Norma Rae - wikipedia Norma Rae Norma Rae Theatrical release poster Directed by Martin Ritt Produced by Tamara Asseyev Alex Rose Written by Harriet Frank, Jr. Irving Ravetch Starring Sally Field Beau Bridges Ron Leibman Music by David Shire Cinematography John A. Alonzo Edited by Sidney Levin Distributed by 20th Century Fox Release date March 2, 1979 ( 1979 - 03 - 02 ) Running time 110 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $4.5 million Box office $22 million Norma Rae is a 1979 American drama film, directed by Martin Ritt in a screenplay written by Harriet Frank, Jr. and Irving Ravetch. Based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton, which was told in the 1975 book Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance by New York Times reporter Henry P. Leifermann. the film stars Sally Field in the titular role. Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman, Pat Hingle, Barbara Baxley and Gail Strickland appear in supporting roles. The film 's narrative follows a factory worker from a small town in North Carolina who becomes involved in the labor union activities at the textile factory where she works after the health of her and her co-workers is compromised. Norma Rae premiered at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or, while Field received the Best Actress Prize. The film was released theatrically on March 2, 1979, and upon its release was a critical and commercial success with critics appreciating the film 's direction, screenplay, message and performances ( in particular of Field 's ), while the film grossed $22 million on a production budget of $4.5 million. It received six Academy Award nominations at the 52nd Academy Awards including for Best Picture, and won two : Best Actress ( Field ) and Best Original Song for its theme song, `` It Goes Like It Goes. '' The film was selected for preservation at the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2011, deemed as being `` culturally, aesthetically or historically significant ''. Contents 1 Plot 2 Inspiration 3 Cast 4 Production notes 5 Awards and honors 6 Home media releases 7 Musical Adaptation 8 References 9 External links Plot Norma Rae Wilson is a worker in a cotton mill that has taken too much of a toll on the health of her family 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 making sure other workers are fulfilling work quotas. She reluctantly takes the job for the pay hike, but when fellow employees, including her own father, shun her for effectively being a `` fink '' to the bosses, she demands to be fired ; instead, she is demoted back to the line. Two men enter her life that change her perspective. A former co-worker, Sonny Webster, asks her out after earlier causing trouble for her at the mill. Divorced with a daughter, he proposes marriage after a short courtship ; recognizing how long it has been since she met a non-selfish man to keep company with, she accepts his offer. And after a few charged encounters with a New York union organizer, Reuben Warshowsky, Norma Rae listens to him deliver a speech that spurs her to join the effort to unionize her shop. This causes conflict at home when Sonny observes she 's not spending enough time in the home and is frequently exhausted when she is present. When her father drops dead at the mill, a death that could have been averted had he been allowed to leave his post early instead of wait for his allotted break, she is more determined to continue the fight. Management retaliates against the organization efforts, first by rearranging shifts so that workers are doing more work at less pay, and then by posting fliers with racial invective in the hope of dividing white and black workers and diluting the momentum. Warshowsky demands she copy down the racist flier word for word in order to use it as evidence for government sanctions against her mill. When she attempts to transcribe the flier, management attempts to stop her, then fire her on grounds of creating a disturbance, and call the police to remove her from the plant. While awaiting the sheriff, Norma Rae takes a piece of cardboard, writes the word `` UNION '' on it, stands on her work table, and slowly turns to show the sign around the room. One by one, the other workers stop their mill machines, and eventually, the entire room becomes silent. After all the machines have been switched off, Norma Rae is taken to jail but is freed by Reuben. Upon returning home to her family, Norma decides to talk to her children and tell them the story of her life, their questionable parentage, and recent arrest, so that they are prepared for any smears that may come from those hoping to discredit her efforts. After a tense exchange with Reuben, Sonny asks her if they have been intimate ; she says no, but acknowledges `` he 's in my head. '' Sonny, in turn, tells her there 's no other woman in his head and he will always remain with her. An election to unionize the factory takes place, with Norma and Reuben listening as best as possible from outside the mill as reporters and TV cameras observe the vote count. With a difference shy of 100 votes, the result is a victory for the union. Shortly after, Reuben says goodbye to Norma ; despite his being smitten with her throughout the movie, they only shake hands because he knows she is married and loves her husband, and Reuben heads back to New York. Inspiration The story is based on Crystal Lee Sutton 's life as a textile worker in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, where