Made in Dagenham

Made in Dagenham is a 2010 British comedy-drama film directed by Nigel Cole, written by William Ivory, and starring 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. Its theme song, with lyrics by Billy Bragg, is performed by Sandie Shaw, a native of the area and former Ford Dagenham clerk.

A stage musical version of the film opened at London's Adelphi Theatre in 2014.

Plot

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 to protest sexual discrimination, demanding equal pay. The strike drew major attention around the world because it was considered contrary to women's traditional family roles. The successful strike led to the Equal Pay Act 1970. [4]

Locations

• Mardyke estate
• Dagenham Civic Centre
• Eastbourne
• Merthyr Tydfil
• Croydon

Cast

• 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
• Gina Bramhill as Hopkins' Secretary
• Joseph Kloska as Undersecretary 1
• Miles Jupp as Undersecretary 2

Reception

Of 122 Rotten Tomatoes reviews, 80% of critics gave the film a positive review.[5]

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."[6]

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, amiable and so warm-hearted you'd be a churl to take against it.",[7] while David Cox, also of The Guardian, gave a less glowing review, suggesting that, despite initial potential, ".. a promising opportunity has been squandered."[8]

Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars out of four.[9] 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.[10]

Soundtrack

A soundtrack for the film was released, with the following tracks:[11]

The title song was written by David Arnold and Billy Bragg just for the film.[11] Sandie Shaw had worked at the real Ford Dagenham plant before her career as a singer.

• 1) "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" - Sandie Shaw
• 2) "Get Ready" - The Temptations
• 3) "Israelites" - Desmond Dekker & The Aces
• 4) "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" - James Brown
• 5) "Days" - The Kinks
• 6) "Can I Get a Witness" - Dusty Springfield
• 7) "All or Nothing" - Small Faces
• 8) "The Boat That I Row" - Lulu
• 9) "It's Getting Better" - Mama Cass
• 10) "A Groovy Kind of Love" - The Mindbenders
• 11) "Wooly Bully" - Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
• 12) "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" - Spanky and Our Gang
• 13) "Green Tambourine" - Lemon Pipers
• 14) "Paper Sun" - Traffic
• 15) "Friday on My Mind" - The Easybeats
• 16) "With a Girl Like You" - The Troggs
• 17) "You Can Get It If You Really Want" - Desmond Dekker
• 18) "Made In Dagenham" - Sandie Shaw

Musical

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.[12]

External links

• Made in Dagenham at BFI
• Made in Dagenham at British Council–Film
• Made in Dagenham at Lumiere
• BBC Film Network - Made in Dagenham interview