Original subtitles

Subtitles by explosiveskull

Step right up!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!

Folks, get your bottle of radioactive water, Radithor!

It has the same effect on the human body

as recharging electric batteries!

Did you know that all the way

from the mines of Paradox Valley, Colorado

comes a miracle elixir of the 20th century, radium!

Good for my nails, ladies.

Good for my nails.

Doctors are already using it

to cure such things as arthritis and cancer!

Some call it liquid sunshine.

There's a new line of beauty products

guaranteed to make your skin glow.

Hats off to Marie Curie for discovering

this most beneficial of elements.

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen!

Never be lost in the dark again!

Welcome to the modern age!

It's a whole new world.

I know the new girl.

That's Agnes.

Now watch me.

Easy enough?

You're paid one cent per dial.

The best girls average 200 a day.

- Welcome to American Radium. - Thank you.

Hey.

It's slower, but there's no aftertaste if you don't lick it.

What's your average?

40.

Grandpa, please tell me you did not steal that.

No, no, I put 'em on a credit,

you know, you pay a little bit every month.

So it's for everybody.

Jo, come on!

How little every month?

Rudolph Valentino's adoring public

waits with bated breath

as the Tinseltown star deals with sudden illness.

Oh...

Never wash another shirt in your life!

- Only eight dollars a month. - Josephine, Josephine!

This is a washing machine...

We do not need this.

Can you get dinner on?

Maybe you don't need it.

I do.

Bessie.

Come on, sisters.

For maximum health, eat natural foods,

breathe fresh air, and drink plenty

of invigorating radioactive water.

Brought to you by American Radium.

Bye.

The cute photographer is a Red!

- Ow, ow! - Don't even think about it.

I wasn't talking to you.

Mr. Leech...

Everyone, please welcome Mr. Roeder!

How are my girls today, eh?

I'm sorry.

I'm being very rude.

Mr. Leech, come over here please.

Come on.

Let's have a big hand for Mr. Leech, shall we?

For all of his hard work watching over you girls, hmm?

Very very good.

Now...

I have a very special surprise

for this month's top painter.

For the most dials completed,

Josephine Cavallo...

Josephine!

Your very own taste of Radithor.

Where's Josephine?

Well done, young lady.

Congratulations.

Stuff cures everything.

Nausea, melancholy, impotence, ennui.

- Thank you Mr. Roeder. - Thank you.

Thank you, girls.

Without you, we would not be thriving.

Thank you Mr. Roeder.

Three, two, one.

I want to find a tomb like Tut's.

When I'm an archeologist.

No!

Oh, he's comin' for you.

Look!

Jo, put away that Book Of The Dead.

Stay away from him.

Ooh!

I'm Walt.

Walt Freeman.

Bessie Cavallo.

See you around.

Hey...

Us girls are having a little party here later.

- At midnight. - Here?

That's right.

See you then?

La la la la!

What happened this week?

Hmm?

You're short by 100 dials.

Mr. Leech happened.

I promise I'll do better this week.

I'm docking your allowance.

Could you like move for a little?

Thank you.

In the words of Valentino,

I'm not afraid of the dead, or ghosts.

I'm not afraid of the life beyond.

And it's not because I don't believe in it.

It's because I do.

Better not get fired for this.

Jo, stop being such a worrywort.

Now think about your question,

and put all of that energy into the cards.

When will I become famous?

When will I become famous?

- Someone's here! - Spirits!

Someone's here, come on!

Let's hide in Leech's office!

Mr. Leech's office is cold.

- What if it's Leech? - What if it's Butkiss?

What if it's Mr. Roeder?

Uh, hi Walt!

Bye, Walt!

Bye.

Hi!

It looks like a galaxy in here.

Yeah, it does.

If you let your eyes go all soft,

it looks like the night sky.

Wow, look at this clock.

What...

It's Mary.

Is she famous?

No, no, she's my sister.

She used to work here.

She passed away three years ago.

She practically raised me and Jo.

Our parents died when we were young.

Sorry.

- Mr. Leech is such a creep. - No kidding.

Hey...

Do you wanna go to a party maybe with me next weekend?

A party?

I love parties!

- Yeah, sure! - All right!

Come on, let's go!

Hey, Mary.

Um...

I'm sorry I've been hiding from you.

Look what I found in Mr. Leech's office, of all places.

What is this?

"Pardon me, but I'm in love."

I'm in love?

Jo!

Jo!

Jo, Jo, are you in there?

- Jo! - Don't come in, please.

Jo, was Mary in love with Leech?

You'll wake the neighborhood, Bessie.

