Spirit of America Bookstore
Labor Movement Film Festival
( Page One )
![Sally Field on the factory floor, from "Norma Rae" [1978]](images/NormaRaecrew-withSallyField.jpg "Sally Field on the factory floor, from \"Norma Rae\" [1978]") |
here on page one:
selected labor movement on page two:
|
"Labor is the source of all wealth." — G.E. Nordell
"If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich
would have kept it all to themselves."
— Lane Joseph Kirkland [president AFL-CIO, 1980-95]
"Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor and could never
have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves
much the higher consideration." — Abraham Lincoln [1809-65]
"The Revolution is never over; the Class War is perpetual. Which side are you on?" — G.E. Nordell
[Works Progress Administration] sent photographers and film-makers into the hinterlands to document the deprivation caused by The Great Depression. Labor strife continued thru
the anti-communist fever of the 1940s and 1950s, including the Hollywood Blacklist and the demagoguery of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Several veterans of the Blacklist, just out of
prison, made "Salt of The Earth" [1954], about a successful zinc miners strike in New Mexico; that film is the only motion picture that was officially blacklisted in the United States.
In recent times, pro-labor documentary films are made available on DVD disks as well as online, such as at YouTube.
Books on American Labor Movements at Spirit of America Bookstore
Working Minds / Solutions / Labor, Capitalism & the Working Mind
Books About Pro-Labor Films
 | "Working Stiffs, Union Maids, Reds, and Riffraff: An Expanded Guide To Films About Labor" [2003] by Tom Zaniello ILR Press 9¼x6 pb [6/2003] for $24.95 Cornell Univ Press 9½x6½ hardcover [6/2003] for $72.50 |
 | "Women Labor Activists In The Movies: Nine Depictions of Workplace Organizers, 1954-2005" [2010] by Jennifer L. Borda "Salt of The Earth" [1954], "Pajama Game" [1957 musical], "Union Maids" [1976], "With Babies and Banners" [1979], "Norma Rae" [1979], "Silkwood" [1983], and "Live Nude Girls Unite!" [2000] McFarland & Co. 9x6 pb [11/2010] for $55.00 |
L i n k s
search DVDs on keywords 'labor movement' at Amazon
search IMDB on keywords 'labor union'
"A Brief History of Unions" [1.5 minute short] from PA-AFLCIO on YouTube
Amazon's Union-Busting Training Video [2018]
'training' video sent in 2018 to managers after the takeover of Whole Foods; leaked in mid-2019
watch full video [6/2019 upload; 29:02] online at YouTube
![Global Labor Film Festival [May Day 2013 = #1] in seven countries](images/GlobalLaborFF2013.jpg) | The Labor Film Database - over 1,600 films - based in Washington, DC Global Labor Film Festival [May Day 2013 = #1] in seven countries |
Selected Labor Movement Films
{ in alphabetical order }
films A thru F {just below} • films G thru L • on page 2: films M thru R • films S thru Z
search DVDs on keywords 'labor movement' at Amazon
search IMDB on keywords 'labor union'
![Classic Labor Union Films DVD box set - still from "Salt of The Earth" [1954]](covers/ClassicLaborUnionDVDset.jpg) | "Classic Labor Union Films" DVD Box Set [2008]
Quality Information Publrs DVD [undated] 3 disks - available from producer as third party "1940s to 1950s American Labor Union Relations, Workers Rights & AFL-CIO History" feature & short films: the blacklisted feature film "Salt of The Earth" [1954]; "Deadline For Action" 37-minute featurette [1946] made by 'left-wing labor unions' that criticizes post WWII big business and their growing power & influence over government; "The Great Swindle" 25-minute pro-union short [1948]; "Make Mine Freedom" [1948] 9½-minute anti-'ISM' animated short about how communism 'threatens the American way of life'; "Seed For Tomorrow" 20-minute short [1947]; "Working Together: A Case History In Labor-Management Cooperation" 22-minute short [1951]; and two newsreel excerpts |
 | Released in USA with X Rating; when Swedish lumbermill strikers beat up several strike breakers, the Swedish military shows up and opens fire on demonstrators: five people are killed (including a young girl bystander) and five are wounded. Written & directed by Bo Widerberg; starring Peter Schildt, Kerstin Tidelius, Roland Hedlund, Marie De Geer, Anita Björk, Olof Bergström & Jonas Bergström; won Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, nominated for Best Foreign Film Oscar, won 2 Guldbagge Awards of Sweden
video/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"American Dream" [festival circuit 1990, Miramax March 1992]
  | Documentary film chronicling the six-month 1985 strike at Hormel Foods in Austin, Minnesota. The P-9 local of the Food and Commercial Workers Union rejected a $2-per-hour pay cut and went out on strike. Besides the worker-union conflict, the national union and the P-9 local disagreed on strategy & tactics, and bitter intra- and inter-family conflict didn't help any. The film leaves the viewer with the question of whether the failed strike helped or hindered the labor movement.
