MovieChat Forums > They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1970) Discussion > question about the film *SPOILERS*

question about the film SPOILERS

posted 19 years ago by Jungle_Red
2 replies | jump to latest

This is similar to another question posted on this board, but I wanted to go ahead and post it anyway.

I watched the film with my dad. I thought that Gloria was pretty suicidal anyway. And he thought that both Gloria and Robert were delirious from lack of food and sleep. He felt that if they hadn't been so delirious then Gloria wouldn't have wanted to die and Robert wouldn't have killed her. I still think that Gloria was pretty fed up with life anyway. So do you think it was from being delirious that Gloria wanted to die? Or do you think she was suicidal?

"All I wanted was just what everybody else wants, you know, to be loved."

[–] Lorilynn1028 19 years ago

Gloria had a really tough life.
You should really read the novel.
She had already tried to kill herself and failed, she tried to steal so she go to jail (without worrying where her next meal was coming from) and the cops felt sorry for her and gave her a break.
She felt she failed at even being a misfit.
At the hospital recovering from her suicide attempt she read an ad in a magazine about Central Casting in Hollywood and what a great life it is to be an extra. That gave her encouragement to try at life again. When she got to Hollywood, she couldn't get anywhere no matter what she did.
Her life was nothing but sorrow.

They used to call professional Dance Marathon contestants 'horses'.
Since Gloria was deep in sorrow, Robert did what he could to put her out of her misery. Just like his grandfather did with the mare that broke her leg.
The grandfather said, 'it was the kindest thing to do' after he shot the horse.
There was no other way to release Gloria (and the mare) from their misery.

For anybody interested in Dance Marathons/Walkathons you should get the book by Carol Martin entitled Dance Marathons.
There was sooooooooooooo much other stuff that the competitions entailed besides heel/toe derbies, solos...etc as seen in the film.

[–] parisel 18 years ago

I'm not sure about Gloria. She was deeply depressed. But i think your father is right about Robert. I don't believe that at any other time or place or situation that Robert could have been talked into it...He was just strung out by exhaustion and malnutrition and the stress of the contest. He was the real victim of the film.