Norma Rae (1979)
- Starring:
- Sally Field, Beau Bridges, (more)
- Director(s):
- Martin Ritt
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG
Member Rating
My RatingTheatrical Release Information | See Details About All Versions
Norma Rae finds Sally Field cast in the title role, a minimum-wage worker in a cotton mill. The factory has taken too much of a toll on the health of Norma Rae's family for her to ignore her Dickensian working conditions. After hearing a speech by New York union organizer Reuben (Ron Leibman), Norma Rae decides to join the effort to unionize her shop. This causes dissension at home when Norma Rae's husband, Sonny (Beau Bridges), assumes that her activism is a result of a romance between herself and Reuben. Despite the pressure brought to bear by management, Norma Rae successfully orchestrates a shutdown of the mill, resulting in victory for the union and capitulation to its demands. Based on a true story, Norma Rae is the film for which Sally Field won her first Oscar; an additional Oscar went to David Shire and Norman Gimbel for the film's theme song, "It Goes Like It Goes." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 118 mins
Complete Cast:
- Sally Field - Norma Rae
- Ron Leibman - Reuben
- Gail Strickland - Bonnie Mae
- Lonny Chapman - Gardner
- Noble Willingham - Leroy Mason
- Grace Zabriskie - Linette Odum
- Bob Minor - Lucius White
- Bert Freed - Sam Dakin
- Booth Colman - Dr. Watson
- Henry Slate - Policeman
- Mary Munday - Mrs. Johnson
- Frank McRae - James Brown
- Fred Covington - Alston
- Gregory Walcott - Lamar Miller
- Charlie Briggs - Warren Lotting
- Gilbert Green - Al London
- Lee de Broux - Lujan
- Beau Bridges - Sonny
- Pat Hingle - Vernon
- Barbara Baxley - Leona
- Morgan Paull - Wayne Billings
- Jack Stryker - J.J. Davis
- Clayton Landey - Teddy Bob Keeler
- Edith Ivey - Louise Pickens
- Robert Broyles - Sam Bolen
- James Luisi - George Benson
- Joe Dorsey - Woodrow Thompson
- Roy Tatum - Woodrow Bowser
- Bob Hannah - Jed Buffum
- J. Don Ferguson - Peter Galiot
- George R. Robertson - Farmer
- Vernon Weddle - Rev. Hubbard
- John Calvin - Ellis Harper
- Director(s):
- Martin Ritt
- Writer(s):
- Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank, Jr.
- Producer(s):
- Tamara Asseyev, Alex Rose
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG(Adult Language, Mild Violence, Questionable for Children, Violence, Adult Situations)
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1979 - Norma Rae - Cannes Film Festival - Grand Technical Prize
- 1979 - Norma Rae - Cannes Film Festival - Grand Technical Prize
- 1979 - Norma Rae - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
- 1979 - Norma Rae - Los Angeles Film Critics Association - Best Actress
- 1979 - Norma Rae - National Board of Review - Best Actress
- 1979 - Norma Rae - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress
