Based on Nathanael West's satirical novel, John Schlesinger's THE DAY OF THE LOCUST is an absorbing look at the desperate characters who populate the Hollywood film industry. Idealistic young set designer Tod Hackett (William Atherton) travels to 1930s-era Hollywood to find fame and fortune but encounters a dismal world of broken people, shattered dreams, and phoney healers pandering to the lost. He soon falls in love with aspiring actress Faye Greener (Karen Black), a cruel, manipulative woman who lives with her drunken father (Burgess Meredith, in an Oscar-nominated performance) and loves the strange man-child Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland). Their passions collide at a disastrous Hollywood premiere that remains one of the most horrifying and tragic climaxes in film history.

"The Day of the Locust" was originally a project for Warner Bros., but was picked up and released by Paramount Pictures. Original producer Ronald Shedlo received a presentation credit in the finished film.

The San Bernardino Arms apartment complex seen in the film is a studio set for a structure that is just two blocks from the Paramount lot.

Additional cast: Dick Powell Jr. (Dick Powell).

Color by Technicolor, though Movielab is credited for the print work.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio:
Dolby Restored Mono - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Surround - English
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus

Donald Sutherland: Canadian Actor
Karen Black: American Actress
Burgess Meredith: American actor
William Atherton: American Actor
Geraldine Page: American Actress
Richard Dysart: American TV/Film Actor
John Hillerman: American Actor
Bo Hopkins: American Supporting Actor
Pepe Serna: Actor
Lelia Goldoni: American Actress
Billy Barty: Actor

John Schlesinger: British Director/Actor

Jerome Hellman: Producer/Director

Waldo Salt: American Screenwriter

John Barry: Score composer

Jim Clark: Editor

"...In many ways remarkable....A panoramic movie..."
"Bristling with brilliant scenes....It lurches between satire and the truly horrifying."