Norma Rae (1979)

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

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Irving Ravetch (screenplay), Harriet Frank Jr. (screenplay)

Stars:

Sally Field, Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman

Won 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory.

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Plot Keywords:

textile worker | labor | union | factory | single mother | 

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Taglines:

If you haven't seen Norma Rae then you're missing...

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 May 1979 (Spain)

Filming Locations:

Auburn, Alabama, USA

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 1,617,267 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 96 min (Ontario) 123 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Norma Rae's married name, Webster, means "weaver of cloth."

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Goofs

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).

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Quotes

Norma Rae Webster: Reuben, you need yourself a woman.
Reuben Warshowsky: Funny you should mention it- tonight's the night.
Norma Rae Webster: My my, what would Dorothy say?
Reuben Warshowsky: Wear a rubber.

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Connections

Referenced in Relax... It's Just Sex (1998)

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Soundtracks

"It Goes Like It Goes"
(1979)
Music by David Shire
Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
Recorded by Jennifer Warnes
Courtesy Arista Records

User Reviews

A great movie

Sally Field's stellar performance is the highlight of this terrific movie, but Ron Leibman was just as effective in my opinion. In fact, the whole cast does a fine job, so if you're looking for superb acting, then look no further. The film is good from start to finish, but a few wonderful moments towards the end make it seem even better than it already is. Perhaps slightly overlong, but overall a great movie.