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The Day of the Locust

Der Tag der Heuschrecke
Berlinale Classics 2024
© 1974 Long Road Productions. All Rights Reserved.
Painter Tod Hackett arrives in Los Angeles in the 1930s to work in the art department at Paramount and falls in love with bit player Faye Greener. Like so many of the small-time actors in their neighbourhood, Faye dreams of a glorious Hollywood career. Although she also dreams of a rich husband, she actually tends to get involved with losers and, in the end, prostitutes herself. The only place she finds refuge is with Homer Simpson, a simple bookkeeper… In the novel, Nathanael West portrays Hollywood as a Sodom of mendacity and superficiality. The film version made by Britain’s John Schlesinger also takes the tack of unmasking the dream factory that devours people, but it tempers the apocalyptic moral portrait with glamorous production design in line with the trend to nostalgia in the 1970s.
The restoration impressively brings to the fore the tremendous production values of The Day of the Locust. With costumes and sets that establish the historical scene, the introspective studio production belongs among the most visually resplendent films to come from New Hollywood.
by John Schlesinger
with Donald Sutherland, Karen Black, Burgess Meredith, William Atherton, Geraldine Page, Richard A. Dysart, Bo Hopkins, Pepe Serna USA 1975 English 144’ Colour World premiere of the digitally restored version Rating R 16

With

  • Donald Sutherland
  • Karen Black
  • Burgess Meredith
  • William Atherton
  • Geraldine Page
  • Richard A. Dysart
  • Bo Hopkins
  • Pepe Serna

Crew

Director John Schlesinger
Screenplay Waldo Salt based on the book “The Day of the Locust” by Nathanael West
Cinematography Conrad Hall
Editing Jim Clark
Music John Barry
Sound Tommy Overton, David Campling
Production Design Richard Macdonald
Art Director John J. Lloyd
Costumes Ann Roth
Make-Up Del Armstrong
Casting Marion Dougherty
Producer Jerome Hellman

World Sales

Park Circus

Additional information

DCP: Park Circus, Glasgow

Photos