Made in Dagenham
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Made in Dagenham | |
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Directed by | Nigel Cole |
Produced by |
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Written by | William Ivory |
Starring | |
Music by | David Arnold |
Cinematography | John de Borman |
Edited by | Michael Parker |
Production
company |
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Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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113 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | £5 million[1] |
Box office | $12,395,087[2] |
Made in Dagenham is a 2010 British film directed by Nigel Cole. The film stars Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, Daniel Mays and Richard Schiff. It dramatises the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 that aimed for equal pay for women. The film's theme song, with lyrics by Billy Bragg, is performed by Sandie Shaw, herself a native of the area and a former Ford Dagenham clerk.
A stage musical version of the film opened at London's Adelphi theatre in 2014.
Plot[edit]
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This article needs an improved plot summary. (October 2015) |
Based on a true story, Made in Dagenham explores the movement that caused a significant law reform. Rita O'Grady (a fictional character) leads the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike at the Ford Dagenham plant, where female workers walk out in protest against sexual discrimination, demanding equal pay. This strike causes a lot of public attention around the world and was seen as out of the ordinary to many because it was not in a woman's nature to do anything else other than the traditional family roles. The strike is successful and leads to the Equal Pay Act 1970. [3]
Locations[edit]
Cast[edit]
- Sally Hawkins as Rita O'Grady
- Bob Hoskins as Albert
- Miranda Richardson as Employment Secretary Barbara Castle
- Geraldine James as Connie
- Rosamund Pike as Lisa Hopkins
- Andrea Riseborough as Brenda
- Jaime Winstone as Sandra
- Daniel Mays as Eddie O'Grady
- Richard Schiff as Robert Tooley
- Lorraine Stanley as Monica
- Nicola Duffett as Eileen
- Andrew Lincoln as Mr. Clarke
- Rupert Graves as Peter Hopkins
- Joseph Mawle as Gordon
- Robbie Kay as Graham O'Grady
- Kenneth Cranham as Monty Taylor
- John Sessions as Prime Minister Harold Wilson
- Marcus Hutton as Grant
- Roger Lloyd-Pack as George
- Phil Cornwell as Dave
- Matthew Aubrey as Brian
- Karen Seacombe as Marge
- Thomas Arnold as Martin
- Sian Scott as Sharon O'Grady
- Philip Perry as Arthur Horovitz
- Peter-Hugo Daly as Bartholomew
- Simon Armstrong as Rogers
- Matilda Cole as Emily
- Romy Taylor as Rosie
- Danny Huston as American Boss (voice only)
- Mitchell Mullen as Kronnfeld
- Matt King as Trevor Innes
- Simon Armstrong as Rogers
- Gina Bramhill as Hopkins' Secretary
Reception[edit]
Of 122 Rotten Tomatoes reviews, 80% rated the film "fresh".[4] Maclean's, in a review for the film's 2010 Toronto International Film Festival premiere, called it a ".. combination of Milk and Mad Men.. It’s a film that blatantly condemns sexism and shows, despite its mostly light tone, the real cost of fighting for civil rights. The bee-hived and bobbed characters are fully fleshed and well-rounded even though they fit into ’60s archetypes, and the period piece balances optimism and realism in a way that’s both compelling and fun to watch."[5]
Xan Brooks of The Guardian gave it three stars out of five, calling it ".. uncomplicated fare, overly spiced with 60s cliches.... But the film is also robust'Italic text', amiable and so warm-hearted you'd be a churl to take against it." Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars out of four.,[6] while David Cox, also of The Guardian, gave a less glowing review, suggesting that, despite initial potential, ".. a promising opportunity has been squandered."[7]
Mark Kermode praised the film highly on his weekly show on BBC Radio 5 Live. He ranked it as his fourth favourite film of 2010, beating such films as The Social Network and Another Year.[8]
Made in Dagenham was nominated for four awards at the 2010 British Academy Film Awards; Outstanding British Film, Costume Design, Make Up & Hair Design and Supporting Actress (Miranda Richardson).
Soundtrack[edit]
A soundtrack for the film was released, with the following tracks:[9]
- (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me - Sandie Shaw
- Get Ready - The Temptations
- Israelites - Desmond Dekker & The Aces
- It's a Man's Man's Man's World - James Brown
- Days - The Kinks
- Can I Get a Witness - Dusty Springfield
- All or Nothing - Small Faces
- The Boat That I Row - Lulu
- It's Getting Better - Mama Cass
- A Groovy Kind of Love - The Mindbenders
- Wooly Bully - Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
- Sunday Will Never Be The Same - Spanky and Our Gang
- Green Tambourine - Lemon Pipers
- Paper Sun - Traffic
- Friday on My Mind - The Easybeats
- With a Girl Like You - The Troggs
- You Can Get It If You Really Want - Desmond Dekker
- Made In Dagenham - Sandie Shaw
The title song was written by David Arnold and Billy Bragg just for the film.[9]
Musical[edit]
A musical adaption of the film opened on 5 November 2014, at the Adelphi Theatre in London. Scripted by Richard Bean, and directed by Rupert Goold, it starred Gemma Arterton in the lead role.[10]
References[edit]
- General references
- BBC Films - Made in Dagenham
- Observer article
- Mark Kermode Uncut - Feeling Good in Dagenham
- Long synopsis at Woolton Picture House
- Information on the Visteon Pension Action Group
- The story of the strike, in an article published by the socialist group Workers' Liberty to mark the 40th anniversary in 2008
- Specific references
- ^ "Made in Dagenham: interview with producers Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen". The Daily Telegraph. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
- ^ Made in Dagenham at Box Office Mojo
- ^ Allott, Serena (9 September 2010). "Made in Dagenham: set report". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ Made in Dagenham at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ "'Made in Dagenham': Sweet 1960s sensibility and labour unions". Maclean's. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
- ^ "Made in Dagenham". The Guardian. 21 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
- ^ "Made in Dagenham: a squandered opportunity". The Guardian. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
- ^ "My Top Five Films of the Year". BBC. 24 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
- ^ a b Made in Dagenham: Original Soundtrack at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ "Gemma Arterton to star in Made in Dagenham musical". BBC. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-03.