"The Day of the Locust" (1975)

[mongoII]

"The Day of the Locust" is a superb adaptation of the Nathanael West novel, this extordianary motion picture directed by John Schlesinger stars William Atherton who plays an art director, Donald Sutherland as Homer the social misfit, and Karen Black an aspiring actress in 1930s Hollywood. She is naive, manipulative, self-centered, yet full of life and hope.

Terrific supporting cast includes good work from Burgess Meredith, Graldine Page, Billy Barty, Richard A. Dysart, Pepe Serna, John Hillerman, Natalie Schafer, Gloria LeRoy, Jackie Haley (as the odious child actor), Bo Hopkins, Jane Hoffman, Leila Goldoni, and Paul Jabara. There are also nice bits by old-timers like Florence Lake, Queenie Smith, Madge Kennedy, Alvin Childress, Nita Talbot, Gloria Stroock, and Ina Gould.

The movie is a study of human nature, both of individuals and of groups and crowds. It seems to be a movie about appetites as much as anything....hunger for fame, sex, riches, recognition; and about rage, both repressed and terrifyingly expressed.
Humanity at its most despicable and malignantly deranged has rarely been captured as majestically as this. Hollywood decadence at it's best.

Has any members of the Silver Screen Oasis site seen this film? Any comments?

[Moraldo Rubini]

"Has any members of the Silver Screen Oasis site seen this film? Any comments?"

I see this movie about every 8 years. This is a very disturbing movie, of course. I'm always drawn to it, and always leave the theatre sickened and exhausted. Not that that's a bad thing... After about 7 years I forget the adverse reaction and find myself going once again. Billy Barty's in it. And for those that aren't aware, Jackie Haley today is billed as "Jackie Earle Haley". He was my pick for Best Supporting Actor at the last Oscars for his riveting (and also disturbing) portrayal of a sex offender in Little Children. So I guess he has a pattern of choosing disturbing works. Oh, and for fans of the Simpsons, I'm guessing this is where Matt Groenig got the character's name? As Donald Sutherland's character in Day of the Locust is Homer Simpson...

[Lzcutter]

If I remember correctly, Kyle in Hollywood does not live too far from the apartment house that served as the locale in the 1975 film.

I have not seen the film since its initial release 30+ years ago. Will have to revisit it one of these days.

Practising hope,

[feaito]

I bought the DVD edition last year and watched it a couple of months ago. It's an impressive masterpiece and a harrowing experience at the same time, especially the final portion of the film. It is indeed excellent by all accounts, but I'm not sure if I'd like to watch it again soon... its study of human nature is too distressing, because it's sadly so truthful.

[benwhowell]

I remember when the movie was first released. I was teenager who never missed an issue of Rona Barrett's Gossip/Hollywood magazines. I skipped over anything written about this movie because I thought it was one of those 70's "disaster" movies...a killer swarm of locust.
Later I found a paperback copy of the West novel in a used bookstore. Loved the book and regretted not seeing the movie. I had to wait several years for it's VHS release.
I rented it and watched it one afternoon in my dreary studio apartment. It was the most depressing movie I'd seen since the TV movie "Sybil." Of course, both movies became obsessions...there was no getting them out of my head until I gave them, at least, a second chance.
I eventually bought a (used) VHS copy of "The Day Of The Locust." I saw it for the masterpiece that it is and it is on my top 100 list. I can't imagine why it has been (virtually) ignored.
I've always loved "Hollywood" and society's fringe (for entertainment purposes as well as sociological studies.) This movie is the ultimate "fix." I use that analogy because it does feed my decadent thirst and also because I've always suspected that all the performances in the movie are "drug-induced?" It was the early '70's-when recreational drug use was very fashionable (especially in "Hollywood") and the entire cast seem like glassy-eyed zombies...sometimes having these explosive, destructive outbursts. Am I making too much of this movie? Probably...but it is (like Fernando said) a "harrowing experience" and a distressing study of human nature.
It also has one of the most disturbing endings in movie history...at the premiere of "The Buccaneer."
Burgess Meredith and (cinematographer) Conrad Hall received Oscar nods.
I am able to watch the movie now without feeling the need for "rehab."
Kyle lives near the "San Berdoo Arms!" I'm jealous!

[sandykaypax]

I've not seen the film, but I read the book a couple of years ago. I can't say that I liked it. I found it very depressing.

I would like to see the film, though, for curiousity's sake.

Sandy K