F.I.S.T. (1978) on Netflix
Cleveland, 1937: Johnny Kovak leads a riot over unfair labor practices, then learns he and Abe Belkin have been fired. Recruiter Mike Monahan brings them into the truckers' union F.I.S.T.
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Trailer
Plot summary
On a Cleveland loading dock in 1937, supervisor Mr. Gant hires Lincoln Dombrowsky and tells him overtime goes unpaid and damaged goods come out of his wages. Dombrowsky spills tomatoes, his pay is docked, and a man who helps him gather the load is let go. Johnny Kovak, a Hungarian-American dockworker, leads a riot. He and Abe Belkin believe they have struck a bargain with Boss Andrews, but the next day both are dismissed. Mike Monahan, impressed by their leadership, signs them up for the Federation of Inter State Truckers, where pay depends on members recruited. Given a car, Kovak courts Anna Zarinkas, a Lithuanian-American worker. Business owners want him signing men for non-union firms; when he refuses, they have him attacked.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about F.I.S.T. (1978)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Once Rocky became a surprise blockbuster and launched Stallone into stardom, million-dollar offers quickly followed. With only a verbal agreement in place, Jewison called to confirm Stallone's commitment, and Stallone did not hesitate: "Norman, this is my picture."
- Dubuque's clean air was an unexpected problem for the period atmosphere. With permission from Iowa's Department of Environmental Quality, the filmmakers used smudge pots to release thick, industrial-looking smoke, giving the Dubuque Flats of 1977 the gritty look of Cleveland's Flats during the Great Depression.
- A recently vacated industrial site in Dubuque was transformed to resemble Depression-era Cleveland, complete with fictional business fronts like Fleckner Foods Co. and Consolidated Trucking Co. Because the city had one of the country's oldest cable systems, there were no modern TV antennas cluttering the skyline.
- Eszterhas expanded his outline into a massive 500-page draft, then collaborated with Jewison to trim it down to 240 pages by 1976. He had originally envisioned the role of Johnny Kovak with Jack Nicholson, but Sylvester Stallone was cast instead.
SPOILER
Comparisons between the lead character Kovak and the missing Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa were rejected by Eszterhas: "that's unfair to the memory of Hoffa, Johnny Kovak kills a man in the film and makes a deal with the mob. Hoffa never did that." Hoffa, he said, "lived an almost monastic life."
