History YMMV / TheDayOfTheLocust

* OneSceneWonder: Homer and Faye take Harry to an evangelist/faith healer named Big Sister (a TakeThat aimed at evangelist Aimee Semple [=McPherson=]) in a sequence that skewers churches that place more emphasis on donations and showmanship than on enriching the souls of their congregation (and that was added for the film). The larger-than-life Big Sister is played by Geraldine Page, and though she only appears in this single scene (which has no significant impact on the plot or characters), she gets the AndStarring treatment on the poster, and is billed fifth in the credits.[[note]] This puts her ahead of such performers as Richard Dysart (Claude Estee), Bo Hopkins (Earle Shoop), Pepe Serna (Miguel), Billy Barty (Abe Kusich), and Creator/JackieEarleHaley (Adore Loomis), all of whom get more scenes.[[/note]]

** The novel sold just 1480 copies in its initial run in 1939; while it may have depicted the Hollywood that needed telling about (as quoted by Creator/DashiellHammett on the cover of the first edition), it wasn't the Hollywood the American public were ready to read about. But [[DeadArtistsAreBetter within a decade of West's death in a car accident in 1940]], ''The Day of the Locust'' was being identified as part of the American literary canon, and it made several "100 Greatest Twentieth Century Novels" lists in the late 1990s/early 2000s.

-->''Their boredom becomes more and more terrible. They realize that they've been tricked and burn with resentment. Every day of their lives they read the newspapers and went to the movies. Both fed them on lynchings, murder, sex crimes, explosions, wrecks, love nests, fires, miracles, revolutions, wars.''

* ValuesResonance: A few of the particulars have changed, but West's criticism of mass media sensationalism and how it affects the audience is still frighteningly relevant today.

** And then the crowd's destructive rampage really takes off; terrified film stars rush out of the premiere and into their car, only for the driver to be pulled out before the car is tipped on its side and set ablaze, the film stars only just getting out in time by climbing out of the "top" window. The patrons of a coffee shop barricade the door as the lights flicker and go out, while people on the outside hammer on the door to be let in to escape the chaos, to no avail. Windows are smashed, shops are looted, fires are set off, and a sobbing girl is dragged off by two men despite Tod's futile attempts to rescue her.

** And then the crowd's destructive rampage really takes off; terrified film stars rush out of the premiere and into their car, only for the driver to be pulled out before the car is tipped on its side and set ablaze, the film stars only just getting out in time by climbing out of the "top" window. The patrons of a coffee shop barricade the door as the lights flicker and go out, while people on the outside hammer on the door to be let in to escape the chaos, to no avail. Windows are smashed, shops are looted, and a sobbing girl is dragged off by two men despite Tod's futile attempts to rescue her.

* OneSceneWonder: Homer and Faye take Harry to an evangelist/faith healer named Big Sister (a TakeThat aimed at evangelist Aimee Semple [=McPherson=]) in a sequence that skewers churches that place more emphasis on donations and showmanship than on enriching the souls of their congregation (and that was added for the film). The larger-than-life Big Sister is played by Geraldine Page, and though she only appears in this single scene (which has no significant impact on the plot or characters), she gets the AndStarring treatment on the poster, and is billed fifth in the credits.[[note]] This puts her ahead of such performers as Richard Dysart (Claude Estee), Bo Hopkins (Earle Shoop), Pepe Serna (Miguel), Billy Barty (Abe Kusich), and Jackie Earle Haley (Adore Loomis), all of whom get more scenes.[[/note]]

** The film opened to a mixed reception from critics and audiences; it eventually turned a profit, and several of the performances, particularly those of Creator/DonaldSutherland and Burgess Meredith (who was Oscar-nominated), were praised, but 1970s audiences on a 1930s nostalgia kick were once again not ready to see just how grimy the film industry really was in its supposed golden age, while some critics felt that, compared to the novel, the film pulled its punches. Its standing has improved in the years since its original release, although the existence of a more famous [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]] will likely always overshadow it.

** The novel sold just 1480 copies in its initial run in 1939, as while Creator/DashiellHammett may have said that it was the Hollywood that needed talking about (as quoted on the cover of the first edition), it wasn't the Hollywood the American public were ready to read about. But [[DeadArtistsAreBetter within a decade of West's death in a car accident in 1940]], ''The Day of the Locust'' was being identified as part of the American literary canon, and it made several "100 Greatest Twentieth Century Novels" lists in the late 1990s/early 2000s.

** We get a gorily detailed shot of Tod's broken and bloodied leg after he manages to get into some empty space by a parked car, and then his own SanitySlippage provides more nightmarish images; he hallucinates the people in his sketches for ''The Burning of Los Angeles'' standing by the side of the road or sitting on benches, faces of white plaster with empty black eyes and mouths. Blazing telephone poles and palm trees topple to the ground. The empty-faced people go from standing still to lurching robotically in unison toward him. Images of Hollywood glamour, including the promotional photo of Faye in ''Ali Baba Goes to Town'' that Tod stole for her, are shown burning to ash in close-up, while the Hollywood hills explode in a firestorm and the crack in Tod's apartment wall is torn wide open as nature itself unleashes its fury on Los Angeles. All while Tod screams at the top of his lungs, insane with terror. Even though most of these images are only happening in Tod's mind, they are still scary.