Directed by Barbara Kopple, with Cathy Caplan, Thomas Haneke & Lawrence Silk; won Oscar for Best Documentary Feature; won D.G.A. Award, I.D.A. Award, 3 awards at Sundance Film Festival
Miramax Home Ent. widescreen color DVD [1/2012] for $19.98 HBO Home Video color VHS [12/93] out of prodn/used credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"An Injury To One" documentary film [First Run Features July 2003]
 | In 1917, I.W.W. organizer Frank Little was lynched in Butte, Montana; the I.W.W. union called for a strike at Anaconda and other Butte mines on 19 March 1920; on the 21st, deputized mine guards opened fire on picketers, killing Tom Manning {'unsolved'} and injuring 16 others; the strike collapsed three weeks later. Directed by Travis Wilkerson •
bare credits at IMDb
Icarus Films widescreen color/b&w DVD [10/2011] for $22.49 |
"... And The Earth Did Not Swallow Him"
[American Playhouse/KPBS-TV May 1995]
 | Marcos is the second son of a Texas Hispanic migrant farmworker family, following the seasonal harvest cycle to Minnesota, where he gets separated from his parents. Co-produced, written & directed by Severo Pérez, based on the 1971 novel by Tomás Rivera; starring Jose Alcala, narrated by Miguel Rodríguez
Kino Intl. widescreen color DVD [11/2008] for $22.49 Kino Intl. color VHS [1/99] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
 | "...y no se lo tragó la tierra" [YA novel 1971] by Tomás Rivera English titles "And The Earth Did Not Devour Him" or "This Migrant Earth" author Tomás Rivera [1935-84] entry at Wikipedia Arte Publico Press Spanish-language 8½x5½ pb [1996] for $7.95 Translation by Evangelina Vigil-Piñón Arte Publico Press bilingual edition 8½x5½ pb [5/95] for $9.99 Arte Publico Press bilingual edition 8¾x5½ library hardcover [8/87] for $19.64 |
"Beggars In Ermine" [Monogram Pictures Feb 1934]
 | While not about labor unions per se, the major plot hook is about organizing the homeless, so inclusion here is apt (enough). An assassination attempt leaves a factory owner legless and destitute; after meeting a blind beggar, the executive begins to organize the many Depression-era homeless people across America in an attempt to regain his steel mill. Directed by Phil Rosen; screenplay by Tristram Tupper, based on the novel by Esther Lynd Day; starring Lionel Atwill, Henry B. Walthall, Betty Furness, Jameson Thomas, James Bush, Astrid Allwyn, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Stephen Gross & Sam Godfrey
Alpha Video b&w DVD [11/2005] for $7.98 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia neither author Esther Lynd Day nor her novel are listed on Amazon (2016) |
watch "Beggars In Ermine" [1:10:21] free online at Internet Archive
"Behind The Screen" [Mutual short Nov 1916]
 | Overworked movie studio employee Charlie helps a girl to get work as an actress while his co-workers are striking against the tyrannical boss. 15-minute b&w silent short co-produced, co-written, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin; also starring Edna Purviance & Eric Campbell
full credits at IMDb available on several video collections on Magic Lantern's Charlie Chaplin Page |
"Black Legion" [Warner Bros. Jan 1937]
Directed by Archie Mayo; starring Humphrey Bogart & Ann Sheridan; Oscar nom for Best Original Story
full credits from IMDb
"Boys From The Blackstuff"
"The Black Stuff" teleplay [filmed 1978, aired on BBC1 1980]
Six 'tarmac layer' workers from Liverpool take a job in Yorkshire, get mixed up with gypsies, and end up jobless and penniless.
Directed by Jim Goddard; written by Alan Bleasdale; starring Michael Angelis, Tom Georgeson, Alan Igbon, Gary Bleasdale,
Peter Kerrigan, Bernard Hill & Jean Warren • Region 1 DVD/Blu-ray not available •
full credits at IMDb
"The Muscle Market" teleplay [aired on BBC1 Jan 1981]
The contractor who fired the boys above employs workers cheaply by use of a payroll tax fraud.
