Made in Dagenham (2010)

A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.

Director:

Nigel Cole

Writer:

William Ivory

Stars:

Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Andrea Riseborough

Nominated for 3 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 3 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sally Hawkins	...	Rita O'Grady
Andrea Riseborough	...	Brenda
Jaime Winstone	...	Sandra
Lorraine Stanley	...	Monica
Nicola Duffett	...	Eileen
Geraldine James	...	Connie
Bob Hoskins	...	Albert Passingham
Matthew Aubrey	...	Brian (as Matt Aubrey)
Daniel Mays	...	Eddie O'Grady
Roger Lloyd Pack	...	George (as Roger Lloyd-Pack)
Phil Cornwell	...	Dave
Karen Seacombe	...	Marge
Thomas Arnold	...	Martin
Sian Scott	...	Sharon O'Grady
Robbie Kay	...	Graham O'Grady

Storyline

In 1968, the Ford auto factory in Dagenham was one of the largest single private employers in the United Kingdom. In addition to the thousands of male employees, there are also 187 underpaid women machinists who primarily assemble the car seat upholstery in poor working conditions. Dissatisfied, the women, represented by the shop steward and Rita O'Grady, work with union rep Albert Passingham for a better deal. However, Rita learns that there is a larger issue in this dispute considering that women are paid an appalling fraction of the men's wages for the same work across the board on the sole basis of their sex. Refusing to tolerate this inequality any longer, O'Grady leads a strike by her fellow machinists for equal pay for equal work. What follows would test the patience of all involved in a grinding labour and political struggle that ultimately would advance the cause of women's rights around the world.

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | whitehall | rolling downhill | looking at oneself in a mirror | sex scene | 

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Taglines:

1968. It's a man's world. But not for long...

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | History

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was screened for the Dagenham women before it went on general release.

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Goofs

When they are returning home from the party, a modern CCTV camera can be seen atop a large pole.

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Quotes

Rita O'Grady: All those in favour of not only maintaining but increasing our current industrial action by going to an immediate all-out stoppage until we get the same rates of pay as the men! Well, why not? Cause that's what this is really about, innit? We're on the lowest rate of the entire bleeding factory despite the fact we got considerable skill. And there's only one possible reason for that. It's cause we're women. And in the workplace, women get paid less than men, no matter what skill they got! Which...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Captions in the closing credits: "Two years later in May 1970 the Equal Pay Act became law. Similar legislation quickly followed in most industrial countries across the world. Ford Motor Company Limited went on to effect changes in its employment practices and is now used as an example of a good practice employer."

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Burlesque (2010)

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Soundtracks

Take your time
Performed by Frédéric Vitali

User Reviews

Gutsiness and heart

After a summer of endless animations and shlock-horror here - at last! - is a film with real heart.

Sally Hawkins is a revelation as Rita who becomes the striking machinists' spokeswoman; her speeches to co-workers, union chiefs, management and the press all start out tremulous and gain in confidence as she hits her stride. Geraldine James who usually plays upper-class ladies (I'm still trying to forgive and forget her breast-feeding David Walliams in Little Britain!) here plays a kind of 'upper-working-class' woman with a husband still shell-shocked from WW2. John Sessions does a Spitting Image turn as Harold Wilson, and Miranda Richardson morphs her Blackadder Elizabeth I into a fiery Barbara Castle (dressed by C&A).

In my Gap Year (date withheld) I worked in a Sussex factory that had a sewing-room. The movie gets the atmosphere exactly right but I don't think working women were quite as free with the f-word back then as they are in this script. The end credits run against pictures of the original Dagenham strikers who all look like clones of Corrie's Ena Sharples and Florrie Linley. Some of the film machinists are more Carnaby Street than Coronation Street, but that's OK. These girls make you laugh, they occasionally bring a lump to your throat, but most of all they make you want to cheer.

A small slice of 1960s history, this film packs a big punch. Do not miss it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

Les dames de Dagenham

Filming Locations:

Dagenham, Essex, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$7,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$37,563, 21 November 2010

Gross USA:

$1,095,369

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,629,471

Company Credits

Production Co:

Audley Films, BBC Films, BMS Finance

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (television footage)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1