On G List of Movie Reviews
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The Garment Jungle (1957)
Rate:
10
Viewed:
10/24
10/24:
Lee J. Cobb may have played the same role once too many times, but he was perfectly cast as Walter Mitchell in
The Garment Jungle.
Not many are familiar with labor issues back then. It's best to read A People's History of the United States
by Howard Zinn. People, including children, worked over sixty hours per week for pennies, usually seven days a week in
dangerous conditions that resulted in death. They had no breaks, health benefits, vacations, or any kind of rights.
Temperature was often too high or too low, and there was never any proper ventilation.
That began to change when unions and special interest groups entered the picture. It's understandable this sort of thing
is totally forgotten today, but it currently exists in third world countries that are fostered by companies like Nike,
Apple, Adidas, Abercrombie & Fitch, Samsung, and Sony, among others.
The Garment Jungle captures them very well. It's a true film noir picture with tons of corruption
in the background. Alan Mitchell, an idealist, is shocked to find out about it and begins to realize his
father may not be a principled guy after all. Then again, he didn't want his son involved in the first place because
he knew it's just tough, uncompromising occupation with high level of stress.
Armed with a strong script, the acting is terrific all the way through with a bunch of unsavory characters. I must say
it's Lee J. Cobb's finest hour even though he was in On the Waterfront,
12 Angry Men, and others.
It's nice to see the young-looking Robert Loggia. Who knew he would be a terrific character actor in his later years?
Gia Scala merits a special mention as his wife, and it's tough to beat Richard Boone's villainy.
By the way, I know the credits say that Vincent Sherman directed the film. But really, Robert Aldrich did most of the
work. Because the material was deemed too tough for the audience, studio mogul Harry Cohn had him fired and replaced
with Vincent Sherman to soften it up. Well, it didn't work...the film is still hard-hitting and highly accurate in terms
of what it's like to work in a sweatshop.
All in all, The Garment Jungle belongs in the list of greatest films noirs ever made.