They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)

The title of this disturbing film is taken directly from the 1935 novel; Jane Fonda's character Gloria, is a young, jobless, depression-era woman who at times just wants to be shot and put out of her misery.

Her character travels to Hollywood, leaving behind a miserable life and hoping to become an actress.

Struggling for work, she ends up entering a dance marathon with her new friend Robert, who is also struggling to find work in Hollywood.

I didn't know this, but during the depression, dance marathons were a craze, where people would dance hour-after-hour for a cash reward.

The marathon portrayed in the film is a fictional one, and goes on for several weeks. Every night there is an elimination race in which the couples speed-walk around a track, and the last-place couple is eliminated. The ruthless promoters generate sleazy publicity stunts as the contestants become increasingly exhausted physically and emotionally. People die in this movie that you don't want to see die.

Fonda's desperate character is one you want to root for, but she becomes increasingly disenchanted as she's trapped with the others in the claustrophobic dance hall.

This was Fonda's first breakthrough movie, and she was nominated for her first Oscar. Gig Young won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the sadistic master of ceremonies, which in my opinion is one of the most heartless and cruel characters ever.

Depressing ending.

Directed by Sydney Pollack. Co-starring Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, and Red Buttons, who is great and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.

Read Roderick's great post on this movie.

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

In 1972's hit film Jeremiah Johnson,  Robert Redford's character heads off into the Rocky Mountains to become a fur trading mountain man, alone in the wilderness. We don't know what motivates him right away, but in time the film reveals that Jeremiah was a veteran of the US-Mexican war, and fled to the north before the war ended (the film takes place in the early-mid 1800s).

I like the episodic format of the film. In one scene Jeremiah fights for his life against a pack of wolves; in another, he struggles for hours to light a fire pit under a snow-covered tree, only to have a pile of snow fall right down on top of it. My favorite scene is the one where Jeremiah, with the help of a young orphan boy he meets along the way, builds a log cabin house. Other interesting characters he meets include a seasoned hermit who mentors him and a Native American who learns to trust him. There is even a wedding scene, but I won't give away too much if you haven't seen the film. Recognizable actors pop up, such as Will Geer, Paul Benedict, and Matt Clark.

According to the book Box Office Hits by Susan Sackett; Redford told a reporter "I wanted this film to be an antidote to the general feeling int he States today that getting away from civilization is such a terrific thing and is so romantic....I wanted to show the kids what it is really like going it on your own in the wilderness and thoroughly deromanticize it for them." Director Sydney Pollack agreed, and told the New York Times: "You cannot live totally selfishly and be completely independent of the world. You must adjust to the needs of nature or of man."

Jeremiah Johnson holds up very well after more than 40 years, I think. It has a good share of humorous moments. And I loved the mellow folk ballads of the film's soundtrack, including the song "The Ballad of Jeremiah Johnson". I did some research online to find out who wrote and sung these songs; the site FilmScore has a good write up about the composer John Rubinstein (b. 1946) and writer-singer Tim McIntire (1944-1986).

I watched this movie on DVD, and was delighted to see not only an "Overture", but also an "Intermission" title card and an "Entr'acte"! I could hardly believe it. An Intermission - this film actually had an intermission back in the day! And it was only a 2-hour film. Pure delight.