Directed by Jim Goddard; written by Alan Bleasdale; starring Peter Postlethwaite & Alison Steadman
DVD/Blu-ray not available •
full credits at IMDb
 | "Boys From The Blackstuff" TV mini-series [BBC2 Oct-Nov 1982] 5-episode British TV mini-series based on the 1980 story; Episode 1 "Jobs For The Boys": The original boys work for cash while claiming unemployment benefits; Episode 2 "Moonlighter": Dixie gets a job as a security guard and is forced into accepting bribes to look the other way; Episode 3 "Shop Thy Neighbour": Chrissie's domestic situation worsens and he shoots his pet geese for food; Episode 4 "Yosser's Story": Yosser's mental health is worsening and officials threaten to take away his children; and Episode 5 "George's Last Ride": George is near dying and he asks Chrissie to push his wheel-chair around the abandoned docks & factories of Liverpool. Directed by Philip Saville; written by Alan Bleasdale; starring Michael Angelis, Bernard Hill, Alan Igbon, Peter Kerrigan, Tom Georgeson, Gary Bleasdale, Timothy Bleasdale & Shay Gorman; won BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series, 2 others, won RTS Television Award for Best Writer Region 1 DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb • series entry at Wikipedia |
"Blue Collar" [Universal Pictures Feb 1978]
 | Filmed in Detroit & Kalamazoo, Michigan; three pals who work at an auto factory decide to rob the safe of their union local; they think the heist was a bust because they only got $600, but then they discover that they have some documents that the union will pay big ransom money for, and then the union claims that the burglars stole $10,000.
Co-written & directed by Paul Schrader; co-written by Leonard Schrader; original music by Jack Nitzsche; starring Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto, Ed Begley Jr., Harry Bellaver, Lucy Saroyan & Chip Fields
Universal Studios Vault Series color DVD [1/2010] for $19.98 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Bread and Roses" [Europe Sept 2000, LionsGate USA May 2001]
 | An illegal immigrant from Mexico joins her sister at a job with a non-union janitorial service; the conditions are lousy, and the girl agrees to help the union organizer (who find each other attractive). But the sister and others are not so willing to jeopardize their livelihoods, and management knows many tactics that will divide and conquer ... Directed by Ken Loach; written by Paul Laverty; starring Pilar Padilla, Adrien Brody, Elpidia Carrillo, George Lopez & Pepe Serna; won Imagen Award, FIPRESCI Prize at Rio de Janeiro, Phoenix Prize at Santa Barbara, Jury Award at Temecula Valley
LionsGate color DVD [11/2001] for $11.76 LionsGate color VHS [11/2001] for $2.00 {sic} full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Cesar Chavez" [Pantelion/Participant Media March 2014]
 | Announced 3/2010: Larry Meli and screenwriter Keir Pearson are producing a biopic about César E. Chávez, the 60s-70s’ Mexican-American social activist, which will focus on Chávez’s leadership of the largest non-violent protest in U.S. history; tagline: "History is made one step at a time" Directed by Diego Luna; written by Keir Pearson & Timothy J. Sexton; starring Michael Peña {as César Chávez}, America Ferrera {as Helen Chavez}, Rosario Dawson {as Dolores Huerta}, John Malkovich, Gabriel Mann, Jacob Vargas, Lisa Brenner, Yancey Arias, Jack Holmes {as Sen. Robert F. Kennedy}, Natalia Weaver, Jaset Barradas & Dennis Ford, with archive footage of César Chávez, Richard Nixon & Ronald Reagan
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available full credits at IMDb • official movie site • watch official trailer [2:20] at YouTube |
"Chicano! The History of The Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement"
[P.B.S. / Galán Prodns documentary April 1996]
 | Produced by Hector Galán; narrated by Henry Cisneros; won Nosotros Golden Eagle Award • video/DVD not available full credits from IMDb • producer website companion book [1996] by Francisco Arturo Rosales Arte Publico Press 11x8½ pb [9/97] for $16.47 Arte Publico Press 11½x9¼ hardcover [3/96] out of print/used |
"Children Who Labor" [Edison/General Feb 1912]
13-minute short directed by Ashley Miller; written by Ethel Browning; starring Herbert Yost, Mary Fuller,
Edna May Weick; film is preserved at MoMA-NY •
full credits at IMDb
available on the "More Treasures From American Film Archives" DVD box set [2004]
watch movie [13:10] online at Internet Archive
"China Blue"
[Teddy Bear Films Jan 2007]
