''The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal'' is a 1979 American television movie directed by

Mel Stuart Mel Stuart (born Stuart Solomon; September 2, 1928 – August 9, 2012) was an American film director and producer who often worked with producer David L. Wolper, at whose production firm he worked for 17 years, before going freelance. E ...

and starring

David Dukes David Coleman Dukes (June 6, 1945 – October 9, 2000) was an American character actor. He had a long career in films, appearing in 35. Dukes starred in the miniseries ''The Winds of War (miniseries), The Winds of War'' and ''War and Remembrance ...

, Tovah Feldshuh, Lauren Frost, Stacey Nelkin,

Tom Bosley Thomas Edward Bosley (October 1, 1927 – October 19, 2010) was an American actor, television personality and entertainer. Bosley is best known for portraying Howard Cunningham (Happy Days character), Howard Cunningham on the American Broadcasti ...

and Ted Wass. It premiered on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

on January 30, 1979. The film chronicles the

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, a borough of New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911, was the deadliest List of industrial disasters, industrial disaster in the history of the city, an ...

of March 25, 1911, in which 146 garment workers died and which spurred the growth of the

International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) was a labor union for employees in the women's clothing industry in the United States. It was one of the largest unions in the country, one of the first to have a primarily female membersh ...

. The film was nominated for three Emmy awards, and won for Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling.

Plot

On Friday, March 24, 1911, the Triangle factory workers, who labored on the eighth, ninth and tenth floor of a supposedly fire-safe building, are shown working in unsafe conditions on the eighth floor. A hanging light above four sewing machines keeps going out, and the electrical wires are smoking. A seamstress stands up, taps on the metal light shade, and the light comes back on, but Mr. Feldman, a foreman, yells at her for not working.Nik Havert, ''The Golden Age of Disaster Cinema'', page 213, McFarland, Inc,. 2019
/ref> Lou, one of the fabric cutters, pushes fabric scraps off the cutting table, into an overflowing waste bin, and pieces drop to the floor. Feldman comes over, yells about scraps on the floor, and Lou says they need to have the scraps removed, for they are a safety hazard. He also states he knows a bribe was paid to the fire marshal. Feldman tells him to stop causing trouble. Workers talk about going to that evening’s engagement party for Vinnie, a mechanic, and Connie, a seamstress. Though about to be married Vinnie flirts with Gina, a new worker.Howard Rosenberg, 'Triangle Fire' on NBC’s 'Big Event', ''Los Angeles Times'', January 30, 1979, page 59
/ref> Sonya wants to go to the party, but she is Jewish, and has to go to temple that evening. Her friend Florence, who wants to marry a millionaire, tells her she can tell her family she is sick, and then sneak off to the party. When the work day ends the inside factory doors are unlocked, and the women workers line up to have their handbags searched before they can leave. Mr. Feldman reports to the factory owners how much work was produced that day. One of the owners complains about the high cost of doing business, and he includes the bribes regularly paid to the police, safety and fire inspectors as one of his costly expenses. That evening, at temple, Sonya tells her mother she isn’t feeling well, and she is told to go home and rest. She instead goes to the engagement party, which is taking place outside of Connie’s apartment building. When her family is walking home they see her dancing in the street with a

gentile ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...

. Her father is angry at her for going against her Jewish upbringing, but Sonya reminds him that if she wasn’t working on the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

the family would starve, and her brother would not be attending college.Jonathan Pearl & Judith Pearl, ''The Chosen Image: Television’s Portrayal of Jewish Themes and Characters'', page 76, McFarland, Inc., 1999 At the party Lou talks of wanting to unionize the garment factory, but his sweetheart, Rose, is more interested in finding a man with a better job. She leaves the party early for Bessie, a matchmaker, has arranged for her to meet a business owner. The man is interested in Rose, but she doesn’t like him. On Saturday, March 25, the Triangle factory seamstresses must work until four o’clock to get in the fifty-six hours needed to earn nine dollars a week. The doors are locked so that no one can sneak out for a break, or steal anything. Selma, an older seamstress with aching hands, is unable to meet her daily quota of work, and Mr. Feldman wants to fire her, but Lou goes around the work room and asks seamstresses to donate sewn sleeves, to allow Selma to reach her quota. He tells them that unity is strength. Feldman says he will tell the owners what Lou has done. The wiring on the bad light starts sparking, and then the wire catches fire. Some burning matter falls into a scrap bin, and the fabric scraps catch fire. When the fire is discovered workers try to put it out with pails of sand, then Mr. Feldman orders the male workers to get out the fire hose. It’s discovered that the hose was never connected to a water line. As the fire spreads some of the locked doors are opened, but one door is jammed, and can’t be used. A telephone call is made to the tenth floor to have the workers evacuated, but there is no telephone on the ninth floor, so those workers weren’t told of the fire. Horse-drawn fire engines arrive and the firemen begin fighting the blaze. Some workers are able to escape using the freight elevator, some run through the fire to the stairwells. Florence is trapped by fire and is standing on a work table. Although Sonya tries to calm her down and help her escape Florence loses her balance and falls through the window behind her to her death. As the fire becomes more intense many women fear burning to death, jump out the windows, and die from their fall. Some workers, including Mr. Feldman and his visiting daughter, climb up to the tenth floor, then get onto the roof. Workers in a neighboring building push a ladder out a window until it reaches the burning building’s rooftop. Trapped workers are able to crawl across the ladder to safety. Vinnie is killed by an explosion caused by the fire. Lou is hurt by falling debris and can’t move. Rose kneels beside him and refuses to leave. They begin praying in Hebrew as they await death. Sonya, Connie and Gina are shown escaping the building. A narrator states that the fire burned for twenty minutes. One hundred forty-six people died, including more than fifty who jumped to their deaths. Twenty-three lawsuits were filed, which resulted in seventy-five dollars being paid out for each worker who died. The fire helped increase membership in the

International Ladies Garment Workers Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) was a labor union for employees in the women's clothing industry in the United States. It was one of the largest unions in the country, one of the first to have a primarily female membersh ...

. Soon after the fire Sonya, Connie and Gina take part in the annual Easter Parade. The narrator states the survivors carried on by remembering the credo brought from other lands – Life must go on.

Cast

as Lou Ribin *

Janet Margolin Janet Natalie Margolin (July 25, 1943 – December 17, 1993) was an American theater, television and film actress. Early life Margolin was born in New York City to a Jewish family. Her father, Benjamin Margolin, was a Russian Jewish accountan ...

as Rose * Tovah Feldshuh as Florence *Lauren Frost as Sonya Levin * Stacey Nelkin as Gina * Ted Wass as Vinnie * Stephanie Zimbalist as Connie *

as Morris Feldman *

Charlotte Rae Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned sixty-six years. Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-o ...

as Bessie

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Triangle Factory Fire Scandal, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire 1979 television films 1979 films 1979 drama films American drama television films American disaster films American films based on actual events Films about firefighting Emmy Award–winning programs UNITE HERE Films set in 1911 Films set in New York City Films directed by Mel Stuart Films scored by Walter Scharf NBC original films Films about high-rise fires 1970s American films 1970s English-language films English-language drama films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links