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

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:

In an early scene, Ed Harris, clad only in a towel wrapped around his waist, plops down on a chair. For a split second his genitals are fully exposed. This scene somehow evaded the censors (and in a PG rated film) and in the first video release, the scene is intact. The scene has now disappeared from later releases.

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:

Serenade in Blue

Swing In and See It.

A quiet first-rate film that has Goldie Hawn at a factory to produce military goods during World War II while husband Ed Harris is off fighting the war. Hawn would have never thought that she would fall for co-worker Kurt Russell in this fine motion picture. Christine Lahti (Oscar-nominated) shines as another co-worker who has a bad reputation and Fred Ward gives another fine performance in a small supporting role. Directed by Jonathan Demme, "Swing Shift" is one of those diamonds in the rough from the 1980s. A good film. 4 stars out of 5.