Swing Shift (1984)

A woman finds romance when she takes a job at an airport plant to help make ends meet after her husband goes off to war.

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writer:

Nancy Dowd

Stars:

Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Christine Lahti

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Goldie Hawn	...	Kay Walsh
Kurt Russell	...	Mike 'Lucky' Lockhart
Christine Lahti	...	Hazel
Fred Ward	...	Archibald 'Biscuits' Touie
Ed Harris	...	Jack Walsh
Sudie Bond	...	Annie
Holly Hunter	...	Jeannie
Patty Maloney	...	Laverne
Lisa Pelikan	...	Violet
Susan Peretz	...	Edith
Joey Aresco	...	Johnny Bonnaro
Morris 'Tex' Biggs	...	Clarence
Reid Cruickshanks	...	Spike
Danny Darst	...	Deacon (as Daniel Dean Darst)
Dennis Fimple	...	Rupert George

Storyline

In 1941 America Kay and her husband are happy enough until he enlists after Pearl Harbor. Against his wishes, his wife takes a job at the local aircraft plant where she meets Hazel, the singer from across the way to whom she hadn't previously been all that nice. The two soon become firm friends and with the other girls become increasingly expert workers able to ride the jibes of the male workforce. As the war drags on Kay finally goes on a date with her trumpet playing foreman and life inevitably starts to get complicated.

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Plot Keywords:

work | gender roles | new year's eve | aircraft factory | trumpeter | 

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Taglines:

When America marched off to war the women marched into the factory. From then on...nothing was the same.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 April 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tjejen som jobbade skift

Filming Locations:

Fort MacArthur, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$6,700,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Lantana, Hawn / Sylbert Movie Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene taking place on the pier was filmed at Long Beach Navy Base. You can see the USS New Jersey, recently restored upgraded and home-ported there, over Goldy's shoulder. This gave the effect of the scene happening at the end of WWII as the New Jersey was a WWII battleship.

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Goofs

The Navy rank patch is displayed on Fred Ward's right sleeve when it should be on his left.

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Quotes

[final lines]
Kay Walsh: Hazel... we showed 'um didn't we.
Hazel: Boy, did we ever.
[both hug and cry]

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Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of Jonathan Demme

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Soundtracks

"American Patrol"
Written by F.W. Meacham

User Reviews

Heavy-handed comedy-drama with equal parts pathos and nostalgia

WWII star-vehicle for Goldie Hawn, here cast as a Rosie the Riveter-type who goes to work in an airplane-parts factory after her husband reports for duty. Poor beginning and hastily-filmed conclusion redeemed somewhat by bright moments in the middle. Hawn seems to realize she's being upstaged by Christine Lahti (as a "tramp" who lives in the same housing complex) and the final moments flip-flop trying to restructure the film's focus in Goldie's favor (check out that final shot). There's nothing wrong with that--Goldie's a wonderful presence and she's very appealing in parts of the movie--but her character as written just isn't all that interesting. As the men vying for Hawn's affections, Kurt Russell and Ed Harris are handsome and serviceable. As for Lahti, she indeed shines, obviously relishing the chance to play against type. I just wish the interaction between Lahti and Hawn had been explored with more depth, but it isn't. This is the fault of the screenwriter (the non-existent "Rob Morton", who is really Bo Goldman, Ron Nyswaner, and Nancy Dowd, here doing a WWII variation on "Coming Home", which Dowd also had a hand in) and also Goldie Hawn, who reportedly fought with director Jonathan Demme over control of the piece. They are all to blame for the slim box-office receipts "Swing Shift" struggled to bring in. **1/2 from ****