Radium Girls (2018)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Radium Girls is a historical drama (based on true events) which premiered in 2018. It is now available on Netflix.

 

The topic is a dark chapter of US history. For many years it was virtually unknown to the public:

 

The radium girls had an unusual job: they painted the dial of clocks and watches with radium. The clock and the watch would glow in the dark, but the radium used to paint the dial was dangerous to the workers who came into close contact with it.

 

The young women who worked in American radium factories did not know the truth about this substance. They were told it was harmless, perhaps even beneficial. The truth is they were slowly poisoning themselves.

 

The owners of the factories knew the substance was dangerous before the workers, but they did not inform the workers. They kept it a secret. They did not ask the workers to take precautions when they were working with radium.

 

When a worker was taken ill, the managers claimed they had no responsibility for what was happening. The managers did not care about the health and safety of the workers as long as the company was making a profit.

 

In the US, there were at least three radium factories, located in three different states:

 

** In Ottawa, Illinois

** In Orange, New Jersey

** In Waterbury, Connecticut

 

This drama is about the factory located in Orange, New Jersey, which was active for more than fifty years (1914-1970). In this drama, the focus is on events which happened in the 1920s.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Directors: Lydia Dean Pilcher and Ginny Mohler

** Writers: Ginny Mohler and Brittany Shaw

** Run time: 102 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

** Joey King as Bessie – sister of Jo

** Abby Quinn as Josephine (AKA Jo) – sister of Bessie

 

** Scott Shepard as Mr Leech – manager at the radium factory

** Carol Cadby as Mrs Butkiss – team-leader at the radium factory

** John Bedford Lloyd as Arthur Roeder – president of the radium company

** Neal Huff as Dr Flint – a doctor who works for the radium company

 

** Collin Kelly-Sordelet as Walt – a photographer

** Susan Heyward as Etta – a filmmaker

** Cara Seymour as Wiley Stephens – Consumers League

** Greg Hildreth as Henry Berry – a lawyer

** Veanne Cox as Dr Katherine Drinker – a physician who works at Harvard University

 

Since this drama is based on true events, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore, I feel free to mention some of them in this review.

 

While this drama is based on true events, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events.

 

Not everything happened exactly as shown here. Some details have been added or altered or excluded for practical reasons or for dramatic purposes. But the basic story is true.

 

THE PLOT

The story begins in Orange, New Jersey, in 1925. The main characters are two sisters – Bessie and Jo – who both work at the radium factory. They are dial painters. Jo is a more efficient worker than her sister. She touches more radium than her sister. This is why Jo gets sick before her sister.

 

One day a photographer (Walt) comes to the factory. He is there to take some pictures of the staff which the company can use for promotion campaigns. Bessie likes Walt and he likes her. They become friends. Walt takes Bessie to a coffee shop where she meets some of his friends. Walt is a communist and most of his friends are radicals.

 

For Bessie this is a whole new world. Before meeting Walt, she was a party girl who just wanted to have some fun. She was not interested in politics. Meeting Walt and his friends changes her life. It is a political awakening for Bessie. Now she is interested in politics. Now she is radicalized. Now she is concerned about workers and the conditions under which they are working.

 

Jo is not feeling well. Her health is deteriorating. But when she is examined by Dr Flint, who works for the radium company, he says she suffers from syphilis. Jo objects to this diagnosis. She says she is a virgin! How can she have syphilis?

 

Bessie and Jo talk to Walt about their sister Mary who is no longer alive. She used to work at the radium factory, but she was taken ill and then she died. Perhaps her disease and her early death had something to do with the conditions in the factory?

 

Walt says he knows someone who may help them find out if this is true or not. He takes them to meet Wiley Stephens who works at the New Jersey branch of Consumers League.

 

Wiley is very interested in what they say. She says the Consumers League suspects that radium is dangerous and that they want to sue the company for having a dangerous work environment. But they need a good case.

 

After some hesitation, Bessie and Jo decide to go along with the plan. The Consumers League wants to start a class action suit against the company. The idea of a class action suit is that they are not doing this for themselves alone, but for all workers in the same situation.

 

When they talk to their colleagues at the factory about the case, most of them are afraid to join them. They say they need this job. They do not want to offend the company. In the end, the two sisters are joined by three other women. Five young women, who are poor, want to hold a large company accountable! What are their chances of winning?

 

Before they can go to court, they need to find a lawyer who will take their case. This is not easy. In fact, it takes almost two years. This is not good, because the radium girls cannot wait too long. They are literally dying. Time is of the essence here.

 

Finally, in 1927, they find a lawyer who is willing to take their case. The lawyer (Henry Berry) is young. He does not have much experience, but he believes in the case. He wants to help the radium girls, and this is what counts.

 

When the case begins, it proceeds very slowly. The company denies all responsibility and it is clear that the company wants the case to move as slowly as possible. It seems the company has a devious plan: if the case can take a long time, the radium girls may die before the case can get to the end. And if the plaintiffs are no longer alive, the company is off the hook!

 

In 1928, before the case has come to an end, the radium girls accept a compromise. The case is settled out of court. The company will pay each of them a sum of 10,000 dollars. The company also promises to pay their medical bills and - most importantly - to take care of their children when their parents are no longer alive.

 

For the company, this settlement is expensive, but it has one significant advantage: the company can deny any guilt. The company does not have to admit that they did anything wrong. The company offers to pay some money because they have a good heart. Not because they are responsible for the death of the workers.

