The Day of the Locust

In the first few minutes of the movie there is a drive up a road to the Hollywoodland sign.

The road ends at a sightseeing/tourist spot and parking area at the foot of the "H.

" In reality the road passes behind the sign and above it on the hill.

The hillside at the "H" is too steep for a road/parking area and there are no traces of one ever having been there.

Under the dry and dusty Hollywood(land) Hills of the 1930's, dispersant characters and chancers gather to harvest what they can get from the studio system or else become leeching camp followers. Based on a celebrated novel by Nathaniel West.

***SPOILERS*** Based on Nathanael West's 1939 short story "Day of the Locust" the film lives up to all it's hype even though it was hardly a smashing box office success back in 1975 when it was released. The movie starts out with young Harvard educated Tom Hackett, William Atherton, trying to get a job at a big Hollywood studio as one of its graphic and art designers.

Nathanael West's novel is brought to the screen by director John Schlesinger as William Atherton plays art director Tod Hacket in 1930's Hollywood, where he becomes attracted to actress Faye Greener(Karen Black) who is burdened with an alcoholic father(Burgess Meredith) and the unrequited love of Homer Simpson(Donald Sutherland, very sympathetic in an excellent, heart-breaking performance). Tod does what he can to win her love, but she is determined to make it as an actress, and marry a rich & handsome man.

I saw this film in 1986 and I was very thrilled. But it had even more impact on me when I came to L.

A provocative and disquieting look at the seedy underbelly of Hollywood''s golden age of the 30's, although I'd be lying if I said It was enjoyable viewing. Too often for me it felt like watching a freak show, an obvious reaction when considering some of the peripheral characters like the nasty little tap-dancing would-be child star who later ends up getting tap-danced to death in the film's climactic scene, a bloodthirsty midget and a drunken failed comedian turned door-to-door salesman, among others.

This is a remarkable film for so many reasons.I first discovered this film completely by accident about 16 years ago - there used to be a mid -day movie everyday on a free to air channel.

Something prevents me from giving a thumbs down for this classic. This movie got away in being a bad film but it's quite weak if compared to movies with a similar theme that appeared before and after it.

An apprentice set designer moves in to a crumbling Hollywood apartment complex, where a wannabe starlet neighbour catches his eye, and the adventure begins ...Promising story, with a host of interesting characters introduced in fine style.

The Day of the Locust is a powerful exploration of the underside of the 1930s Hollywood dream. William Atherton, Karen Black, Burgess Meredith and especially Donald Sutherland (as Homer Simpson!