Radium Girls Review – Excellent, Thought-Provoking, Superb Cast

Radium Girls, from Juno Films, presents the true story of one of the first victories over a corporate giant who for decades, without thought or concern, willingly subjected its female workers to radium poisoning for profit.

Directed by Lydia Dean Pilcher and Ginny Mohler, Radium Girls stars Joey King, Abby Quinn, Colby Minifie, Cara Seymour, Scott Shepherd, Susan Heyward, Neal Huff, John Bedford Lloyd, Olivia Macklin, Veanne Cox, Carol Cadby, Gina Piersanti, Juliana Sass, Tom Galantich and Adam LeFevre.


Belushi Review – A Wild, Zany, and Heartbreaking Tribute


The film begins in the 1920s with a Carnival Barker, played by Adam LeFevre, who announces the miracle cure and newest wonder drug, radium. The cure for whatever ails you, guaranteed to create a luminescent girly glow. 

It is the roaring 1920's, in New Jersey and two sisters Bessie, played by Joey King, and Josephine, played by Abby Quinn, are young, carefree, and each with dreams that took them far from the boundaries of their home and the mundane work as a dial painters at American Radium.

While they earned what was considered good wages, at 1 cent per dial, the girls were urged to use a particular method, dip the paint brush in the radium, lick the brush to smooth out tip, and paint the dial, dip, lick, paint. This method guaranteed clear numbers on each dial and accelerated production.


Keith Haring Street Art Boy Review – A Celebration of Life with the Pop Artist of The People


Suddenly their world begins to unravel as Jo becomes sick and loses a tooth, at the root, and Bessie, at 17, is still young enough to believe people are innately good and no one would intentionally poison workers.

As Jo's symptoms progress, corporate exploitation of workers is exploding with workers in New York City, just across the Hudson River, marching in the streets demanding better working conditions. Bessie, who is so much more into Hollywood, than politics and crusading, meets a local activist, and becomes motivated to find out why her sister is sick.

Unsure of how she can help, Bessie approaches American Radium's owner, Arthur Roeder, played by John Bedford Lloyd, who arranges for a doctor to examine Jo.


I’m Your Woman Review – Engaging with a Strong Character Driven Story


Also, during this time, they meet Wiley Stephens, played by Cara Seymour, a lawyer who runs the New Jersey Consumer League and are hoping to exhume Mary, Jo and Bessie's, older sister whom they were told died of syphilis. Coincidentally, we find out the doctor diagnosis Jo's condition as syphilis also, to which she replies to the doctor, "that's impossible, I'm a virgin."

The time allowed for men to labeling women as whore's and defaming them by presenting a diagnosis of venereal disease. This would make it nearly impossible for any of the clearly reticent females to receive fair treatment, and with one or more male testifying of multiple sexual encounters to cover the actual radium poisoning behind the symptoms, syphilis stuck until Mary was exhumed.

Bessie who failed to follow the prescribed rules of "dip, lick, paint" was not poisoned and become the activist who warned the women of the death sentence if they continued working. The others were all exposed, with radium poisoning seeped into their bones, and as we are told, if a Geiger counter were placed on their graves, they would register for one thousand years.


The Trial of The Chicago 7 Review – Emotional, Politically Charged, Four Stars!


Radium Girls is exceptionally good, every element of the film delivers.

The story is true. American Radium poisoned its workers. Four women brought a lawsuit in 1925 and turned the court of public opinion that backed the company into a corner. An element that is also thought-provoking is that nearly 100 years has passed since this ground breaking fight in workplace occupational laws and daily we see many similar issues as actual historical footage is used to highlight contemporary 1920 issues including police accountability with African American citizens marching in 1925 for racial justice. And 95 years later we are still marching for police accountability.

Without heavy handed presentation Radium Girls highlights many current, contemporary, methods, means and techniques used to silence women who have the audacity to demand equal rights, equality, and a workplace free from toxins. The expendability of females is clearly portrayed.

Radium Girls is thought provoking, well directed, with a superb cast. It opens October 23, 2020. See it.

Haute Tease

  • The Green Book Review – Four Stars! Brilliant, Inspired, Heartwarming

    The Green Book, from Universal Pictures, Dreamworks and Participant Media, presents the true story of piano virtuoso Don Shirley and his driver, Bronx bouncer Tony Vallelonga, and their encounters as they toured the deep south in 1962.

     
  • Reacher S2 Review – Heightened Suspense, Strong Story Driven Performances

    Reacher, from Amazon, Paramount, and Skydance Production, brings to the screen a strong second season that reunites Reacher and his former military team, in a race against time as they investigate the systematic murders of their unit.

     
  • Money News: Bear Mauls Ten Most Watched Global Markets

    The Dow Jones Industrial. Along with the NASDAQ and S &P 500, made a strong effort over the past week, successfully holding the bear at bay, until the off the encroaching bear market while the S&P500 fell as the bear split the ten most watched global markets with no obvious pattern as usually aligned U.S. markets fell.

     
  • Oldest Fossilized Titanosaur Found in Argentina

    Portions of the tail and pelvic girdle from a giant fossilized titanosaur, one of the largest known dinosaurs to roam the earth, was recently unearthed in Neuquén Province in Argentina's northwest Patagonia, by an Argentinian paleontologist team.

     
  • Auto, Yachts, Jets: Glickenhaus - 24 Hours of Nürburgring

    The Glickenhaus 004C was running in the top 15 in qualifying when we made the decision to pull the car to assess a spike in engine temperature prior to the final top 30 shoot-out. An unanticipated challenge, but as always, the Glickenhaus Team is ready to face it head-on. 

     
  • World News: Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Provokes Russia’s Future

    Supporters of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s opposition leader and Putin nemesis, who was immediately jailed after returning to Moscow after recuperating from poisoning, have taken to the streets in record number protesting the treatment and demanding his release.