They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (film)
They Shoot Horses, Do n't They? is a 1969 American drama film directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Red Buttons, Bruce Dern, Bonnie Bedelia and Gig Young.
The screenplay, adapted from Horace McCoy's 1935 novel of the same name, was written by James Poe and Robert E. Thompson.
The film focuses on a disparate group of characters desperate to win a Depression- era dance marathon and the opportunistic emcee who urges them on to victory.
The film premiered at the 23rd Cannes Film Festival and was released theatrically in the United States on December 10, 1969.
Upon release it was a critical and commercial success, grossing$ 12.6 million on a budget of$ 4.86 million, becoming the sixteenth highest grossing film of 1969.
Critics praised its direction, screenplay, depiction of the depression era, and performances, most notably of Fonda's, which marked a significant turning point in her career.
The film received nine nominations at the 42nd Academy Awards including Best Director, Best Actress( for Fonda), Best Supporting Actress( for York), Best Adapted Screenplay and winning Best Supporting Actor( for Young).
It holds the Academy record for most nominations without one for Best Picture.
Horace McCoy
Horace McCoy( April 14, 1897 – December 15, 1955) was an American writer whose hardboiled novels took place during the Great Depression.
His best- known novel is" They Shoot Horses, Do n't They?"( 1935), which was made into a movie of the same name in 1969, fourteen years after McCoy's death.
Gig Young
Gig Young( born Byron Elsworth Barr; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American actor.
He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in" They Shoot Horses, Do n't They?"( 1969).
Robert E. Thompson (screenwriter)
Robert E. Thompson( November 3, 1924 – February 11, 2004) was an American screenwriter.
Thompson was known for such films as" The Trial of Lee Harvey OswaldA Case of Rape" and" They Shoot Horses, Do n't They?"
He was nominated for an Academy Award for" They Shoot Horses, Do n't They?"
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack( July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer and actor.
Pollack directed more than 20 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 movies or shows and produced over 44 films.
His 1985 film" Out of Africa" won him Academy Awards for directing and producing.
He was also nominated for Best Director Oscars for" They Shoot Horses, Do n't They?"( 1969) and" Tootsie"( 1982) in which he also appeared.
Some of his other best known works include" Jeremiah Johnson"( 1972)," The Way We Were"( 1973)," Three Days of the Condor"( 1975) and" Absence of Malice"( 1981).
His subsequent films included" Havana"( 1990)," The Firm"( 1993)," The Interpreter"( 2005), and he produced and acted in" Michael Clayton"( 2007).
Pollack is probably best known to television viewers for his recurring role playing Will Truman's father on the NBC sitcom" Will& Grace"( 2000 – 2006).
Richard Brooks
Richard Brooks( May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and film producer.
Nominated for eight Oscars in his career, he was best known for" Blackboard Jungle"( 1955)," Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"( 1958)," Elmer Gantry"( 1960; for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay)," In Cold Blood"( 1967) and" Looking for Mr. Goodbar"( 1977).
Blackboard Jungle
Blackboard Jungle is a 1955 social commentary film about teachers in an interracial inner-city school, based on the novel" The Blackboard Jungle" by Evan Hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brooks.
It is remembered for its innovative use of rock and roll in its soundtrack and for the unusual breakout role of a black cast member, future Oscar winner and star Sidney Poitier as a rebellious, yet musically talented student.
In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being" culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Susannah York
Susannah Yolande Fletcher( 9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress.
Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including" Tom Jones"( 1963) and" They Shoot Horses, Do n't They?"( 1969), formed the basis of her international reputation.
An obituary in" The Telegraph" characterised her as" the blue- eyed English rose with the china- white skin and cupid lips who epitomised the sensuality of the swinging sixties", who later" proved that she was a real actor of extraordinary emotional range".
York's early films included" The Greengage Summer"( 1961) and a Golden Globe- nominated role in( 1962).
She went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for" They Shoot Horses, Do n't They?"
She also won the 1972 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for" Images".
Her other film appearances included" Sands of the Kalahari"( 1965)," The Killing of Sister George"( 1968)," Battle of Britain"( 1969)," Jane Eyre"( 1970)," Zee and Co."( 1972)," Gold"( 1974)," The Maids"( 1975)," Conduct Unbecoming"( 1975)," Eliza Fraser"( 1976)," The Shout"( 1978)," The Silent Partner"( 1978), and" Superman"( 1978).
She was appointed an Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1991.
Fredric Steinkamp
Fredric Steinkamp( August 22, 1928 – February 20, 2002) was an American film editor with more than 40 film credits.
He had a longstanding, notable collaboration with director Sydney Pollack, editing nearly all of Pollack's films from" They Shoot Horses, Do n't They?"( 1969) through" Sabrina"( 1995).
Steinkamp began his career working part- time in the sound department of the MGM Studios.
He became an assistant editor at MGM, and worked for Adrienne Fazan, Ralph E. Winters, Jack Dunning, and Harold F. Kress.
Kress recommended Steinkamp as the editor for" The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"( directed by Michael Curtiz, 1960), which was Steinkamp's first editing credit.
From 1980 on, Steinkamp co-edited most films with his son, William Steinkamp; after 1995, William Steinkamp became Sydney Pollack's principal editor through the end of the latter's career in 2005.
Steinkamp won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for" Grand Prix"( directed by John Frankenheimer, 1966).
He was nominated for the Academy Award for editing four films directed by Pollack:" They Shoot Horses, Do n't They?"( 1969)," Three Days of the Condor"( 1975)," Tootsie"( 1982), and" Out of Africa"( 1985).
All of these films had co-editors, including his son William Steinkamp for the last two.
He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Editing for" They Shoot Horses, Do n't They?"( 1969).
He was nominated for ACE Eddie awards for editing" The Unsinkable Molly Brown"( directed by Charles Walters- 1964)," Grand Prix"( 1966)," Tootsie"( 1982), and" Out of Africa"( 1985).
In 2001 Steinkamp received the Career Achievement Award of the American Cinema Editors( ACE).
Michael Sarrazin
Michael Sarrazin( May 22, 1940 – April 17, 2011) was a Canadian film and television actor who found fame opposite Jane Fonda in" They Shoot Horses, Do n't They?"( 1969).

Question: Do both directors of films They Shoot Horses, Don'T They? (Film) and Blackboard Jungle share the same nationality?
Answer: yes