They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

During the Great Depression, a $1,500 prize draws a crowd of down-and-out contestants to a dance marathon at a grim coastal ballroom. Among those competing are aspiring actress Gloria Beatty and her partner Robert Syverton, who must stay on their feet as long as it takes, since only the last couple standing collects the money. The promoter, Rocky, keeps the event running for paying spectators who come to watch the dancers wear themselves down. Gloria and Robert dance alongside other hopefuls, including a delusional blonde and an older sailor, while exhaustion whittles the field down.

Sydney Pollack directed the film, the second of the seventeen features in his directing career, following The Scalphunters and preceding Jeremiah Johnson. James Poe and Robert E. Thompson wrote the screenplay, and Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff produced. Jane Fonda plays Gloria, with Michael Sarrazin as Robert, Susannah York, Gig Young, Red Buttons and Bonnie Bedelia among the thirty credited cast members.

Released in December 1969, the film runs 120 minutes. It holds a rating of 7.8 from around 23,000 votes on IMDb and 7.6 from roughly 386 votes on TMDB, alongside a critics' rating of 8 out of 10 from 34 reviews. The critic score sits above the audience scores, though the gap between them is not large.