Norma Rae

1979

Action / Drama

16
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 79% · 32 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 79% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.3/10 10 13844 13.8K

based on a true story factory based on novel or book alabama based on true story single mother

Plot summary

Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory.

Director

Martin Ritt Photo
Martin Ritt

Top cast

Noble Willingham Photo
Noble Willingham as Leroy Mason
Gail Strickland Photo
Gail Strickland as Bonnie Mae
James Luisi Photo
James Luisi as George Benson
Gregory Walcott Photo
Gregory Walcott as Lamar Miller
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
813.57 MB
1280*534
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 54 min
Seeds 4
1.72 GB
1920*800
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 54 min
Seeds 11

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by mickman91-1 6 / 10

A simple story about courage and standing up for the working people. Not too wordy but not overblown either. Carried beautifully by the endearing Sally Field

Great to watch a young and beautiful Sally Field. She carries this entire movie without really exerting herself. This demonstrates enormous talent and charisma. It is very engaging film with some really touching moments. Its subject matter sounds quite dry but it is not an overly wordy or heavy film, it strikes a nice tone. Nothing is overblown it is just a simply story about a brave lady and people who stood up for themselves and others against harsh working conditions and corporate greed. But without being political or finger-pointing, it is a positive and ultimately uplifting film.
Reviewed by MartinHafer 8 / 10

Well worth your time....

This is the first film that earned Sally Field an Oscar--in the title role. "Norma Rae" is a slightly fictionalized retelling of a real-life series of events (among other things, the names have been changed). It's set in a textile town in North Carolina. When a union organizer comes to town, the workers are very leery about talking with him or joining the union. However, eventually Norma Rae and a few others join. However, they face intimidation, job loss and perhaps worse if they join--even though this is a violation of the law. It seems in this town, what the mill owners want, the mill owners get. Can Norma Rae survive and win against a huge machine bent on crushing the union? This is a very compelling story--especially since these places were terrible places to work--with low wages, brown lung (a fatal disease caused by inhaling cotton fibers) and bosses who have a 'take it or leave it' attitude about the employees. Ironically, in real life, after the mill workers eventually unionized, slowly the mills began to close and jobs were sent abroad. Today you'd barely know that North Carolina was once a huge textile producing state.Overall, a very good film with a nice performance by Field and was her breakout movie role. I liked how the leading character was, at the beginning, a complete screw-up in life. But, as the film progressed, she grew up and became so much more. The plot was compelling, interesting and, at times, exciting. Not a great film but a very, very good one--and well worth your time.It's funny, but my wife seemed to have no interest in watching this film. Because her family comes from North Carolina and practically all of them worked in the mills decades ago she'd be interested...but she wasn't. Perhaps it's too depressing for her to think of her parents and grandparents working such a low paying and thankless job. Regardless, when she saw I was watching "Norma Rae", she left to find something else to do! By the way, this movie repeats an often repeated line as the Sheriff tells Norma Rae (after she's arrested) "You got one phone call...". You CAN and do have more than one phone call--it's just a movie/TV myth that it's only one.
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