Triangle: Remembering the Fire (2011)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Triangle: Remembering the Fire is a documentary film which premiered on US television (HBO) in 2011.

 

The topic is the tragic disaster which happened at the New York Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on 25 March 1911.

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** Director: Daphne Pinkerson

** Producers: Daphne Pinkerson and Marc Levin

** Writers: Daphne Pinkerson, Michael Hirsch, and Richard Lowe

** Narrator: Tovah Feldshuh

** Run time: 40 minutes

 

The Triangle Factory fire of 25 March 1911 claimed 146 fatalities: 129 women and 17 men. 

 

It is one of the worst industrial accidents in the history of New York, indeed in the history of the US.

 

The story has been told before in several books. This film has a special angle on the case, because most of the people who are interviewed have a personal connection to the fire: one of their ancestors was killed in the accident or survived the accident.

 

Here are the names of the participants (listed in alphabetical order):

 

** Suzanne Pred Bass – one of her ancestors died in the fire – another survived the fire

** Leigh Benin – a labour historian – one of his ancestors was killed in the fire

** Dennis Clancy – his great-great-grandfather was an elevator operator at the Triangle factory in 1911

** Susan Harris – her grandfather was one of the two owners of the factory

** Michael Hirsch – a historian

** Raymond Knot – a fireman – his grandfather was one of the firemen who tried to stop the fire in 1911

** Erica Lansner – one of her ancestors worked at the factory

** Vincent Maltese – one of his ancestors worked at the factory

** Bruce Raynor – president of Workers United

** Stacey Silversteen – her great-grandfather survived the fire

** Alfred E. Smith IV – his great-grandfather was governor of New York in 1911

** Catherine Weber – one of her ancestors worked at the factory

** Elizabeth Wilson – one of her ancestors worked at the factory

 

The narrator Tovah Feldshuh is an actress who is a member of the cast of the television movie The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal. In this movie, which premiered in 1979, she plays the role of Florence.

 

In 1911, most of the 146 victims were identified. But six victims could not be identified. In 2011, one hundred years later, historian Michael Hirsch, who appears in this film, was finally able to identify the remaining six victims.

 

What do reviewers say about this film? 

 

On IMDb it has a rating of 79 percent, which corresponds to four stars on Amazon.

 

On Amazon there are at the moment 52 ratings, 16 with reviews, of this product. The average rating is 4.6 stars which corresponds to a rating of 92 percent.

 

The story of the Triangle Factory Fire of 25 March 1911 is an important event which deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well. 

 

In just 40 minutes, it manages to cover the background, the disaster, and the legacy of the disaster.

 

I want go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS # 1. Triangle Fire is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2011. 

 

It is an episode in the long-running program American Experience (season 23 episode 8).

 

PS # 2. The Fire of a Movement is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2019. 

 

It is an episode in a short series called The Future of America’s Past, presented by Ed Ayers.

 

PS # 3. Triangle: The Fire that Changed America by David von Drehle (2003) is one of the most comprehensive and detailed books published about the case.

 

PS # 4. For information about the identification of the six unknown victims, see the following articles:

 

** Joseph Berger, "Unnamed Triangle Waist Company victims finally identified," New York Times, 20 February 2011

 

** Lore Croghan, “Memorial headstone unveiled at grave for six ‘unknown’ Triangle Shirtwaist fire victims,” Daily News, 6 April 2011

 

PS # 5. Remembering the 1911 Triangle Factory Fire is a website dedicated to the case (established and maintained by Cornell University).

 

*****

Triangle: The Fire That Changed America

by David von Drehle

(Hardcover 2003) 

(Paperback 2004)

 

*****