Norma Rae (1979)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Harriet Frank Jr. (writer)
Irving Ravetch (writer)

Release Date:

4 June 1979 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The story of a woman with the courage to risk everything for what she believes is right.

Plot:

A young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.

Plot Keywords:

Union | Textile Worker | Alabama | Labor Union | Working Conditions

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Sally Field	...	Norma Rae
Beau Bridges	...	Sonny
Ron Leibman	...	Reuben
Pat Hingle	...	Vernon
Barbara Baxley	...	Leona
Gail Strickland	...	Bonnie Mae
Morgan Paull	...	Wayne Billings
Robert Broyles	...	Sam Bolen
John Calvin	...	Ellis Harper
Booth Colman	...	Dr. Watson
Lee de Broux	...	Lujan (as Lee DeBroux)
James Luisi	...	George Benson
Vernon Weddle	...	Reverend Hubbard
Gilbert Green	...	Al Landon
Bob Minor	...	Lucius White

Runtime:

110 min | Canada:96 min (Ontario) | USA:123 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Norway:12 | Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:13 (re-rating) | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | USA:PG | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Auburn, Alabama, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Sally Field and 'Bridges, Beau' researched their roles by working in a factory.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Norma's father suffers a heart attack on the job, we see him as the first symptoms start until he collapses onto the textile mills floor. The problem here is that as he enters the first stages of his coronary, he grasps his RIGHT arm rather than his left. Anatomically, the nerve conduction with regards to a cardiac event, target the left arm - except in cases of extremely rare congenital abnormality (i.e. dextrocardia).

Quotes:

Reuben Warshowsky: On October 4, 1970, my grandfather, Isaac Abraham Warshowsky, aged eighty-seven, died in his sleep in New York City. On the following Friday morning, his funeral was held. My mother and father attended, my two uncles from Brooklyn attended, my Aunt Minnie came up from Florida...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "October Road.: Best Friend Windows (#1.6)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

It Goes Like It Goes

Great American movie

I own a copy of this movie and I watch it at least twice a year. An intelligent story, without cookie-cutter characters. It still amazes and thrills me each time I see it. The fact that there was no forced romance thrust upon us, is also worth noting. Sally Field created a woman who is now part of movie history.