Editing Norma Rae

{{short description|1979 film by Martin Ritt}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Norma Rae
| image          = Norma_rae_ver2.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Martin Ritt]]
| producer       = Tamara Asseyev<br /> Alexandra Rose
| screenplay     = [[Irving Ravetch]]<br /> [[Harriet Frank Jr.]]
| starring       = [[Sally Field]]<br />[[Ron Leibman]]<br />[[Beau Bridges]]<br />[[Pat Hingle]]<br />[[Barbara Baxley]]
| music          = [[David Shire]]
| cinematography = [[John A. Alonzo]]
| editing        = Sidney Levin
| distributor    = [[20th Century-Fox]]
| released       = {{film date|1979|03|02|ref1=<ref>{{cite web |url=http://catalog.afi.com/Film/56122-NORMA-RAE |title=Norma Rae - Details |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=May 18, 2019}}</ref>}}
| runtime        = 110 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $4.5 million<ref>Aubrey Solomon, ''Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History'', Scarecrow Press, 1989, p. 259</ref>
| gross          = $22 million<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=normarae.htm |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|title=Norma Rae, Box Office Information |access-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref>
}}

'''''Norma Rae''''' is a 1979 American [[Drama (film and television)|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]]<ref>Obituary, ''[[The New York Times]]'', September 15, 2009.</ref><ref>Obituary, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', September 20, 2009.</ref> &ndash; which was told in the 1975 book ''Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance'' by reporter Henry P. Leifermann of ''[[The New York Times]]''<ref>''Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance'', Henry P. Leifermann, Macmillan (1975), {{ISBN|0-02-570220-3}}</ref> &ndash;  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.<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1896/year/1979.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Norma Rae |access-date=2009-05-24 |publisher=festival-cannes.com}}</ref>

''Norma Rae'' premiered at the [[1979 Cannes Film Festival]] where it competed for the [[Palme d'Or]], while Field won the [[Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)|Best Actress Prize]]. It was theatrically released by [[20th Century-Fox]] on March 2, 1979, to critical and commercial success. Reviewers praised the film's direction, its screenplay, its message, and especially Field's performance, while the film grossed $22 million on a production budget of $4.5 million. The film received four nominations at the [[52nd Academy Awards]] including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] and won two: [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] (for Field) and [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]] for its theme song "[[It Goes Like It Goes]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1980 |title=The 52nd Academy Awards |website=oscars.org |access-date=May 18, 2019}}</ref> The film is considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant by the [[U.S. Library of Congress]] and was selected to be preserved in the [[National Film Registry]] in 2011.

== 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.

Two men enter her life, and that changes her perspective. A former co-worker, Sonny Webster, asks her out after 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 with whom to keep company, she accepts his offer. After a few charged encounters with Reuben Warshowsky, a [[union organizer]] from New York City, Norma Rae listens to him deliver a speech that spurs her to join the effort to unionize her shop. This causes conflict when Sonny observes she's not spending enough time at home and is frequently exhausted when she is present. When her father drops dead at the mill of a heart attack—a death that could have been averted had he been allowed to leave his post early instead of waiting for his allotted break—she is more determined to continue the fight.

Management retaliates against the unionization 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 Norma copy down the racist flier word for word to use it as evidence for government sanctions against her mill. When she attempts to transcribe the flier, management tries to stop her, then fires her on the grounds of creating a disturbance and calls the police to remove her from the mill. 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.  The other workers stop their mill machines one by one, and eventually, the 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 her recent arrest so 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 [[Labor union|unionize]] the factory occurs. Norma and Reuben listen as best as possible from outside the mill as reporters and TV cameras observe the vote count. With a difference of just 100 votes, the union wins. Shortly after, Reuben says goodbye to Norma; despite being smitten with her, they shake hands because he knows she is married and loves her husband, and Reuben heads back to New York.

==Cast==
{{castlist|
* [[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
* [[Robert Broyles]] as Sam Bolen
* [[John Calvin (actor)|Jack Calvin]] as Ellis Harper
* [[Booth Colman]] as Dr. Watson
* [[Lee de Broux]] as Lujan
* [[James Luisi]] as George Benson
* [[Vernon Weddle]] as Rev. Hubbard
* [[Bob Minor (actor)|Bob Minor]] as Lucius White
* [[Gregory Walcott]] as Sheriff Lamar Miller
* [[Noble Willingham]] as Leroy Mason
* [[Lonny Chapman]] as Gardner
* [[Bert Freed]] as Sam Dakin
* [[Frank McRae]] as James Brown
* [[Grace Zabriskie]] as Linette Odum
* [[J. Don Ferguson]] as Peter Gallat
* [[Sandra Dorsey]] as Jail Matron
* [[George R. Robertson]] as Farmer 
}}

