The Garment Jungle (1957)
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80% of users liked it
(71 ratings)
Vincent Sherman replaced an uncredited Robert Aldrich as director of this noirish and atypically pro-union film from the 1950's. Tulio Renata (Robert Loggia), an organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, campaigns to unionize the employees of dress factory owner Walter… More Vincent Sherman replaced an uncredited Robert Aldrich as director of this noirish and atypically pro-union film from the 1950's. Tulio Renata (Robert Loggia), an organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, campaigns to unionize the employees of dress factory owner Walter Mitchell (Lee J. Cobb). Viscerally opposed to the union, Mitchell has hired Artie Ravidge (Richard Boone) to thwart Renata's efforts. In a complex oedipal sub-plot, Walter's son Alan (Kerwin Matthews) returns home and joins the firm following the suspicious death of his father's partner. Alan is more sympathetic to the union and attempts to persuade his father to sign a contract. Only after Ravidge kills Renata, and the elder Mitchell finally admits to himself that Ravidge is a thug who also killed his partner, does he agree to negotiate with the union. Before he can do so, however, he, too, is murdered by Ravidge's goons. It is then left to Alan, increasingly involved with Renata's widow Theresa (Gia Scala), to run the business, bring Ravidge to justice, and settle with the union. Similar to Herbert Biberman's Salt of the Earth (1954) in its overt support of the labor movement, The Garment Jungle is clearly a liberal, not a radical, film. Rather than advocate class warfare, it asserts that honest unions and decent capitalists can work together honorably. The film's real fire is found in the personal conflicts between Tulio and Theresa and Walter and Alan. Cobb, Loggia, and Scala perform with intense and multi-dimensional passion. Particularly noteworthy is Theresa's fury at her husband for taking excessive, and ultimately fatal, risks. ~ Steve Press, Rovi
- Directed By
- Vincent Sherman
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Apr 25, 1957 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A powerful film on the influence of racketeers in the garment industry.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Lee J Cobb
as Walter Mitchell
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Kerwin Mathews
as Alan Mitchell
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Richard Boone
as Artie Ravidge
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Valerie French
as Lee Hackett
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Robert Loggia
as Tulio Renata
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Joseph Wiseman
as Tony
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Harold J. Stone
as Tony
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Adam Williams
as "Ox"
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Wesley Addy
as Mr. Paul
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Willis B. Bouchey
as Dave Bronson
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Robert Ellenstein
as Fred Kenner
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Celia Lovsky
as Tulio's mother
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Suzanne Alexander
as Joanne
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Archie Savage
as Elevator Operator
- Anna Lee Carroll
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Dick Crockett
as Miller
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Lillian Culver
as Buyer
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Diane DeLaire
as Head Seamstress
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Kenneth Gibson
as Buyer
- Marilyn Hanold
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Bob Hopkins
as Bartender
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Betsy Jones-Moreland
as Secretary
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Ellie Kent
as Stephanie
- Donald Kirke
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Frank Marlowe
as Onlooker
- Kathryn Marlowe
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Sid Melton
as Male Operator
- Laurie Mitchell
- Peggy O'Connor
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Gloria Pall
as Fitting Model
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Gia Scala
as Theresa Renata
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Irene Seidner
as Old Lady Operator
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Jon Shepodd
as Alredi
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Dale Van Sickel
as Helper
- Paul Weber
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Joan Granville
as Girl Operator
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George Robotham
as Truck Driver
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Paul Power
as Salesman
- Hal Taggart
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Shirley Buchanan
as Announcer
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Jean Lewis
as Receptionist