What?

I'm coming in.

Josephine?

Do you understand what go away means?

- Um... - Please leave.

Jo, I think that you need a doctor.

No, I just feel tired.

You can tell Butkiss I'll be late today.

Okay.

Oh, um, Mr. Roeder, sir?

- Hi. - Yes, what is it?

Do you know of a doctor that my sister Jo could go see?

I don't know what's wrong with her exactly, but...

Does she work here?

Yes, Josephine Cavallo.

She won the most painted dials this month.

Ah, I'm very busy.

Wait, no no, please, please!

Please.

All right.

I'll have the company doctor call on her this week.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you so much.

Bessie Cavallo!

Get in here.

Any day, Cavallo.

I've been wondering if the world

isn't one universe, but many.

A multiverse.

One for each future that could've been.

- Listen, Mary... - It's Bessie.

Your work suffers, Ms. Cavallo.

The four is abominable,

and the eight looks like a fat toddler.

I'm docking your pay again.

Is that all?

We have to sell the watches you paint

for the same price as all the rest.

Do you understand that, Ms. Cavallo?

Yes, I do.

Do you?

I do, Mr. Leech.

Josephine Cavallo?

I'm Bessie, come on in.

Jo, he's here!

- Hello. - I'm Dr. Flint.

Jo.

You've been under the weather?

I'm dizzy.

My joints ache.

I lost a tooth, and two others are loose.

Hmm...

Now aren't you falling apart?

Open.

Tongue out.

Is good hygiene difficult for you?

No.

I'm going to give you a pamphlet I produced

at Columbia University.

We may have different definitions of good hygiene.

Do you know what's wrong with me?

Absolutely nothing.

You're as healthy as a horse.

But the pain, sir?

I can run a few tests that'll make you feel better.

Thank you.

Okay, open up.

Ow.

Ow.

Hmm...

Thank you, Josephine.

Thank you.

Maybe I should just stay home with you tonight.

What if Walt wants to...

What if he wants to...

Do it.

Tell him you're joining a convent.

What if he tries to talk to me about politics

and realizes that I'm not smart?

You're plenty smart.

Just not about politics.

Josephine, can you just give me something?

Please?

Congress is carving a monument

into a South Dakota mountain.

For tourism, you know, presidents' faces.

Why do you know that?

It reminds me of the pyramids.

Be careful, okay?

Yeah.

You should get some rest.

Hope you're not an ax murderer.

It's too late for you now if I am.

I'm not going to sleep with you.

Ever?

Go ahead.

- Password? - Garbanzo.

I've never been to a party with a password before.

Welcome.

You made it!

Have you seen the new protest footage?

No.

- Welcome. - Hi, I'm Bessie.

- Thomas. - Nice to meet you.

- Make yourself at home. - Thank you.

Wasted resources in that country.

Exactly.

We should be worried about

what's going on in the home front.

- Hi. - Hey.

Oh my, are your nails glowin'?

- I'm Bessie. - Etta.

Bessie, Etta is one of the best camera operators

this side of the Mississippi.

She sure is.

Do you shoot motion pictures?

Have you seen Valentino's latest?

I shoot real life.

If I could just live inside one of his films, I would.

Those films are made to distract people

from what's goin' on right in front of 'em.

What are we talkin' about here?

Cinema.

Hollywood pushing propaganda.

- Wanna go outside? - Yeah, sure.

Lovely to meet you, Thomas, Etta.

Yes.

Wait, who's she?

Bess.

Did you know that Congress is building a mountain

into the side...

No, no, that's not what I meant!

I meant that they are carving a sculpture

into the side of a mountain.

Presidents' faces.

Yeah, it's on sacred Native American land.

Yeah, it reminds me of the pyramids.

Did you know they were built by slave labor?

I did not.

But Jo knows everything about them.

There's something wrong with her.

- With who? - Jo.

She lost a tooth, and her face is all puffy.

Did she see a doctor?

Mr. Roeder, from work, sent us someone.

And he's running some tests, but he says that she's fine.

Um...

Well, I know of this woman who helps sick workers.

May be a long shot, but...

Yes, please, anything.

Full service here, huh?

How's Jo?

We're still waiting on the doctor's results.

Thanks.

This is a waste of time.

No it's not.

Uh, 'scuse me sir?

- I'm looking for Miss... - Call me Wiley.

- Tea? - No thank you.

What brings you to the Consumer's League?

Walt gave me your card

after I told him that Jo was sick.

He said that you help sick workers.

- Mm-hmm. - I'm Jo.

This isn't a doctor's office.

I'm not a doctor.

