Swing Shift (1984)

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writer:

Nancy Dowd (written by)

Release Date:

13 April 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Trumpeter | Home Front | Love | Friendship Between Women | 1940s

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 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

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:PG | Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Norway:15 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The role of Ethel the landlady is played by Goldie Hawn's mother Laura.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Directors: The Films of Jonathan Demme (#2.27)" (????)

Soundtrack:

Someone Waits For You

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 ****