Labor Day’s Top Ten
By Arnie Wishnick 1. ‘On The Waterfront’ ‘ New York dock workers in union mayhem. What a cast! Brando, Steiger, Malden, Cobb and Eva Marie Saint. Directed by Elia Kazan.Wins Best Picture 1954. 2. ‘Norma Rae” Southern mill is unionized when a poor textile worker joins forces with New York labor organizers. Directed by Martin Ritt. Sally Field wins Best Actress 1979. 3. ‘The Pajama Game’ ‘ Hey there! Getting a 7 cents raise at the Sleep Tite Pajama Company is worth singing about. Just ask Doris Day and John Raitt. Directed by Stanley Donen. 4. ‘How Green Was My Valley’ ‘ A Welsh family and the men who worked in the coal mines. Unionization, strikes, abuse and demise of a town. Directed by John Ford. Wins Best Picture 1941. 5. ‘Gung Ho’ ‘ Funny things happen when a Japanese firm takes over a small-town auto factory. Directed by Ron Howard. Michael Keaton is terrific trying to keep the peace between labor and management. 6. ‘Silkwood’ ‘ Nuclear power plant worker Karen Silkwood uncovers something that causes others to want to silence her. Directed by Mike Nichols. Meryl Streep and Cher are superb. 7. ‘The Devil and Miss Jones’ ‘ Romantic comedy finds a big business boss posing as a salesclerk to find union organizers. Robert Cummings, Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn 8. ‘Matewan’ ‘ West Virginia coal miners rebel against working conditions. Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones and Mary McDonnell. John Sayles direction and Haskell Wexler’s cinematography! 9. ‘Hoffa’ ‘ Jack Nicholson is James R. Hoffa. Directed by Danny DeVito. 10. ‘F.I.S.T.’ ‘ Truck driver goes from good to bad after teaming with gangsters. Stallone and Steiger. Directed by Norman Jewison
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