Then how do you help sick workers?

I told you this was a waste of time.

Just because you don't like Walt doesn't...

Girls, girls.

Where do you work?

American Radium.

Ah.

You're dial painters.

Yes.

What do you do here?

We study industrial toxins

and use the legal system to protect workers

from exposure to them.

We've been collecting data

on a number of suspicious radium dial painter illnesses.

Pardon me?

We believe that exposure to radium

can cause devastating tissue damage.

- Tissue damage? - Wait, radium?

Radium is good for you, everyone knows that.

And how do you plan on proving it?

We've been trying to exhume a deceased dial painter.

It's the first step in understanding what could be going on.

- What's exhume? - It's dig up.

Our sister was a dial painter.

She passed away three years ago.

Um, syphilis.

How dare you?

That's a convenient diagnosis.

Something a woman would never want to talk about.

This could be the breakthrough we've been waiting for.

- With your permission... - We're leaving.

- Thank you. - Think about it.

- Thank you. - I'll be here.

- They're cursed, you know. - Who?

Those men who unearthed King Tut's tomb.

Curses aren't real.

They are if you desecrate the dead.

In the Book Of The Dead, it says that in the afterlife

your heart is weighed against the feather of truth.

If your heart is lighter than the feather,

then your soul goes on to meet the sun god, Ra.

But, if it's heavier, then you get devoured

by the soul eater.

- It's a myth, Bessie. - Says you.

It was real to them.

I'm scared of the soul eater.

That's why I always tell the truth.

Oh, do you?

Maat, goddess of the truth.

- I - prefer artifacts.

- Dr. Flint! - Is Josephine home?

Yes actually, she's here.

Come in.

I wanted to bring you the results right away.

What is it?

I'm afraid you have syphilis.

You're in shock, I can tell.

It's a nasty disease.

No, it's impossible.

I'm a virgin.

- Aren't we all? - Dr. Flint!

Some of the symptoms can be managed,

but I'm afraid there is no cure.

I'm sorry.

You have any questions?

- Syphilis? - Uh, no.

Who has syphilis?

Not Josephine!

Grandpa, you don't know what you're talking about.

- Lazy old man. - Go to your room!

Go on!

Jo!

I found this diary in Mary's old chest.

Jo, listen.

"Sweet Leech is acting strange.

"He warned me not to lick the brush.

"Mrs. Butkiss says it will put a glow in my cheeks,

"but Leech says that radium is dangerous.

"Could that be true?"

Leech said that?

I guess so, but...

You're making my serious face.

I believe you, you know.

You can't have syphilis.

I mean, you hate boys!

Dr. Flint is not a very good doctor.

Yeah.

Or he's lying.

Kiss from Maat, goddess of truth?

We have to do it.

Do you think that Mary will forgive us?

I do.

I think she'd like being part of solving this mystery.

Yeah.

Levels of radioactivity in Mary's bones

are one thousand times the safe limit.

Radium poisoning was her cause of death.

I thought you were just magic.

It's gonna be better.

What does this mean for us?

I'm afraid you're both at risk.

Dr. Marland can examine you now.

Ms. Cavallo, you're lucky you didn't lick the paintbrush.

It may have saved your life.

Josephine, as the infection in your jaw progresses,

bone removal may become necessary.

I estimate it will be two years

before the radium necrosis becomes fatal.

We shot this footage last weekend

in front of the New York Stock Exchange.

Sacco and Vanzetti have been wrongfully convicted of murder

because of their political beliefs.

They're sentenced to death by a jury afraid of anarchists.

Is it illegal to be an anarchist?

No.

It's illegal to convict people

because you don't like their politics.

Anti-radical sentiment is running high,

and it doesn't help that they're immigrants.

What does it take to be heard?

These men, they are innocent!

And the people will bring the truth to the light.

Here, here!

I've never seen anything like this before.

Look how many people are out there.

These people are marching

because they care about the truth, right?

If people knew the truth about radium, they would march too.

Everyone, put down your brushes!

Miss Cavallo!

An autopsy of Mary showed

that there was radium in her bones.

Jo and I were just examined.

Miss Cavallo, you are sorely mistaken

if you think that you can continue working here.

I quit.

Everyone, you have to come to the doctor!

- Oh my God. - What is she...

Keep working!

Bessie, you're trespassing.

Radium is poison!

I won't abandon you!

That's enough, Miss Cavallo!

Why didn't you ask me first?

I thought you'd be proud of me.

Bessie, we have no income now.

Do you understand?

We only have our savings left.

Selfish girl.

Tomorrow you go ask for your job back.