== Production ==
''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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thetuskegeenews.com/articles/2009/04/23/opinion/doc49ef76ed90cef476568380.txt |title=When Norma Rae came to town |last=Rhodes |first=Guy |date=April 23, 2009 |publisher=thetuskegeenews.com |access-date=June 2, 2013}}</ref>

=== Inspiration ===
The movie's plot is based on events from the life of textile worker and union organiser [[Crystal Lee Sutton]], who fought the [[WestPoint Home|J.P. Stevens Textiles]] mill in her hometown Roanoke Rapids, [[North Carolina]]. The scene where Norma Rae writes "UNION" on a sheet of cardboard and stands on a table until her co-workers shut off their machines is closely based on a protest by Lee Sutton in 1978.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/06/11/through-the-mill-with-crystal-lee-and-norma-rae/c0b62170-e8c1-4550-95a5-c7ebe31f7c3c/|title=Through the mill with Crystal Lee and Norma Rae|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Although Lee Sutton was fired from her job, the mill was unionized and she went to work as an organizer for the textile union.<ref>Eric Leif Davin, "Crystal Lee", ''In These Times'', March 5–18, 1980, pp. 16–17.</ref> In 2003 the Stevens textile mill closed,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goupstate.com/article/NC/20030427/news/605155566/SJ|title=WestPoint Stevens closing Norma Rae textile facility}}</ref> along with hundreds of other similar factories across the Carolinas, as US textile manufacturing moved offshore to countries like China and Mexico.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://account.thestate.com/paywall/subscriber-only?resume=56620593&intcid=ab_archive/|title=The rise and fall of textiles in South Carolina}}</ref>

==Reception==
[[File:Sally Field (1990) crop.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sally Field]]'s performance received critical acclaim, earning her the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]].]]
''Norma Rae'' received positive reviews. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] it has an approval rating of 91% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Spearheaded by a galvanizing Sally Field, ''Norma Rae'' is a heartening and politically powerful drama about an ordinary woman taking an extraordinary stand."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/norma_rae |title=Norma Rae |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=April 28, 2023}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on reviews from 47 critics.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/norma-rae |title=Norma Rae |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=December 8, 2017 }}</ref>

[[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised Field's performance, declaring that "we are witnessing one of those unusual motion picture performances that seems to be in the process of taking off as we watch it ... Her triumph in ''Norma Rae'' is to have shucked off at long last all need to associate her with her TV beginnings, not because they are vulgar but because the performance she gives here is as big as the screen that presents it".<ref>{{cite web |date=11 March 1979 |last=Canby |first=Vincent |author-link=Vincent Canby |title=FILM VIEW (Published 1979) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/11/archives/film-view-sally-fields-norma-rae-is-a-triumph.html |website=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref><ref>Canby, Vincent (March 11, 1979). "Sally Field's 'Norma Rae' Is A Triumph". ''[[The New York Times]]''. D19, D24.</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote, "'Norma Rae' is a superb film. Paced by Sally Field's best performance to date in a rapidly accelerating career, and under Martin Ritt's firm but sensitive direction, the 20th Century-Fox release is that rare entity, an intelligent film with heart."<ref>{{cite web |date=1 January 1979 |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=Norma Rae |url=http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117793579 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] }}</ref><ref>"Film Reviews: Norma Rae". ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. February 28, 1979. 20.</ref>

[[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' gave the film two and a half out of four, and praised Field for a "thoroughly winning performance", but thought that Leibman gave a "lousy, overbearing performance that, for me, wrecked the movie".<ref>Siskel, Gene (March 2, 1979). "'Norma Rae': A lot of heart, a lot of Field". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 4, p. 12.</ref> [[Charles Champlin]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called the film "a wonderful and—for want of a better word—judicious work".<ref>Champlin, Charles (February 25, 1979). "'Norma Rae': Two Threads Woven Through the Mill". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Calendar, p. 37.</ref>

[[Penelope Gilliatt]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' wrote "This picture is historically fascinating in what it tells us of the labor movement, and it does honor to a particular sort of involved character who will not be intimidated. Well done."<ref>Gilliatt, Penelope (March 19, 1979). "The Current Cinema". ''[[The New York Times]]''. 128.</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' stated that "Sally Field embodies the title character with considerable sincerity", but that the film "comes so unraveled that in retrospect the images of loose strands of fiber in the air seem more significant than the character of the heroine or the bleak factory environment. The screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. ... turns out to be a pile of loose thematic and emotional strands".<ref>Arnold, Gary (March 7, 1979). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/03/07/norma-raenorma-rae-haymaker-for-the-heartstrings/607a9f68-1916-4d50-8f10-6ab3cc1bb529/ "'Norma Rae': Haymaker for The Heartstrings".] ''[[The Washington Post]]''. B1, B5.</ref>