 | "Shopping will never be the same." A documentary filmed inside a factory in Guangdong, China that produces luxury bluejeans for the American & European markets. The peasant girls work long hours for insulting pay (six cents an hour!), suffer non-voluntary & unpaid overtime, have no benefits, and live in squalor. Produced & directed by Micha X. Peled; featuring worker 'Jasmine' & factory owner Guo Xi Lam
Region 1 video/DVD not available • full credits from IMDb • official movie site |
"Colossus" [in development] 
Announced 7/2012: Pooka Entertainment‘s Kevin Cleary is shopping the film rights to Michael Hiltzik's novel
to producers; the story follows the historic construction of the Hoover Dam by construction superintendent
Frank Crowe, who drove his workers beyond endurance and battled union strikes • not listed at IMDb (2016)
 | "Colossus: Hoover Dam and The Making of The American Century" [2010 novel] by Michael Hiltzik Kindle Edition from Free Press [6/2010] for $13.99 Free Press 8½x5½ pb [5/2011] for $16.24 Free Press 9½x6½ deckle-edge hardcover [6/2010] for $18.17 |
"Comrades" [indep Aug 1987, USA Jan 1989]
 | In 1832 England, six Dorset farmworkers formed the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers, intended as a trade union to protest reduced wages (7 shillings per week or less in Dorset versus ten shillings per week in London). A local land baron complained to the Prime Minister, and the men were convicted on an obscure 1797 law against swearing an oath to each other. Their 1834 sentence was transportation to Australia as convicts for seven years. A public outcry about the treatment of the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' brought about their release by the new Home Secretary in 1836. They returned to England as heroes; five eventually emigrated to the London, Ontario area in Canada; the sixth died in the Dorchester Workhouse in 1891. 3-hour color documentary film written & directed by Bill Douglas [1934-91]; starring Jeremy Flynn, Keith Allen, Robin Soans, William Gaminara, Stephen Bateman, Philip Davis, Katy Behean, James Fox, John Hargreaves, Michael Hordern, Alex Norton, Vanessa Redgrave & Imelda Staunton; won Sutherland Trophy Award from British Film Institute; the DVD includes bonus "Closed Circuit" short film [1989] starring Keith Allen
British Film Institute widescreen color Blu-ray [7/2009] for $36.99 Film4 Library widescreen color DVD-R [4/2011] for $10.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"The Cry of The Children" silent 2-reeler [Thanhouser April 1912]
29-minute indicment of the evils of child labor; directed by George Nichols; inspired by a poem by
Elizabeth Barrett Browning; starring Marie Eline, Ethel Wright, James Cruze • credits at IMDb
"The Cry of The Children: Documentary" [2003]
Produced by & featuring Ned Thanhouser
not listed on IMDb (2016) • watch for free [11:16] at Vimeo
"Deadline For Action" [U.E.R.M.W.A. 1946]
37-minute featurette made by 'left-wing labor unions' {United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America,
actually} that criticizes post WWII big business and their growing power & influence over government; directed by
Carl Marzani •
bare credits at IMDb •
available on the "Classic Labor Union Films" DVD Box Set [2008] at top
watch free online at Internet Archive: Part 1 [21:10] • Part 2 [15:33]
"The Devil and Miss Jones"
[R.K.O. Radio Pictures April 1941]
 | When a department store owner learns that his employees are organizing a union, he secretly takes a job as a shoe clerk to find out who to fire and is befriended by the two ringleaders. Produced by Frank Ross {husband of Jean Arthur}; directed by Sam Wood; co-produced & written by Norman Krasna; starring Jean Arthur, Robert Cummings, Charles Coburn, Edmund Gwenn, Spring Byington, S.Z. Sakall, William Demarest & Minta Durfee;
Oscar nominations for Best Original script & Best Actor {Coburn}
DVD/Blu-ray not available R.K.O. Radio Pictures b&w VHS [1998] out of prodn/used R.K.O. Radio Pictures b&w VHS [6/88] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Dolores" documentary feature [P.B.S. Sept 2017]
 | Exec producer Carlos Santana; co-producer, co-writer & director Peter Bratt; co-writer & editor Jessica Congdon; featuring Dolores Huerta P.B.S. Distribn widescreen color Blu-ray [5/2018] for $17.99 P.B.S. Distribn widescreen color DVD [3/2018] for $14.05 credits at IMDb • official movie site watch 7/2017 official trailer [2:16] at YouTube |
"Face To Face"
[Australia Sept 2011, MouseTrap Films USA 2012?]
