A young single mother and textile worker (Sally Field) agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.
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. How much is true and how much is fiction, I have no idea. My suspicion is that the bulk is fiction, because the film is called "Norma Rae" and not "Crystal Lee".
This film has to be the highlight of Martin Ritt's career. Not only does it have some nice awards (cementing Field's career), but it now sits in the Library of Congress. The only other Ritt film that comes close is "Hud" (1963).
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. How much is true and how much is fiction, I have no idea. My suspicion is that the bulk is fiction, because the film is called "Norma Rae" and not "Crystal Lee".
This film has to be the highlight of Martin Ritt's career. Not only does it have some nice awards (cementing Field's career), but it now sits in the Library of Congress. The only other Ritt film that comes close is "Hud" (1963).