Tom Milne of ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote "Heart-warming is probably the word for ''Norma Rae,'' a film which leaves no cliché unturned in its cosy efforts to demonstrate how a woman no better than she ought to be becomes better than most of us."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Milne |first=Tom |date=August 1979 |title=Norma Rae |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=46 |issue=547 |page=181 }}</ref>

===Retrospective lists===

''The New York Times'' placed the film on its ''Best 1000 Movies Ever'' list.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080612032429/https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.] ''[[The New York Times]]'' via [[Internet Archive]]. Published April 29, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2008.</ref>

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[52nd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| Tamara Asseyev and Alex Rose
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1980 |title=The 52nd Academy Awards (1980) Nominees and Winners |access-date=October 7, 2011 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110134116/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1980 |archive-date=November 10, 2014}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| [[Sally Field]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]
| [[Irving Ravetch]] and [[Harriet Frank Jr.]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]]
| "[[It Goes Like It Goes]]" <br> Music by [[David Shire]]; <br> Lyrics by [[Norman Gimbel]]
| {{won}}
|-
| American Movie Awards
| Best Actress
| Sally Field
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[1979 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival]]
| [[Palme d'Or]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Martin Ritt]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/norma-rae/ |title=Norma Rae |publisher=[[Cannes Film Festival]] |access-date=May 6, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Vulcan Award|Technical Grand Prize]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Prix d'interprétation féminine|Best Actress]]
| Sally Field
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[37th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/norma-rae |title=Norma Rae |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=May 6, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama|Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Sally Field
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Motion Picture]]
| Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr.
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Kansas City Film Critics Circle|Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| Best Actress
| rowspan="3"| Sally Field
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://kcfcc.org/kcfcc-award-winners-1970-79/ |title=KCFCC Award Winners – 1970-79 |date=14 December 2013 |publisher=[[Kansas City Film Critics Circle]] |access-date=May 6, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[1979 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards]]
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lafca.net/Years/1979.php |title=The 5th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards |publisher=[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]] |access-date=May 6, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1979|National Board of Review Awards]]
| [[National Board of Review Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1979/ |title=1979 Award Winners |publisher=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=May 6, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Film Preservation Board]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Film Registry]]
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=May 6, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[1979 National Society of Film Critics Awards|National Society of Film Critics Awards]]
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| rowspan="2"| Sally Field
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/about-2/ |title=Past Awards |date=19 December 2009 |publisher=[[National Society of Film Critics]] |access-date=May 6, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[1979 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?awardyear=1979 |title=1979 New York Film Critics Circle Awards |publisher=[[New York Film Critics Circle]] |access-date=May 6, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[32nd Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Drama – Adapted from Another Medium]]
| Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr.
| {{nom}}
| align="center""| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |date= |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America Awards]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2010}}</ref>
|}

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".<ref name="LOC">{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2011/11-240.html|title=2011 National Film Registry More Than a Box of Chocolates|work=Library of Congress|date=December 28, 2011|access-date=December 29, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|website=Library of Congress|access-date=2020-05-06}}</ref>

The film is recognized by [[American Film Institute]] in these lists:
* 2003: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains]]:
** Norma Rae Webster – #15 Hero<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/handv100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=2016-08-14}}</ref>
* 2006: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers]] – #16<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/cheers100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=2016-08-14}}</ref>

==Home media==
''Norma Rae'' was released on VHS in 1980 (Magnetic Video Corporation, CL-1082), on DVD in December 2006, and Blu-ray in April 2014.

==Musical adaptation==
In December 2017, it was announced that ''Norma Rae'' was to be adapted into a stage musical. [[Rosanne Cash]] was set to compose the score.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rosanne Cash Is Writing a Norma Rae Musical |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/190654/rosanne-cash-is-writing-a-norma-rae-musical/ |website=Broadway.com}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/norma_rae.pdf ''Norma Rae'' essay] by Gabriel Miller on the [[National Film Registry]] website 
* {{IMDb title|0079638|Norma Rae}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/norma-rae-am30271 ''Norma Rae'' at AllMovie]
* {{TCMDb title|85210|Norma Rae}}
* {{AFI film|56122}}
* {{mojo title|normarae|Norma Rae}}
* [http://www.ncnn.com/ ''North Carolina News Network''] news story, [http://www.ncnn.com/content/view/4931/26/ Inspiration for ''Norma Rae'' Dies]

{{Martin Ritt}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1979 films]]
[[Category:1979 drama films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s feminist films]]
[[Category:1970s political drama films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:American political drama films]]
[[Category:Cotton industry in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about activists]]
[[Category:Films about the labor movement]]
[[Category:Films about the working class]]
[[Category:Films directed by Martin Ritt]]
[[Category:Films scored by David Shire]]
[[Category:American feminist films]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Drama Actress Golden Globe–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films set in 1978]]
[[Category:Films set in factories]]
[[Category:Films set in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Films shot in Alabama]]
[[Category:Films that won the Best Original Song Academy Award]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:UNITE HERE]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]