 | Based on David Williamson's stageplay, which was in turn based on transcripts from real-life conflict resolution sessions. When a construction worker assaults his boss in a fit of rage at being sacked, rather than going to court, he is given the chance to explain his actions in a face-to-face confrontation with his co-workers, which exposes sex, lies, and bullying in the workplace. • Adapted & directed by Michael Rymer; starring Vince Colisimo, Luke Ford, Matthew Newton, Sigrid Thornton & Lauren Clair; won three awards at Newport Beach Film Festival DVD/Blu-ray not available full credits at IMDb • official movie site |
"The Fight In The Fields: Cesar Chavez & The Farmworkers' Struggle"
[I.T.V.S./P.B.S. documentary April 1997]
 | Co-produced, co-written & co-directed by Rick Tejada-Flores & Ray Telles; interviewees include Jerry Brown, Helen Chavez, Paul Chavez, Richard Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Ethel Kennedy, Roger Cardinal Mahony, Arturo Rodríguez, Linda Chávez Rodríguez & Luis Valdez, with archive footage of Cesar E. Chavez & Robert F. Kennedy videos/DVDs not available at Amazon (2012) full credits from IMDb • PBS official movie site |
 | "The Fight In The Fields: Cesar Chavez & The Farmworkers Movement" [1997] by Susan Ferriss & Ricardo Sandoval, edited by Diana Hembree includes a Foreword by Gary Soto & guest essays by Rudolfo Anaya, Dolores Huerta, Peter Matthiessen, Carey McWilliams, Alfredo Véa Jr. and Victor Villaseñor HBJ/Harvest 9x7½ pb [4/98] for $10.88 Harcourt 9x7½ hardcover [5/97] out of print/many used |
"Fire In The Hole" [KUED-7 May 2000]
 | 2-hour docufilm that examines the violent mining labor conflicts of the early 1900s in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho & Montana; covers major leaders Joe Hill & 'Big Bill' Haywood (of the I.W.W.) and Mother Jones, and mine owner John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
Produced, written & directed by Ken Verdoia & Nancy Green video/DVD/Blu-ray not available • not listed on IMDb • official movie site watch movie online at KUED-TV website: first hour [56:55] • second hour [56:53] |
"F • I • S • T" [United Artists April 1978]
 | The main character is loosely based on labor leader Jimmy Hoffa; the 'FIST' acronym stands for Federation of Inter-State Truckers. An ambitious member of the truckers union works his way up the organization until his visibility attracts the attention of a crusading senator, who is investigating ties between the union and the Mob.
Co-produced & directed by Norman Jewison; co-written by Joe Eszterhas; co-written by & starring Sylvester Stallone; cinematography by László Kovács; also starring Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle, Melinda Dillon, Kevin Conway, Tony Lo Bianco, Cassie Yates, Peter Donat, Henry Wilcoxon & Brian Dennehy
M.G.M. Video widescreen color DVD [12/2005] for $11.99 M.G.M. Video color VHS [3/98] for $3.48 {sic} full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia "F.I.S.T.: A Novel" [1978] by Joe Eszterhas Dell movie tie-in mass pb [6/78] out of print/many used |
 | "The whole naked truth about the rackets in New York's garment center" A returning war veteran joins his father's garment factory, which has been paying gangsters to keep out the union. A company officer negotiating with the union is pushed down an elevator shaft and a union organizer is murdered. Sympathy of father and son turns toward the workers and unionization, the old man is killed, and the gangsters attempt to take over the business. Directed by Robert Aldrich (75%), replaced by Vincent Sherman; starring Lee J. Cobb, Kerwin Matthews, Gia Scala, Richard Boone, Valerie French, Robert Loggia, Joseph Wiseman & Harold J. Stone
Sony Pictures Home Ent. b&w DVD [9/2008] for $5.69 Goodtimes Video b&w VHS [undated] for $29.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"The Grapes of Wrath" [Fox Jan 1940]
| | John Ford's movie remains an unforgettable experience even 70 years later. |