 

RATINGS AND REVIEWS

What do reviewers say about this historical drama? Here are the results of three review aggregators:

 

52 percent = Meta

61 percent = IMDb

76 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

78 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

 

As you can see, the ratings are not excellent. They range from average (52) to good (78). But no rating says this film is great (90-100).

 

I understand why. The first part of the movie is slow. Later it gets better, but in the end, it is not enough.

 

On IMDb, there are at the moment more than thirty reviews. It is interesting to read them and see what they say. Here are some headlines plus the rating (the maximum is 10):

 

** Disrespectful to the memory of the radium girls = 1

** A true disappointment = 2

** Predictable, poor editing, and over acted = 2

** Boring = 4

** Historical inaccuracies = 4

** Could’ve been good, such a shame = 4

** Good subject, bland presentation = 5

** An important story ruined by a bland script = 5

** Could have been better = 5

** Important message, dull story = 6

 

All reviewers feel the story is important and deserves to be told. But some reviewers feel the drama is boring. More importantly, some reviewers complain because historical truth has been violated.

 

They have a point. Here is list of some facts which are true and some facts which have been changed:

 

WHAT IS TRUE

The location is true: Orange, New Jersey

The time frame is true: 1925-1928

 

Two names are true:

** The president of the radium company: Arthur Roeder.

** The medical expert from Harvard University: Katherine Drinker (1869-1956)

 

WHAT HAS BEEN CHANGED

Most names have been changed. But the fictional names are often quite close to the real names. Here is the list:

 

The names of the two sisters

** In the movie they are called Bessie and Jo

** The real names are Albina Larice (1895-1946) and Quinta McDonald (1900-1929)

 

The name of the dead sister

** In the movie she is called Mary

** The real name is Amelia Maggia (1896-1922)

 

The woman who works for Consumers League

** In the movie she is called Wiley Stephens

** The real name is Katherine Wiley

 

The lawyer who works for the radium girls

** In the movie he is called Henry Berry

** The real name is Raymond Berry

 

The (false) doctor who works for the company

** In the movie he is called Dr Flint

** The real name is Frederick Flinn

 

The name of the company

** In the movie it is called American Radium

** The real name is United States Radium Corporation

 

The story of how the class action suit begins

** In the movie the two sisters Bessie and Jo take the initiative

** In the real world, the initiative was taken by a woman called Grace Fryer (1899-1933) who had worked at the company as a dial painter.

 

Grace Fryer was suffering from poor health, so she contacted the Consumers League where she met Katherine Wiley who helped her find a lawyer and start the case against the company.

 

Grace Fryer was joined by four other women from the factory, including the two sisters Albina and Quinta. But Grace Fryer is not even in the movie! She has been excluded!

 

Fictional characters are added to the story: 

** The photographer Walt

** The filmmaker Etta

 

These secondary characters are introduced and appear in a few scenes, only to be dropped again. They disappear without a trace. We never hear what happens to them.

 

CONCLUSION

As you can see, many historical facts have been changed. Perhaps the change of some names is not a fatal flaw, but when the movie-makers change the story of how the class action suit begins, they cross the line. This is a poor decision. The true story is seriously distorted by this change.

 

It is a shame, because the topic is so important. The Radium Girls deserve a movie which focuses on the topic and which follows the historical facts as closely as possible.

 

Moving the two sisters to the front and excluding Grace Fryer from the historical record is wrong; it is a fatal flaw.

 

This is why I have to say this movie is not great, it is not even good, it is just average, and therefore it cannot get more than three stars.

 

PS # 1. Radium City is a documentary film which premiered in 1987. Directed by Carole Langer. Run time: 105 minutes. This film focuses on the radium factory located in Ottawa, Illinois.

 

PS # 2. When the court case began in 1927, it was virtually ignored by the media and the politicians. However, as the case proceeded and the undeniable truth began to emerge, the media began to take a real interest in it and so did some politicians.

 

The case of the radium girls was a significant factor in a broad movement which led to the establishment of the federal office called the Division of Labor Standards in 1934.

 

In 1948, this office was renamed the Bureau of Labor Standards. 

 

In 1971, this office was replaced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). 

 

By that time the Radium Girls and the story of their suffering had disappeared from public memory.

 

By setting up OSHA, politicians and government declared that corporations are not allowed to do whatever they want. There must be rules and regulations.

 

The health and safety of the workers is a real issue and the government has a responsibility to make sure that fair standards are set up and that they are enforced.

 

Unfortunately, politicians and governments have allowed OSHA to be underfunded and understaffed which means that the rules and regulations are not always enforced in a serious way.

 

PS # 3. For more information, see the following items:

 

** Mass Media and Environmental Conflict by Mark Neuzil and Bill Kovarik (1996) – chapter 8 of this volume is about the radium girls

** Radium Girls: Women and Industrial health Reform, 1910-1935 by Claudia Clark (1997)

** Deadly Glow: The Radium Dial Worker Tragedy by Ross Mullner (1999)

** The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore (2018)

** The Society of the Living Dead: The Illustrated History of Ottawa’s Radium Dial Scandal by Jim Ridings (2020)

 

*****

 

 The Radium Girls:

The Dark Story of America's Shining Women

by Kate Moore

(2018)

*****