They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) - Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Gig Young, Bonnie Bedelia, Red Buttons

During the Great Depression, Robert and Gloria encounter each other at a dance marathon – with a cash prize awarded to the couple who stay on their feet the longest. Their fellow contestants are all equally desperate for the money or, at the very least, a hot meal. Sydney Pollack’s adaptation of Horace McCoy’s novel is a searing critique of the inhumanity and exploitation of capitalism. The ‘derby’ sequences, in which the exhausted dancers are forced to race each other to stay in the competition, are extraordinary. It’s an uncompromising portrait of a society on the brink of collapse.