 | Directed by John Ford [1894-1973]; based on the novel by John Steinbeck [1902-68], script by Nunnally Johnson; starring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin & Dorris Bowdon; won Oscars for Best Director & Best Supporting Actress (Darwell), nominated for Best Picture, Best Script, Best Actor (Fonda), Best Editing, Best Sound; listed in National Film Registry 1989
full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia date of Blu-ray release not known Fox/MGM 'Ford At Fox Edition' b&w DVD [12/2007] for $17.99 Fox b&w DVD [4/2004] for $10.99 extras on both DVDs include Darryl F. Zanuck docufilm from A&E Biography; F.D.R. segment & three 1934 drought segments from Movietone News; still gallery, trailers & outtakes Fox b&w VHS [10/99] for $13.99 |
 | "Grapes of Wrath" novel [Viking April 1939] by John Steinbeck
Kindle Edition from Penguin Publng [2006 edition] for $12.99 Penguin 8¼x5¾ pb [1/2002] for $11.03 Bantam mass pb [1964] out of print/used Penguin 7½x5 library hardcover [3/2006] for $20.59 book entry at Wikipedia |
Magic Lantern's "The Grapes of Wrath" 1940 Movie Page
"The Great Sit-Down Strike" documentary [BBC] not listed on IMDb or Internet Archive
"The Great Swindle" [U.E.R.M.W.A. 1948]
32-minute pro-union short from the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America
not listed on IMDb • available on the "Classic Labor Union Films" DVD Box Set [2008] at top
watch free online at Internet Archive: Part 1 [24:58] • Part 2 [7:11]
"Gung Ho" [Paramount March 1986]
 | The automobile factory in a small town has been closed for a while; when a Japanese car company buys out the American car company, one middle manager convinces the new owners to reopen the plant. But wages are much smaller and the culture clash seems impossible to overcome, and failure to produce 15,000 cars in a month will get the plant closed forever. Co-produced & directed by Ron Howard; written by Edwin Blum, Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel; starring Michael Keaton, Gedde Watanabe, George Wendt, Mimi Rogers, John Turturro, Sô Yamamura, Sab Shimono, Rick Overton & Clint Howard
Paramount Home Video widescreen color DVD [7/2002] out of prodn/many used Paramount Home Video color VHS [undated] for $4.95 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Gung Ho" TV series [Paramount/ABC-TV 1986-87]
 | Short-lived (9 episodes) half-hour network television series based on the 'acclaimed' feature film; aired from Dec 1986 to Feb 1987; laid-back American 'employee liaison' executive continues working out the abundant kinks in the relationship between American workers and the Japanese owners Starring Scott Bakula, Gedde Watanabe, Patti Yasutake, Stephen Lee, Clint Howard, Rodney Kageyama, Scott Atari, Heidi Banks & Sab Shimono
DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb • series entry at Wikipedia |
"H2 Worker" documentary film [indep Feb 1991]
 | 70-minute exposé on exploitation in the Florida sugar cane industry of farm workers from Jamaica Produced & directed by Stephanie Black; won Grand Jury Prize for Documentary & Cinematography Award for Documentary at Sundance
Docurama color DVD [4/2009] for $22.49 bare credits at IMDb • distributor's official movie page |
sequel "Life and Debt: Negative Effects of Globalization"
documentary film [Cinema Village Features June 2001]
 | Documentary about the effects of globalization on Jamaican industry and agriculture
Produced & directed by Stephanie Black; narration by Jamaica Kincaid & Belinda Becker, based on Kincaid's book "A Small Place" New Yorker Films widescreen color DVD [6/2003] for $26.99 New Yorker Video color VHS [6/2003] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • official movie site |
"Harlan County U.S.A." [Cinema 5 Jan 1977, P.B.S. 1978]
 | 103-minute filmed account of a bitterly violent miner strike in Kentucky. The mine owners demanded a no-strike clause in any new contract, so the 180 miners at the Brookside Mine went on strike in June 1972. The extremely bloody Brookside Strike ended in August 1973, then the national U.M.W.A. contracts expired in November 1973; the national strike was peaceful, and was settled before Christ-mas.
