
Director: Sydney Pollack
This movie was supposed to be made by Charlie Chaplin but was abandoned. During the McCarthy era, Chaplin was accused to be a communist and was barred to return after he went for a holiday in UK.
What a funny name, you think? It is actually a social satire looking at the antics of people who would go to all lengths just to lay their hands on money; the poor do not mind being humiliated for money and the rich would not bat an eyelid to exploit the situation to benefit and enrich themselves further.
Set in the impoverished times of the Depression, a marathon dancing programme is arranged. The last of the couple who would be up and dancing after all the other contestants had fallen would win $1500, a princely sum for that era.
A motley crew of people with different backgrounds and desperate need for the elusive dream of wealth gather for the event. The main characters here are Robert and Julia (Jane Fonda); others include an aspiring blonde actress, an ageing sailor and a pregnant mother! The organiser, Rocky, tries to tease the crowd's attention for their contribution and their sponsorship. All contestant had a sad story to justify their attempt at stardom. With the coveted prize money on their minds, they stoop low to take a jibe at each, be at each other's neck and even drag a seriously sick elderly with a heart ailment to his death just for the loot.
The organisers, on the other hand, had no qualms in dragging them like livestock just to stir the interest of the audience. These weary souls who had danced on for 1000 over hours were forced to run in circles just to eliminate more dancers.

Why did Robert do it, to pull the trigger to end a suffering soul? That is because of his childhood experience where he saw an injured racing horse was relieved of his misery by putting a bullet into him. So his justification for his actions, "they shoot horses, don't they?"
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