Norma Rae

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🎙️ EPISODE 547: 09.05.22 Well it's Labor Day so I wanted to do a "labor"-related film. And when you google movies about unions, this one is basically the first result. This is a quasi-biopic based on the real life labor organizer Crystal Lee Sutton, who is perhaps only as notorious as she is due to this movie and its Academy Award-winning performance by Sally Field? It's kind of a chicken and the egg thing, folks. Who's to say? But all that aside, its an enjoyable affair and the spitfire Field is a big reason why. Its buoyed by a strong supporting cast as well, including Beau Bridges and Pat Hingle and especially Ron Leibman who I wasn't previously familiar with. It's the type of 'classic' film I can appreciate without really having a lot to say. You know what I'm saying??

[Ed. Note: re my riff on Fred McRae at the end of the podcast. These were the roles I best remember him in...


...especially *batteries not included which I have extremely fond memories of as a kid, and honestly need to rewatch soon.]

CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ EPISODE 546? - (YOU ARE HERE) - EPISODE 548 ⫸

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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 titular 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 becomes involved in trade union activities at the textile factory where she works after her and her co-workers' health is compromised due to poor working conditionsPalme d'Or. It was released on March 2, 1979.