Directed by Barbara Kopple; featuring union leaders W.A. 'Tony' Boyle, Houston Elmore & Harry Patrick, coal company execs John Corcoran & Norman Yarborough, and the miners and family members of Harlan County, Kentucky; won Oscar for Best Documentary Feature; listed on National Film Registry (1990); extras on DVD include commentary, interviews, outtakes, theatrical trailer, and the "Making of.." short
Criterion widescreen color DVD [5/2006] for $23.51 Sony Pictures Home Ent. color VHS [7/91] for $18.99 Rounder Records Umgd soundtrack CD [5/2006] 22 tracks for $14.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"The Making of Harlan County USA" [22 minutes; 2006]
featuring Kevin Keating, Barbara Kopple & Anne Lewis • credits at IMDb
"Harlan County War" [Showtime Networks June 2000]
 | With her miner husband nearly killed in a cave-in, and her father dying of 'black lung' disease, a Kentucky housewife joins the strikers' picket line just as the strike turns violent. Directed by Tony Bill; script by Peter Silverman; original music by Van Dyke Parks; starring Holly Hunter, Stellan Skarsgård, Ted Levine, Wayne Robson, Alex House & Charlotte Arnold
Showtime Ent. color DVD [8/2001] for $8.99 Showtime Ent. color VHS [8/2001] for $7.29 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Harry Bridges: A Man and His Union" [1993]
 | Labor leader Harry Bridges [1901-90] was an officer in the I.L.A. from 1933 and was elected president of the new International Longshoremen & Warehouseman Union in 1937. He was prosecuted several times for being a secret Communist: 1939 case tossed out; 1941 conviction reversed by the Supreme Court in 1945; 1948 perjury conviction reversed by the Supreme Court in 1953; 1954 trial declared Bridges not guilty. Bridges retired from the union in 1977, and died in 1990 at age 88. Produced & directed by Berry Minnott; written by James Hamilton; narrated by 'Studs' Terkel CreateSpace color DVD-R [9/2007] for $20.00 credits at IMDb • Harry Bridges entry at Wikipedia |
"The Harvest (La Cosecha)"
[Cinema Libre Studio July 2011]
 | U.S. labor laws allow over 400,000 American children ages 12 and under to work in agricultural fields 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week to feed and clothe America. This 80-minute film profiles three families as they follow the harvest, from the scorching heat of Texas onion fields to the winter snows of Michigan apple orchards, and back south to the humidity of Florida's tomato fields. Each child makes $64.00 a week, while agribusiness reaps escalating profits. Exec-produced by Eva Longoria; directed by U. Roberto Romano; featuring Zulema Lopez (12), Perla Sanchez (14) & Victor Huapilla (16)
Cinema Libre Distrbn color DVD [10/2011] for $24.95 credits at IMDb • official movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia • watch official trailer [2:15] at Vimeo |
"Harvest of Shame"
[CBS News Special Nov 1960]
 | TV journalist Edward R. Murrow describes the harsh living conditions, endless travel & low wages of migrant farm workers in America – a lot like the 1930s Depression Era, but still true in 1960 (and still true in 2012 !). Co-produced & directed by Fred W. Friendly; co-produced and hosted by Edward R. Murrow
New Video Group b&w DVD [5/2005] for $21.99 full credits from IMDb |
"Hoffa" [Fox Dec 1992]
 | More-or-less accurate biography of labor union leader James Riddle 'Jimmy' Hoffa [1913-1975] up to the point of conjecture about his mysterious disappearance; Hoffa was declared legally deceased in 1982 Co-produced & directed by Danny DeVito; co-produced & written by David Mamet; starring Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Armand Assante, J.T. Walsh, John C. Reilly, Frank Whaley, Kevin Anderson {as Robert Kennedy}, John P. Ryan, Robert Prosky, Natalia Nogulich, Nicholas Pryor & Paul Guilfoyle
Fox widescreen color DVD [1/2004] for $8.73 Fox color VHS [7/93] for $4.95 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Hoffa: The True Story" [A&E Biography 1993] Graphics of the VHS cover for this A&E Biography program are easy enough to find, but there is no entry on IMDb nor Wikipedia A&E Home Video color VHS [5/93?] for $3.99 "Jimmy Hoffa: The Man Behind the Mystery" [A&E Biography Sept 2000] Very different later A&E Biography program A&E Home Video color DVD [7/2005] for $6.99 full credits at IMDb • official DVD page |
"Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story"
[Hearst/Lifetime May 1996]
 | The environment at Kerry's office job at the I.R.S. changed when a married co-worker began harassing and stalking her; her boss denied the problem and her labor union would do nothing, so she filed a sexual harassment suit against the Secretary of the Treasury, Ellison v. Brady. Directed by Allan Kroeker; written by Layce Gardner; starring Rena Sofer, Victor Garber, Maria Ricossa, Réal Andrews, Sean McCann, Patricia Gage, David Nerman, Karen Allen, Don Francks, Karl Pruner, Richard Fitzpatrick, Sherry Miller, Bernard Behrens & Ron Hartmann
