering on the characters, who don't go outside and whose bodies are worn down by the dancing. At the same time, it is entirely pointless. The dance marathon stands for life itself, which seems long, pointless, and full of suffering to the main characters, particularly Gloria. Though it is still somehow a means of seizing the opportunity: even when the characters struggle in the marathon, the hope of winning and not staying stagnant—literally, as they are dancing—propels them forward. Whether this is for better or for worse is up to the audience. To be sure, some of the marathons got pretty grim. Contestants tried to dance their way through illnesses and pregnancies, through lice and hallucinations, and the sight of them doing it was part of the show. Beyond the hit tunes and the crepe paper and the free pig as a door prize, there was an elementary sadism in the appeal of the marathons. Gloria adopts a firmly cynical view of the world. She reveals to Robert that she’s tired of getting bit parts and thinks that “they got it all rigged before you ever show up”. As the film progresses, Gloria constantly toys with the idea of giving up completely. When Robert asks her what she would do with the prize money, she succinctly answers “Maybe I’d buy some good rat poison”. Gloria’s jaded, but realistic outlook on life contrasts directly with Alice’s naïve perspective. Alice arrives at the competition looking like the belle of the ball. Clad in white and imitating Marilyn Monroe, Alice believes that the dance marathon will be an opportunity for her to land a major acting career, as casting directors may be in the audience. Gloria, having already seen the cruelty of the acting industry knows that Alice’s quest can only end in humiliation. Why are these high-powered scientists always screwing around trying to prolong life instead of finding pleasant ways to end it?’

Gloria curses another male contestant because he will not allow his pregnant partner to get an abortion. Robert learns indirectly that Gloria is having sex with one of the promoters. When Robert tells her of his suspicions, Gloria tells him she does not feel she is worthy of doing anything else. Two elderly women from the local morals society threaten the promoters with shutting down the dance, and Gloria is asked to witness the meeting. Left in the room with Mrs. Higby and Mrs. Witcher, Gloria curses the women as spoiled, interfering hypocrites.Sarrazin meets Jane Fonda, and they became partners almost absentmindedly; he wasn't even planning on entering a marathon. There are other contestants, particularly Red Buttons and Bonnie Bedelia in splendid supporting performances, and they are whipped around the floor by the false enthusiasm of Gig Young, the master of ceremonies. "Yowzza!Yowzza!" he chants, and all the while he regards the contestants with the peculiarly disinterested curiosity of an exhausted god.

It brings to mind the scene in Bonnie and Clyde where Faye Dunaway says, "Baby, I've got the blues." And, this book is about the blues. It takes place during the depression and two young kids meet on the street in Hollywood, seeking their fortune as actors, but getting nowhere fast. Gloria is from West Texas and, as crappy as life is in Hollywood without a dime to your name, it's better than living with her aunt and uncle in Texas with him making passes at her and the aunt yelling at her. She first went to Dallas and found that dull and boring and empty. California is no better. Gloria is bitter and unhappy and wishes she had the courage to end it all. Throughout the story, the dance contest sponsors incorporate increasingly ludicrous activities, including nightly races to wear down the contests and a staged marriage. They even broadcast the arrest of one of the contestants during the marathon in an attempt to get more promotion and financial sponsorship. The organizers of the event clearly just want attention and money; they have no consideration for the people participating and wearing themselves out. Near the end, after many scandals—including a revelation that Gloria is sleeping with a judge in an attempt to improve their chances and a protest of the event—the marathon is shut down due to an involuntary murder. The novel is narrated by Robert Syverten, a young man who has come to Hollywood to become a film director. Robert is broke and desperate, and he sees the dance marathon as his only chance to make a living. He partners with Gloria Beatty, a young woman who is also struggling to make ends meet. The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2012-2013: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC Interspersed with the dance contest narrative are scenes from Robert's trial and, since its revealed at the beginning, its no secret, he eventually gave in and helped Gloria end it all just as she always said she wanted. "They shoot horses, don't they," he explained as the police took him into custody.Ruby is another contestant, seven months pregnant but still desperate enough to be willing to risk miscarriage. She is often taunted by Gloria, who insists that she should have an abortion rather than bring a child into this world. James a b "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007 . Retrieved 23 June 2018. Another motif in this novel is the Pacific Ocean. Robert once regarded the Pacific as full of wonder and mystery. However, after he hears the ocean during the dance marathon and then shoots Gloria on a pier at the end of the story, the Pacific becomes as empty to him as the rest of life. What has seemed promising has lost its allure by the end of the novel.

