Norma Rae
Norma Rae is a 1979 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt from a screenplay written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton which was told in the 1975 book Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance by reporter Henry P. Leifermann of The New York Times and stars Sally Field in the title role. Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman, Pat Hingle, Barbara Baxley and Gail Strickland are featured in supporting roles. The film follows Norma Rae Webster, a factory worker with little formal education in North Carolina who, after she and her co-workers' health are compromised due to poor working conditions, becomes involved in trade union activities at the textile factory where she works.
Plot
Norma Rae Wilson is a worker in a cotton mill that has taken too much of a toll on her family's health for her to ignore their poor working conditions. She is also a single mother with two children by different fathers, one dead and the other negligent, and frequently has flings with other men to alleviate her loneliness and boredom. Initially, management tries to divert her frequent protests by promoting her to "spot checker", where she is responsible for ensuring other workers are fulfilling work quotas. She reluctantly takes the job for the pay hike, but when fellow employees, including her father, shun her for effectively being a "fink" to the bosses, she demands to be fired. Instead, she is demoted back to the line.
Awards
More details
| author | Irving Ravetch |
|---|---|
| award | Academy Award for Best Actress Silver nugget for the best foreign film |
| contentLocation | Alabama |
| director | Martin Ritt |
| editor | Sidney Levin |
| genre | drama political |
| keywords | bos cotton mill create divorce factory heart attack labor union machine married new york city one by one other woman single mother tv camera union organizer unionize wait working conditions |
| musicBy | David Shire |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Picture Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay |
| producer | Alexandra Rose Tamara Asseyev |
| recordedAt | Alabama |
| theme | activists feminist |