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Show Fonda girl compares with horse? BY FRANK RUNNER Chronicle Staff If the "American Dreamer" isn't your bag, perhaps you wish to have more secure feelings that you'll be getting what the money you spend on seeing a film is worth. For you people the Union Movies is presenting a proven success, suc-cess, "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" in OSH Auditorium Friday Fri-day night at 7 and 10 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30,7 and 10 p.m. Could you ever think of comparing com-paring Jane Fonda to a horse? Well that's what academy award-winning award-winning director Sydney Pollack does in this film. He has a point to make and nobody is going to miss it. Miss Fonda, who won an academy acad-emy award for best actress in this film plays the part of a girl named Gloria. Gloria wanted to enter a dance marathon, the kind they had during the days of the Great Depression. She had to have a father put the animal out of its misery with a shotgun blast. . One of the most depressing things about the Depression was the existence people out of work, like Gloria and Robert, had to endure. In the dance marathon the people peo-ple were herded onto the floor and then the contest began with each of the 100 plus couples prancing around before the spectators, spec-tators, trying to win favor in the eyes of one who will become their sponsor and trying to out-last the other couples. Some of the contestants con-testants were veterans of more than a half-dozen marathons. This gets to be harder and harder to believe as the days wear into weeks and the weeks become months. The last number heard in the marathon is 55 days! During the contest, the participants partici-pants had to eat while they danced in front of the crowd. The normal rest break allowed was only 10 minutes. And one of the highlights of the marathon was the walking race around the track laid out on the floor. The track was shaped like those used in horse-racing and the comparison drawn between the people and horses is inescapable. The final blow comes when the promoter tries to arrange for Gloria and Robert to be married during the marathon. The situa- tion brings to mind the manner in which horses are mated. Robert and Gloria quit the mar-athon, mar-athon, pack up and leave. Outside the building it was quite apparent that Gloria is suffering to the point where she can no longer endure life. She wants to commit suicide but doesn't have the courage. cour-age. However, Robert is an "obliging "oblig-ing bastard," according to the police. Jane Fonda's- style of dying dy-ing is equally as' prodigious as Michael Sarrazin's style of mercy-killing. partner to get into the marathon and, since she couldn't find one, the promoter fixed her up with Robert, played by Michael Sarra-zin. Sarra-zin. Robert had a horse he loved very much during his childhood. One day, while he and the horse (which was truly a beautiful creature, crea-ture, not a run-of-the-mill plow-jerker) plow-jerker) were romping in a field, the horse stumbled. In the action one of the horse's legs was broken. The magnificent animal was in utter agony. The boy's ' father was with the youth and when they came to the horse they knew what had to be done. The |
