Charles Bronson Essays - Ongoing

Check out my ongoing KINDLE VELLA serial:

<a href="https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B0B65RFBP8" rel="nofollow">STRANGE CHARLES BRONSON</a>

First Three Episodes are FREE!

Charles Bronson. Tough. Silent. Rugged....Strange? Charles Bronson, the legendary movie star who helped shape the modern action film in the 1970s and 1980s, wasn't strange. Some of the actor's offbeat films were. A new essay series arrives to look at the unique characters and themes in Bronson's more peculiar films.

They Don't Make Movies Like "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" Anymore

One reason "They don't make movies like they used to" is because They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Rather, they don't make mainstream movies like the offbeat 1969 drama. Although powerful and gripping, with outstanding performances by the cast, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? would be far too nihilistic for a wide modern audience. Sure, someone could make a film this melodramatically dark, but don't expect audiences to turn the feature into a big hit like ticket buyers did more than five decades ago.

 

Dance Away the Inhumanity

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? isn’t a film about horses. Instead, the feature focuses on humans being treated worse than animals. In the film’s opening, someone shoots a horse that suffers a broken leg, a sad incident, but the shooter intends to end the life of a suffering creature humanly.

The title may imply a tragic western along the lines of John Wayne’s The Shootist (1976). This Sidney Pollack film isn’t an “oater,” as Post-World War I Santa Monica’s seaside location has nothing to do with dusty Arizona or Texas towns. No one rides horses, but the many characters dance. 

The film involves a marathon dance contest where desperate partners dance for hours on end, with few breaks and great suffering, to win a $1,500 prize. The Great Depression rages, and some participants have no other options in life. So, these sad strangers come together for a shot at the winner-takes-all prize. They also subject themselves to horrible debasement.

The dance contest promoters have little or no care for the troubled souls putting their health at risk. The dancers are like horses, maltreated horses. Those in charge of the rodeo ride them into the ground, caring not about their lives. 

As depressing as They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is the film provides telling insights into human nature. Amoral people take advantage of the downtrodden, and those with few options in life must go along with the scheme. A longshot, no matter how degrading, brings some chance at financial - and potentially spiritual - renewal.

Critics adored the engrossing film, which rose to “classic new wave cinema” status. The question remains - what compelled audiences to purchase $12 million in tickets to see this dark, downbeat experiment?

They Watch Dramatic Shockers, Didn't They?

A film’s “shock factor” may involve more than excessive violence or adult content. Controversial plots might stun audiences not expecting to see what they encounter, and even a realistic melodrama could leave audiences uneasy. Since the film’s controversy comes from human drama and not exploitation, a larger audience might be willing to explore the film. The chances for such a ticket-selling outcome were likely much greater in 1969 than today. Movies were mostly G and PG-rated affairs, at least since the end of the pre-code days.

Younger persons forget that the average home had only four to six television channels, and network and local standards and practices kept things mostly at or below PG levels. Content could be controversial, but nihilism wasn’t typical network broadcast material - unless the networks chose to broadcast an edited version of a successful and controversial motion picture. Viewing an uncut version required visiting the theater. The controversy created curiosity, and audiences would pay to see downbeat films. At least they were more inclined to do so in the 1960s and 1970s.

Brutal cinematic examinations of the human condition were new in 1969. These dark novelties drew curiosity seekers looking for something far different from what they typically saw at the movies.

Talented filmmakers knew how to tap into that audience back then. Times change, and so do audience motivations and tastes. That's why you don't see films like this one anymore. Audiences moved on to escapism, having shot the horse of new wave experimental cinema long ago.

Please check out my collection of essays on Amazon Kindle - Universal Monsters and Neurotics: Children of the Night and Their Hang-Ups.

Universal Monsters on Amazon

Please check out my new Kindle/Kindle Unlimited collection of essays, now available on Amazon. Time to look at the Universal Monsters of the Golden Age from a unique psychological perspective!