The Day of the Locust

The Day of the Locust (1975)

  • 64% of critics liked it
    (14 reviews)

  • 73% of users liked it
    (2,086 ratings)

The Day of the Locust is anything but a cheerful, light look at Hollywood in the '30s. It recreates both the town as well as the filmmaking world around which much of the town revolved with devastating accuracy. The movie tells the twin tales of talentless wannabe actress Faye Greener (Karen… More

R,
Directed By
Written By
Waldo Salt
Genres
Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
In Theaters
Jan 1, 1975 Wide
Paramount Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    Magnificent production, combined with excellent casting and direction, make The Day of the Locust as fine a film (in a professional sense) as the basic material lets it be.

  • Geoff Andrew, Time Out

    The narrative is often confused and confusing.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    Schlesinger has conceived his film as an epic, which was a daring thing to do with such slender material.

  • Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

    A painfully misconceived reduction and simplification.

  • , TV Guide's Movie Guide

    Accurately captures the intent of West's dark masterpiece.

Read all 12 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • jay n


    Profoundly sad view of the lower rungs of Hollywood life in the 30's. Disturbing and unsettling. The climatic sequence is both horrifying and mesmerizing.

  • Robert C


    An often surreal but always intriguing morality tale. This film has it's sights set mostly on "Hollywood", with a few "pop shots" at organized religion (which if you think about it is not so different from Hollywood). Sure the characters are "over the… More

  • Eric B


    Wow, what an ugly film. Presumably, this cynical tale of Hollywood wannabes was green-lit following the success of "Chinatown." Not one likable character in the cast -- even the lead Tod (William Atherton), with his shallow love for Faye (Karen Black), is hard to embrace.… More

  • Ivan D


    Allegorical film that depicts the moral decay of 1930's Hollywood. Donald Sutherland gave an unusual performance as Homer Simpson. The epic, horrifying climax is the true highlight of the picture, one of the best sequences of cinema ever filmed. Masterpiece.

  • Quinto W


    Best.Ending.Ever.

Read all 6 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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