Martin Ritt's NORMA RAE (1979)
Schedule
Wed Oct 02 2024 at 07:00 pm to 09:00 pm
Location
The Carolina Theatre of Durham | Durham, NC
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Tickets are $10.Wednesday, Oct 2
Martin Ritt's NORMA RAE
(PG, 1979, 123 min)
Norma Rae, a scrappy textile worker (Oscar winner Sally Field) takes a huge chance with her personal and working life when she agrees to help unionize her mill. Contemporary reviews noted that it was not a history lesson, but a present day story of the issues confronting American labor. The script was based on a real-life situation in Roanoke Rapids, NC. But, of course, it is a history lesson now, nearly 50 years in the past, where “right to work” states like North Carolina, lured textile manufacturing from the northeast. Now, southern textile mills have been deserted in favor of the lower wages on foreign shores. There are relatively few films that take on union organizing. It was considered a hot topic, on par with being pro-communist. Field’s gritty performance eradicated the memory of her dopey sitcom character resume, and set her on track for a distinguished career, she won the Best Actress Oscar the following year as well. She is well matched by her boyfriend, played by Beau Bridges, and in a highly unusual platonic relationship with her union organizer (Ron Liebman).
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Where is it happening?
The Carolina Theatre of Durham, 309 W Morgan St, Durham, NC 27701-2119, United States,Durham, North CarolinaEvent Location & Nearby Stays: