F.I.S.T. (1978)

A rebellious Cleveland warehouse worker rises through the ranks of a trucking industry union to become union president but his organized crime links cause his eventual downfall.

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Joe Eszterhas (story), Joe Eszterhas (screenplay)

Stars:

Sylvester Stallone, Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sylvester Stallone	...	Johnny Kovak
Rod Steiger	...	Senator Madison
Peter Boyle	...	Max Graham
Melinda Dillon	...	Anna Zarinkas
David Huffman	...	Abe Belkin
Kevin Conway	...	Vince Doyle
Tony Lo Bianco	...	Babe Milano
Cassie Yates	...	Molly
Peter Donat	...	Arthur St. Clair
John Lehne	...	Mr. Gant
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Win Talbot
Richard Herd	...	Mike Monahan
Tony Mockus Jr.	...	Tom Higgins (as Tony Mockus)
Ken Kercheval	...	Bernie Marr
Elena Karam	...	Mrs. Zerinkas

Storyline

Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts a campaign to find the truth about the alleged connections with the Mob.

---

Plot Keywords:

labor struggle | senator | 1930s | trade union | driving through a gate | 

---

Taglines:

A story about a man, the woman he loved, and the men he fought for.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Cleveland scenes were filmed in Dubuque Among the reasons given for the selection of Dubuque was the absence of television antennas that would conflict with the look of the 1930s, the era in which the movie's action was to take place.

---

Quotes

Babe Milano: Nobody's 100%... Nobody.

---

Alternate Versions

The original release in theaters ended showing Johnny Kovak getting shot at the top the staircase in his home. Then, in the last scene, the camera pans to show a close-up of a moving truck with a "bumper sticker" that says "Where's Johnny?". The cable release does not show that last scene. Instead, the closing credits are shown over a crowd of truckers with their fists in the air.

---

Connections

Referenced in Big Mouth: The Pornscape (2017)

---

Soundtracks

Rockin' Robin
Written by Leon René (as Jimmie Thomas)
Performed by Bobby Day
Courtesy of Malynn Enterprises Inc.

User Reviews

Stallone's Sleeper Best Performance

You cannot judge Stallone's acting career without seeing this movie. The movie was made during the height of Rocky-mania, and I don't recall it getting much attention on its first run.

Sly plays a blue-collar grunt at the pre-dawn of the organized labor movement in the US. I think the film does a commendable job showing the audience what conditions were like before the work force was unionized. Indeed it depicts what what drove workers to form the original labor unions. Federated Inter-State Truckers or FIST is the union that Stallone's character reluctantly helps organize and lead through the early dark years of violent strikes and lockouts to the later years of labor successes breading union corruption.

I am not a fan of the Rocky series, but did enjoy First Blood 1. I found FIST to be the best film of his career.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hungarian Lithuanian Latin Italian

Release Date:

28 April 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

F.I.S.T.

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$20,388,920

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,388,920

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chateau Productions, Huron Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1