From the start, Gloria tells Robert that she wishes she were dead, a point she repeats in most of their conversations. Her parents are dead. She ran away to Dallas from a farm in West Texas where her uncle always made passes at her. In Dallas, she tried to commit suicide, then ran away to Hollywood with dreams of being in movies, but is finding only rejection. Robert considers her plain-looking and unlikely to find work as an actress. She tells Robert frequently that she does not have the courage to kill herself. After a couple of weeks most couples have about enough energy to slow dance or simply amble around the stage. They must stay on their feet. If they fall to exhaustion their knees have to be a foot above the ground or they’ll be disqualified. These periods are punctuated by sprints around the dance floor and regular derbies, which are designed to weed out the weakest contestants. The rationale behind these contests is the same as the reality TV shows of recent decades such as ‘Survivor’ and ‘Fear Factor’. These may be only less brutal than the dance marathons in that they are shorter in duration. Horace McCoy was hired as a bouncer at a dance marathon in Santa Monica, and this first hand experience informs a vivid description of that hellish world. It's a brutal and bleak parable about American life. Was this the peak of McCoy’s writing? Did his writing career produced any more such dark and fascinating material? Replies below please. Horace McCoy’s 1935 novel, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, sold only 3,000 copies when it was first published in 1935, according to the 20 Nov 1969 DV review of the film, but the book was later described as a “minor classic” in the 11 Dec 1969 NYT. It was republished in 1948, 1955, and 1966, an article in the 6 Mar 1966 LAT noted. In 1947, screenwriter James Poe became interested in optioning screen rights, but his acquisition of the property was not announced until summer 1966, when a 25 Jul 1966 LAT article reported that Poe would produce, write, and make his feature film directorial debut on the project. The 10 Jan 1969 DV named Charles Chaplin as one of several other filmmakers who had previously optioned the novel.

Horace McCoy, author of the 1935 novel ‘They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?’, had been a bouncer at one of those marathons so he was writing from personal experience. He saw the dance marathons as a perfect metaphor for the futility of existence and Gloria Beatty is the perfect antiheroine for such a bleak vision. She is, in the eyes of her dancing partner, Robert Syverten, the gloomiest person he ever met. She cares about nothing and no one, not even herself. Countless times throughout the novel she says she wishes she were dead. Although this is set some years ago, in many ways events such as these are the precursors of the humiliation and public judgement that is poured out by reality television. Surprisingly, Robert muses much on the loss of the sun, rather than a good night's sleep, but although the characters are obviously exhausted, McCoy does not dwell on this. The omission leaves the reader somewhat unsettled, as those in charge of the event point to the doctor, nurses, and good food available. Yet one dancer is pregnant and others collapse or faint, so you are aware of the toll of this event. Robert Syverten is the narrator. He tells what led up to his murder of Gloria Beatty and his eventual death sentence. He met her when he thought her waving for a bus was an attempt to meet him. He is still weak from intestinal flu when he joins the dance contest as Beatty’s partner. The contest lasts over a month and includes a race every night to eliminate contestants. He is passive and puts up with Beatty's pessimism and taunts, even while he remains naive and optimistic. When the contest ends with no winners, Gloria asks him to kill her. He jokingly says the book and film's title, "They shoot horses, don't they?" meaning it is a mercy to put the crippled to death. Gloria is killed, and Robert has no explanation for it. He will be put to death, and his optimism is finally replaced by Gloria's nihilism and hopelessness. Gloria Beatty Ebert, Roger (January 16, 2011). "They Shot Horses, Didn't They?". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2018 . Retrieved August 4, 2018.