Allumination color DVD [11/2006] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"I'm All Right Jack" [British Lion Aug 1959]
 | A greedy postwar defense contractor in Britain schemes to use his naive nephew to incite a labour union strike in his own factory, so that a friend can produce the goods at an inflated price. Co-written & directed by John Boulting; co-written by Frank Harvey & Alan Hackney, based on Hackney's novel "Private Life"; starring Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers {dual role}, Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price & Margaret Rutherford; won BAFTA Awards for Best Script & Best Actor (Sellers)
Starz / Anchor Bay b&w DVD [1/2003] out of prodn/used Warner Home Video b&w VHS [1989] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | "I'm All Right Jack: A Novel {original title: Private Life}" [1958] by Alan Hackney [1924-2009] Oxford graduate Stanley Windrush fails in governmwent service, then fails at several jobs in industry; his factory-owner uncle encourages Stanley to take a job at the factory, where Stanley's dealings with the union shop steward cause trouble for everyone. Faber & Faber 7½x5 pb [7/2011] for $19.80 Firecrest Books pb [3/88] out of print/used W.W. Norton hardcover [1959] out of print/used |
"In Search Of History: The True Story of The Molly Maguires"
[History Channel 1991]
 | not listed on IMDb • not listed separately on Wikipedia
A&E Home Video color DVD-R [4/2006] for $24.95 A&E Home Video color VHS [2/2000] for $21.85 |
"The Internationale" [indep 2000]
 | 30-minute documentary celebrates the relationship between music and political change, focusing on a song that was written in response to the harsh suppression of the Paris Commune in 1871, becoming the anthem for socialist, progressive, and other political movements. DVD extras include "Toscanini: Hymn of The Nations" 1944 short and song history & lyrics. Co-produced & directed by Peter Miller; co-produced by Jesse Crawford; featuring Billy Bragg & Pete Seeger
First Run Features b&w/color DVD [11/2006] for $12.10 full credits at IMDb |
"The Killing Floor" [P.B.S. American Playhouse April 1984]
 | During World War I, poor black Southerner Frank Custer migrates to Chicago and gets work in the slaughterhouses; he becomes a leader of fellow Afro-Americans within the union, but some view him as a sell-out; when a strike turns violent, the streets of Chicago become the 'killing floor'. 2-hour docudrama directed by Bill Duke; starring Moses Gunn, Alfre Woodard, Clarence Felder, Damien Leake & Dennis Farina DVD/Blu-ray not available Kino Video color VHS [6/2000] for $39.95 Orion Pictures color VHS [undated] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
"Labor Stories" [Kartemquin Films, Chicago]
 |
Facets color/b&w DVD [6/2006] for $29.95
contains 3 documentary shorts: "What’s Happening At Local 70" [1975] 20-minute b&w short directed by Judy Hoffman: IMDB credits • official movie page; "H.S.A. Hospital Strike '75" [1975] 20-minute b&w short directed by Judy Hoffman: official movie page; and "U.E./Wells" [1975] 15-minute color short produced & directed by Jerry Blumenthal, Gordon Quinn & Guillermo Brzostowski: official movie page |
"Live Nude Girls: Unite!" [indep 2000]
 | During 1996 & 1997, the dancers and staff at the Lusty Lady peep show in San Francisco successfully organized a labor union; dancer & leader Julia Query brought in filmmaker Vicky Funari to document the workers's struggle for better pay and working conditions.
70/75-minute documentary co-produced, co-written & co-directed by Julia Query; co-written & co-directed by Vicky Funari
First Run Features color DVD [2000] out of prodn/used First Run Features color VHS [2000] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • official movie site |
"Locked Out 2010" [indep 2011]
 | The tiny community of Boron, California in the Mojave Desert exists because of the nearby open pit borate mine, the largest in the world. When the owner of the mine, multi-national corporate behe-moth Rio Tinto Group, began union contract negotiations with drastic paycuts and loss of benefits, the workers refused the contract. Rio Tinto locked the workers out with armed mercenaries. The lockout lasted for 107 days, until Rio Tinto buckled – a major victory for the International Longshore & Warehouse Union and for the residents of Boron. Produced & directed by Joan Sekler
60-minute color DVD narrated by Peter Coyote [2011] via Amazon for $24.99 90-minute color DVD w/o narration [2010] from producer website credits at IMDb • official movie site |
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