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5 unusual facts about Norma Rae


It's All Wrong, But It's All Right

The song was featured in the 1979 drama film Norma Rae, in which actress Sally Field won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal as Norma Rae Webster.

Murphy's Romance

But because of the success of Norma Rae (1979), with the same star (Field), director, and screenplay writing team (Harriet Frank, Jr. and Irving Ravetch), and with Field's new production company (Fogwood Films) producing, Columbia agreed.

Places in the Heart

In 1985, when Sally Field reached the lectern to accept her second Oscar (the first was for Norma Rae), she uttered the memorable (and much-mocked) line, "I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!"

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina

Crystal Lee Sutton (Jenkins), was a worker and union organizer for the J.P. Stevens & Co. mill in Roanoke Rapids, upon whose union activities the movie Norma Rae was based.

Wilfred Feinberg

Feinberg has authored many seminal opinions, including United States v. Miller, which upheld the constitutionality of a federal law prohibiting the burning of draft cards, NLRB v. J.P. Stevens & Co, the famous labor union case that inspired the movie, Norma Rae, and Kelly v. Wyman, aff'd sub nom. Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 271 (1970).


Harriet Frank, Jr.

Frank and Ravetch maintained a close working relationship with director Martin Ritt throughout their career, collaborating with him on eight occasions; after initially being suggested by Ravetch to direct The Long, Hot Summer (1958), Ritt would eventually draw the couple out of inactivity on three occasions, hiring them to write the screenplays for Norma Rae (1979), Murphy's Romance (1985) and Stanley & Iris (1990).

Tamara Asseyev

She eventually graduated to producing such studio-backed films as Robert Zemeckis's I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), John Milius's Big Wednesday, and Martin Ritt's Norma Rae (1979).


see also

Harriet Frank, Jr.

Once again they worked with director Martin Ritt, their seventh project together, and Sally Field, who had played the titular lead role in Norma Rae.