- No! - I mean it.

No!

Everybody's mad at me.

I'm sorry.

Are you gonna look for another job?

Anything but dial painting.

Well, don't apply to the fireworks factory.

Huh?

Or the hattery, or the shoe factory, or the canning plant.

White phosphorus, mercury, benzene.

Chronic toxins.

Okay, okay.

Thanks for the pep talk, Walt.

This is serious.

Okay, girls are still working at the radium factory.

I know.

It's just...

There's a lot of world out there to change.

I don't want to see you let down.

The legal system won't help you.

Hey, Paula, Paula!

Hey, I'm trying to help you!

Paula, listen, what about your little boy?

Listen to me, there is a doctor

that can test if your bones are radioactive.

I don't know if I believe you.

Paula, six dial painters have already died

of inexplicable causes, one of them was my sister!

Do you believe that?

Hazel, Hazel, Hazel, thank goodness!

Hazel, don't you believe me?

Bessie, you sound crazy.

I'm not losing my job over this!

Stop!

Don't you at least want to know for yourselves?

Hi, can I help you?

We were sent by American Radium.

We're looking for Bessie and Josephine Cavallo.

- Yes, I'm Bessie. - What is it?

It's an offer from American Radium.

300 dollars to appease your concerns.

It's about the radium poisoning?

No, this doesn't say anything about that.

American Radium cares for its employees.

What is the 300 dollars for?

Your signature.

- Oh boy.. - I know.

300 each?

We can't take this!

Bessie, this is a lot of money.

The offer stands for one week.

Think about it.

Thank you very much.

300 dollars, that's 30 thousand dials!

No.

I would like to see what Wiley has to say

at the meeting tomorrow.

Say, isn't that festive?

Doris!

Mary?

You look so good.

Look at you!

Hi, it's...

Thank you, but I'm Bessie.

I'm Mary's little sister.

Bessie, Bessie...

You know me, I just haven't seen you since Mary's funeral.

Bessie, of course!

And Josephine!

- Hello. - Hello, Doris.

Hello!

- I need to sit down. - Sure.

Wasn't it a lifetime ago Mary and I

used to paint those dials for our boys overseas.

Doris, what brings you here?

Dr. Flint treated me for years.

He helped me with the pain, good man.

That's how Wiley found me.

I'm so pleased you're all here.

Paula, Bessie, Jo, I believe you know Doris.

I thought dozens of us were tested positive.

Where's everyone else?

Um, well...

Ingrid would not quit, and Edna...

Her father works for American Radium.

I say they're in denial.

Yes, or they took the money.

And why shouldn't we?

I have a family.

With the 300 we could live the next two years in peace.

An illusion of peace.

In this offer, American Radium

is denying the harmful effects of radium.

They're trying to silence you.

They must be stopped.

- By us? - Precisely.

Wiley, how?

We bring a lawsuit against them.

Force them to recognize radium is an industrial toxin.

The factory will be shut down.

And how many jobs will that take away?

They're toxic jobs.

Some people need those jobs,

and they're gonna blame us for this.

Paula...

I know you're here for a reason.

Sounds hard.

We just need help with the medical bills.

It is hard.

But if you commit, we can find a lawyer

and sue American Radium for the compensation you deserve.

Look at us.

How are you gonna find us a lawyer?

In a past life I was a lawyer.

Is she serious?

But it was just so much shouting.

Girls, powerful women behind the Consumer's League

like Alice Hamilton are with us.

Trust me.

Hi, my name is Bessie Cavallo.

I'm with the Consumer's League of New Jersey.

I worked at American Radium Corporation

and I was seeking a lawyer...

We're not getting involved in this.

Hello?

- I'm sorry? - How old are you?

I'm 17.

I'm seeking a lawyer to...

Hello?

I'm sorry honey, honestly.

It's not you, it's what you're up against.

American Radium's a good company.

Why are you stirring things up?

Imagine this, okay?

A sunny studio, young women working so hard

painting watch dials, instructed to lick the brush.

Whatever it takes, you understand?

The paint, poison.

The employer, American Radium.

We can't be undermined by a young girl.

Her name is Bessie Cavallo.

Hello?

Can you connect me with Mr. Henry Berry, Newark, New Jersey?

Just a minute, please.

Beautiful as a woman

in her moments in time.

A thousand beads of thought on a white string.

Stones of sunlight pile up in heaven.

They take the shapes of light.

Hey, will you help me practice my feeling spaces?

I'm studying.

I have to be ready to be discovered.

Come on, just one round.

Action, sorrow.

Shock.

Melancholy.

