Norma Rae (1979)

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:

Labor | Factory | Textile Worker | Union | Single Mother

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
Mary Munday	...	Mrs. Johnson
Jack Stryker	...	J.J. Davis
Gregory Walcott	...	Lamar Miller
Noble Willingham	...	Leroy Mason
Lonny Chapman	...	Gardner (as Lonnie Chapman)
Bert Freed	...	Sam Dakin
Bob Hannah	...	Jed Buffum (as Bob E. Hannah)
Edith Ivey	...	Louise Pickens
Scott Lawton	...	Craig
Frank McRae	...	James Brown
Gerry Okuneff	...	Pinkerton man (as Gerald Okuneff)
Gina Kaye Pounders	...	Millie
Henry Slate	...	Policeman
Melissa Ann Wait	...	Alice
Joe Dorsey	...	Woodrow Thompson (as Joe A. Dorsey)
Sherry Velvet Foster	...	Velma Stockhouse
Grace Zabriskie	...	Linette Odum
Stuart Culpepper	...	Ray Towner
Weona T. Brown	...	Hot dog vendor
Carolyn Danforth	...	Mavis Pruitt
James W. Harris	...	Mill worker
Charlie Briggs	...	Warren Lotting
Billie Joyce Buck	...	Agnes Roy
Fred Covington	...	Alston Purvis
J. Don Ferguson	...	Peter Gallat
Sandra Dorsey	...	Jail Matron
Harold E. Finch	...	Agent
Clayton Landey	...	Teddy Bob Keeler
Bill Pannell	...	Billy Stettin (as William Pannell)
George R. Robertson	...	Farmer (as George Robertson)
Thomas D. Samford III	...	Justice of the Peace
Roy Tatum	...	Woodrow Bowser (as J. Roy Tatum)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Martin Ritt	...	Factory worker (uncredited)

Directed by
Martin Ritt

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Harriet Frank Jr.		writer
Irving Ravetch		writer

Produced by
Tamara Asseyev	....	producer
Alexandra Rose	....	producer (as Alex Rose)

Original Music by
David Shire

Cinematography by
John A. Alonzo

Film Editing by
Sidney Levin

Casting by
Jane Feinberg
Mike Fenton

Production Design by
Walter Scott Herndon

Art Direction by
Tracy Bousman

Set Decoration by
Gregory Garrison

Makeup Department
Tom Ellingwood	....	makeup artist
Lola 'Skip' McNalley	....	hair stylist
William Turner	....	makeup artist
Elaina P. Schulman	....	key hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Jack Terry	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Nicholson	....	assistant director
Skip Surguine	....	second assistant director (as Glenn 'Skip' Surguine)

Art Department
Dudley Holmes	....	property master (as R. Dudley 'Ace' Holmes)
Richard Reseigne	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Bruce Bisenz	....	production sound mixer
William Hartman	....	sound editor
Godfrey Marks	....	dialogue editor
Theodore Soderberg	....	sound re-recording mixer
Richard Sperber	....	sound editor
Paul Wells	....	sound re-recording mixer
Douglas O. Williams	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
William Van der Byl	....	special effects (as William Van Der Byl)

Camera and Electrical Department
Gary R. Dodd	....	key grip (as Gary Dodd)
Earl Gilbert	....	gaffer
John Toll	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael J. Harte	....	costumer: men
Agnes Lyon	....	costumer: ladies (as Agnes J. Lyon)

Editorial Department
Margaret Adachi	....	assistant editor
Cliffe Oland	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Robert H. Raff	....	music editor (as Robert Raff)

Transportation Department
Jerry F. Johnson	....	transportation coordinator (as Jerry Johnson)

Other crew
Golda David	....	assistant: Mr. Ritt
James Koehler	....	location auditor
H. Bud Otto	....	script supervisor (as H. 'Bud' Otto)
Marilyn Tasso	....	production coordinator
Scott MacDonough	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Dan Perri	....	title designer: main titles (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1981) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• CBS/Fox Video (1985) (Belgium) (VHS)
• Fox Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Abril Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Other Companies

• DeLuxe Laboratories  color by (as DeLuxe)
• The Alabama Film Commission  thanks

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:

Many of the extras in the film were students from Auburn University, eight miles from Opelika, Alabama.

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:

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Aurora Borealis (2005)

Soundtrack:

It's All Wrong, But It's All Right

The Film that Stereotyped an Industry Broke the Stereotype of an Actress

Although based on real events and a real person, "Norma Rae's" tale of corporate greed versus oppressed workers has been fictionalized for reasons of privacy. However, fictionalized or not, "Norma Rae's" power and influence continue since the U.S. textile industry has forever been branded in the minds of Americans as an outmoded industrial complex, whose windowless mills are filled with the deafening noise of hand-tended machines that are layered with cotton fibers and whose workers breathe in and permanently damage their lungs with stale air that is filled with cotton dust. Although those conditions certainly did exist, they no longer occur in that industry today. However, despite the modernization of textile manufacturing in the U.S. over the past couple decades, the image of the noisy, dusty mill that is depicted in the film remains as the general perception of a textile operation. Unfortunately, while modern textile mills are free of cotton dust and the noise levels have been reduced to the low hum of computers, textile workers like Norma Rae and the others portrayed in this film have also been replaced with robotics, lasers, and a few highly skilled technicians to monitor the computerized operations. While the unionization depicted in the film successfully raised wages and increased benefits, eventually those higher costs led to efforts to cut expenses through mechanization.

However, despite the demonizing of an industry, the film retains its power, and the story of Norma Rae's personal growth as a woman is probably even more memorable than the efforts to unionize one Southern textile mill. Sally Field inhabits the role of an unwed Southern mill worker with two children, and, as the film progresses, she slowly evolves from an aimless girl, who is used and abused by men, whether they be lovers or employers, into a mature woman who finds a depth and strength that helps her take control of her life and find the confidence to lead. Television viewers who only knew Field as the Flying Nun were surprised at her range and depth, although those who had taken the time to watch the television movie "Sybil" already suspected the breadth of her talent.

While Sally Field finally shed her Gidget and Flying Nun image with this film and certainly is the emotional core of the movie, she is well supported by a cast of pros, especially the two most important men in her life. Unfortunately, because Field is so outstanding, viewers will likely need a second viewing to appreciate just how good both Ron Leibman and Beau Bridges are in "Norma Rae." Ron Leibman as the assertive union organizer from New York is the man who awakens Norma's intellect and propels her into uncharted territory as a woman. Meanwhile, Beau Bridges as Norma Rae's gentle, understanding husband stands by his woman despite his not completely comprehending or appreciating the changes that are underway in his wife's character.

"Norma Rae" is an outstanding film, well directed by Martin Ritt, beautifully written by Frank and Ravetch, and performed with heart by Field, Leibman, and Bridges. Although the movie has probably stained the image of the U.S. textile industry for good, "Norma Rae" also established Sally Field as an actress of the first order and remains an engrossing human story of a woman's growth into maturity and her discovery of previously unrealized potential within herself.