It took over thirty years to bring Horace McCoy's allegorical character study, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? to the big screen. Charlie Chaplin originally optioned the rights years before producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler, scripters James Poe and Robert E. Thompson, and director Sydney Pollack collaborated on the film version of McCoy's 1935 novel that chronicled his stint as a bouncer at a marathon dance contest. Set in Harry Horner and Frank McKelvey's brilliantly designed replica of the old Aragon Ballroom, the story follows the fortunes of various down-on-their-luck characters as they dream, scheme, gamble, and literally try to outlast each other over a grueling two-month-long dance marathon in pursuit of the grand prize of $1500. (It makes television's Survivor look like a backyard camp-out.) Pollack reportedly filmed primarily in sequence. The remarkable cast includes Jane Fonda, Gig Young (who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar® for his role), Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Bonnie Bedelia, Red Buttons and Bruce Dern. From Philip Lathrop's cinematography and Donfeld's costumes to John Green and Albert Woodbury's scoring and Fredric Steinkamp's editing, the film is a magnificent technical achievement. Pollack brings it all together to realize an unforgettable physical and psychic universe. Print from Buena Vista Pictures.