the battle for the workers ' union took place against a J.P. Stevens Textiles mill. Her actual protest in the mill is the scene in the film where she writes the sign `` UNION '' and stands on her worktable until all machines are silent. Although Sutton was fired from her job, the mill was unionized, and she later went to work as an organizer for the textile union. Cast Sally Field as Norma Rae Webster Beau Bridges as Sonny Webster Ron Leibman as Reuben Warshowsky Pat Hingle as Vernon Barbara Baxley as Leona Gail Strickland as Bonnie Mae Morgan Paull as Wayne Billings John Calvin as Ellis Harper Noble Willingham as Leroy Mason Grace Zabriskie as Linette Odum Robert Broyles as Sam Bolen Production notes Norma Rae was filmed on location in Opelika, Alabama. The mill scenes were shot at the Opelika Manufacturing Corp., and the motel scenes were filmed at The Golden Cherry Motel. Awards and honors The film Norma Rae won Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role ( Sally Field ) and Best Original Song ( David Shire and Norman Gimbel for `` It Goes Like It Goes '' ). It was also nominated for Best Picture and for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. The film was also nominated to the Palme d'Or ( Golden Palm ) at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival and Field was awarded Best Actress, in Cannes, for her performance. In 2011, Norma Rae was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being `` culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant ''. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists : 2003 : AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains : Norma Rae Webster -- # 15 Hero 2004 : AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Songs : `` It Goes Like It Goes '' -- Nominated 2006 : AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Cheers -- # 16 Home media releases Norma Rae was released on VHS in December 1996, on DVD in December 2006, and Blu - ray in April 2014. Musical adaptation In December 2017, it was announced that Norma Rae is being adapted into a stage musical. Rosanne Cash is set to compose the score. References ^ Jump up to : See film 's entry at IMDb.com. Jump up ^ Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox : A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p259 Jump up ^ `` Norma Rae, Box Office Information ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 6, 2013. Jump up ^ Obituary New York Times, September 15, 2009. Jump up ^ Obituary Los Angeles Times, September 20, 2009. Jump up ^ Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance, Henry P. Leifermann, Macmillan ( 1975 ), ISBN 0 - 02 - 570220 - 3, Jump up ^ `` Festival de Cannes : Norma Rae ''. festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009 - 05 - 24. Jump up ^ Eric Leif Davin, `` Crystal Lee, '' In These Times, March 5 -- 18, 1980, pp. 16 - 17. Jump up ^ Rhodes, Guy ( April 23, 2009 ). `` When Norma Rae came to town ''. thetuskegeenews.com. Retrieved June 2, 2013. Jump up ^ `` 2011 National Film Registry More Than a Box of Chocolates ''. Library of Congress. December 28, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains '' ( PDF ). American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016 - 08 - 14. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Songs Nominees '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 2016 - 08 - 14. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Cheers '' ( PDF ). American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016 - 08 - 14. Jump up ^ https://www.broadway.com/buzz/190654/rosanne-cash-is-writing-a-norma-rae-musical/ External links Norma Rae on IMDb Norma Rae at Rotten Tomatoes Norma Rae at the TCM Movie Database Norma Rae at AllMovie Norma Rae at Box Office Mojo North Carolina News Network news story, Inspiration for Norma Rae Dies Films directed by Martin Ritt Edge of the City ( 1957 ) No Down Payment ( 1957 ) The Long, Hot Summer ( 1958 ) The Black Orchid ( 1958 ) The Sound and the Fury ( 1959 ) Five Branded Women ( 1960 ) Paris Blues ( 1961 ) Hemingway 's Adventures of a Young Man ( 1962 ) Hud ( 1963 ) The Outrage ( 1964 ) The Spy Who Came in from the Cold ( 1965 ) Hombre ( 1967 ) The Brotherhood ( 1968 ) The Molly Maguires ( 1970 ) The Great White Hope ( 1970 ) Sounder ( 1972 ) Pete ' n ' Tillie ( 1972 ) Conrack ( 1974 ) The Front ( 1976 ) Casey 's Shadow ( 1978 ) Norma Rae ( 1979 ) Back Roads ( 1981 ) Cross Creek ( 1983 ) Murphy 's Romance ( 1985 ) Nuts ( 1987 ) Stanley & Iris ( 1990 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Norma_Rae&oldid=855001933 '' Categories : 1979 films English - language films 1970s drama films 20th Century Fox films American films American drama films Cotton production Feminist films Films about activists Films about the labor movement Films directed by Martin Ritt Films based on actual events Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award - winning performance Films featuring a Best Drama Actress Golden Globe - winning performance Films set in 1978 Films shot in Alabama Films that won the Best Original Song Academy Award United States National Film Registry films UNITE HERE Media portrayals of the working class Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska Türkçe 中文 13 more Edit links This page was last edited on 15 August 2018, at 07 : 35 ( UTC ). 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Question: where does the movie norma rae take place
Answer: North Carolina