3. They Shoot Horses Don't They? (1969)
A hideous Great Depression era tale of what people were prepared to do to save themselves from penury at that time, They Shoot Horses Don't They? is a masterpiece of gloom and sadness. It takes place at a dance marathon where Robert is teamed up with Gloria as partners. There is a host of characters taking part including Alice - a Jean Harlow wannabe and her partner Joel, an aspiring actor. There is an impoverished farm worker called James and his pregnant wife Ruby. And there is Harry, a middle aged sailor. The weak are quickly eliminated early on. Several unpleasant things go on - the dancers are exploited and humiliated until Harry dies of a heart attack and Alice has a nervous breakdown. Rocky, the commentator reveals to Robert and Gloria that the prize in reality will be pretty paltry, and disillusioned, the pair drop out of the contest. Gloria tells Robert how empty she feels and that she wants to die but cannot pull the trigger. She asks him to shoot her and he obeys her wish. He subsequently gets convicted of murder and is executed. We never find out the winner of the contest. The film is not just a marathon for the actors on the screen, it is a big, depressing, horrific marathon for the viewer to sit through (albeit it is fantastically acted and directed by Sydney Pollack). By giving good characterisation, we come to care about the protagonists in the film. It is agonising to watch them struggle so hard in the film - nearly unbearable as Gloria draws a dead Harry over the finish line. A film about the exploitation of people in desperate times, it is historically accurate - people really did take place in these awful marathons. We may be in recession now but we may thank our lucky stars that it is not of a magnitude as the Great Depression.