** And then the crowd's destructive rampage really takes off; terrified film stars rush out of the premiere and into their car, only for the driver to be pulled out before the car is tipped on its side and set ablaze, the film stars only just getting out in time by climbing out of the "top" window. The patrons of a coffee shop barricade the door as the lights flicker and go out, while people on the outside hammer on the door to be let in to escape the chaos, to no avail. Windows are smashed, shops are looted, palm trees and telephone poles are torched, and a sobbing girl is dragged off by two men despite Tod's futile attempts to rescue her.

** And then the crowd's destructive rampage really takes off; terrified film stars rush out of the premiere and into their car, only for the driver to be pulled out before the car is tipped on its side and set ablaze, the film stars only just getting out in time by climbing out of the "top" window. The patrons of a coffee shop barricade the door as the lights flicker and go out, while people on the outside hammer on the door to be let in to escape the chaos, to no avail. Windows are smashed, shops are looted, palm trees and telephone poles are set ablaze, and a sobbing girl is dragged off by two men despite Tod's futile attempts to rescue her.

** And then the crowd's destructive rampage really takes off; terrified film stars rush out of the premiere and into their car, only for the driver to be pulled out before the car is tipped on its side and set ablaze, the film stars only just getting out in time by climbing out of the "top" window. The patrons of a coffee shop barricade the door as the lights flicker and go out, while people on the outside hammer on the door to be let in to escape the chaos, to no avail. Windows are smashed, shops are looted, palm trees and telephone poles are set ablaze, and a girl is dragged off by two men despite Tod's futile attempts to rescue her.

** And then the crowd's destructive rampage really takes off; terrified film stars rush out of the premiere and into their car, only for the driver to be pulled out before the car is tipped on its side and set ablaze, the film stars only just getting out in time by climbing out of the "top" window. The patrons of a coffee shop barricade the door as the lights flicker and go out, while people on the outside hammer on the door to be let in to escape the chaos, to no avail. Windows are smashed, shops are looted, and a girl is dragged off by two men despite Tod's futile attempts to rescue her.

** And all of this is given a further nightmarish quality by the fact that it [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything resembles a Nazi rally gone bad]], complete with a screaming, Hitleresque radio announcer exhorting the audience and a ''Kristallnacht''-style shattering of shop windows.

** And all of this is given a further nightmarish quality by the fact that it [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything resembles a Nazi rally gone bad]], complete with a screaming, Hitleresque radio announcer shaking his fists while exhorting the audience and a ''Kristallnacht''-style shattering of shop windows.

** And all of this is given a further nightmarish quality by the fact that it [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything resembles a Nazi rally gone bad]], complete with a screaming, Hitleresque radio announcer shaking his fists at the mob and a ''Kristallnacht''-style shattering of shop windows.

** And all of this is given a further nightmarish quality by the fact that it [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything resembles a Nazi rally gone bad]], complete with a screaming, Hitleresque radio announcer and a ''Kristallnacht''-style shattering of shop windows.

** The film opened to a mixed reception from critics and audiences; it eventually turned a profit, and several of the performances, particularly those of Creator/DonaldSutherland and Burgess Meredith (who was Oscar-nominated), were praised, but 1970s audiences on a 1930s nostalgia kick were once again not ready to see just how grimy the film industry really was in its supposed golden age. Its standing has improved in the years since its original release, although the existence of a more famous [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]] will likely always overshadow it.

* VindicatedByHistory: The novel sold just 1480 copies in its initial run in 1939, as while Creator/DashiellHammett may have said that it was the Hollywood that needed talking about (as quoted on the cover of the first edition), it wasn't the Hollywood the American public were ready to read about. But [[DeadArtistsAreBetter within a decade of West's death in a car accident in 1940]], ''The Day of the Locust'' was being identified as part of the American literary canon, and it made several "100 Greatest Twentieth Century Novels" lists in the late 1990s/early 2000s.

* OneSceneWonder: Homer and Faye take Harry to an evangelist/faith healer named Big Sister in a sequence that skewers churches that place more emphasis on donations and showmanship than on enriching the souls of their congregation (and that was added for the film). The larger-than-life Big Sister is played by Geraldine Page, and though she only appears in this single scene (which has no significant impact on the plot or characters), she gets the AndStarring treatment on the poster, and is billed fifth in the credits.[[note]] This puts her ahead of such performers as Richard Dysart (Claude Estee), Bo Hopkins (Earle Shoop), Pepe Serna (Miguel), Billy Barty (Abe Kusich), and Jackie Earle Haley (Adore Loomis), all of whom get more scenes.[[/note]]

* OneSceneWonder: Homer and Faye take Harry to an evangelist/faith healer named Big Sister in a sequence that skewers churches that place more emphasis on donations and showmanship than on enriching the souls of their congregation (and that was added for the film). The larger-than-life Big Sister is played by Geraldine Page, and though she only appears in this single scene, she gets the AndStarring treatment on the poster, and is billed fifth in the credits.

* RetroactiveRecognition: In the film adaptation, Adore Loomis was played by Creator/JackieEarleHaley, then in his early teens; he had mostly done television work at the time but went on to more high-profile child acting success in ''Film/TheBadNewsBears'' the following year, and has since transitioned into adult roles that include Rorschach in ''Film/{{Watchmen}}''.

* RetroactiveRecognition: In the film adaptation, Adore Loomis was played by Jackie Earle Haley, then in his early teens; he had mostly done television work at the time but went on to more high-profile child acting success in ''Film/TheBadNewsBears'' the following year, and has since transitioned into adult roles that include Rorschach in ''Film/{{Watchmen}}''.