Serenity, revulsion, rage.

Passion.

Ennui.

En what?

Ennui.

It's infinite boredom.

Great, Miss Cavallo.

Producers will be in touch.

Thank you.

Consumer's League, how can I help you?

I want you all to meet Mr. Berry.

He's gonna represent you.

Hello, ladies.

Please call me Henry.

I feel as if I already know you.

He looks too young to be a lawyer.

I just passed the bar, actually.

But don't worry, I studied

all about workplace injury at school.

Now, once that we prove radium is poisonous,

we can win by proving that American Radium

has known of the danger for years.

We can prove that?

Yes, they did a study years ago.

The Drinker Report.

They knew about this before we did?

Do we have that report?

No.

If American Radium paid for it, they own it.

- Own research? - That's absurd!

It's like owning gravity.

Katherine Drinker isn't even allowed to talk about it.

Don't worry, three weeks from now, we'll be in court.

And let me just say, as the father of three daughters,

I'm honored to be a part of your fight.

Hey, that's her.

Cavallo girl.

Boss wouldn't mind if we clipped her, would he?

That big head belongs on her knees.

Go, go, go!

Hey, watch out!

- Get out of the road! - We know where you live!

Thank you for coming with me tonight.

Finally I get to see what all this commie fuss is about.

We made it through this year.

Hi!

Why don't you guys start, 10...

Nine, eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one!

Happy new year!

- Happy new year. - Happy new year.

Happy new year.

Hey, no more for you, no more for you.

Hey, hey, hey, you know you like that.

Everybody, comerades!

- Speech! - Speech!

This year, I wanted to leave the smog

to be discovered and go to Hollywood.

Never to be seen again.

Never to be seen again!

But, instead, I saw America for the first time.

I saw it evil.

But you all taught me so much.

I am going to make American Radium

pay for what they've done.

- Tell 'em Bessie! - Yeah, and we'll be heard!

- Yeah! - Yeah!

On the ground, commies!

Get Jo!

Get Jo out of here right now!

Come on, Jo.

Let's go, Bessie!

I'm exercising my right to peaceful assembly!

Let's go.

- Come on, we have to go! - Etta!

I said get down!

- Etta, Etta! - Commie scum!

No!

We have a right to be here!

I'm sorry.

Miss Cavallo, you're under arrest.

How does he know your name?

Dammit Bess!

I'm sorry.

Everything's falling apart.

I'm so sorry.

I didn't know they could do that.

They can do anything they want.

That's why we have to make sure we capture our side of this.

Where did you learn to use a camera?

My family owned a photo studio in Tulsa.

Oklahoma.

Grew up with it.

Why did you leave Oklahoma?

Um...

'Bout six and a half years ago,

the police and all the deputies,

they burnt down the whole neighborhood.

They said a black boy attacked a white girl.

Oh my God.

Can't the government do something?

Great War planes flew overhead, dropping firebombs.

What do you mean?

It was the government, Bess.

More than a thousand of our homes destroyed.

Why is there so much wrong in the world

that no one knows about?

It's easier to believe stories

that make us feel safe.

I don't feel very safe right now.

What if no one believes us?

What if they believe American Radium?

Don't give them a choice.

Is there anyone on the inside's got nothing to lose?

Your charges didn't stick.

You're free to go.

- Be safe, Etta. - You be safe, too.

Can I come in?

How's your bath?

Not in the mood.

You okay?

If I didn't have to look out for you,

and all the stupid things you do,

I don't think I could keep going with this.

What are you talking about, the lawsuit?

No, this.

This slow motion death sentence.

Why not get it over with?

Stop, you're scaring me.

You scare me when your head is in the clouds.

When you yell at police officers.

What's gonna happen to you when I'm gone?

Jo, get out of the tub.

We have to sell back the radio.

That doesn't matter.

I'm sorry.

It's okay.

Jo, will you be ready in five minutes?

I don't want to be late for our first day of court.

Ow!

A piece of my jaw fell out.

Jo!

No, no!

Josephine, come on.

Come on, come here.

We gotta get you changed before court, you have blood...

I'm gonna go get her some clothes.

She's not going!

What, why?

We're going to the hospital.

Are you coming?

But we have to be there.

We have to.

She's your only sister!

That's why we're doing this!

- It's your choice. - Just let Bessie go to court.

- Jo! - It's okay, I'll be fine.

Come on.

I'll come as soon as I can.

Jo...

The trial of the Radium Girls

versus American Radium begins today.

Although several dial painters on the east coast

have reportedly died suspicious deaths,

the cause of their illness is still widely disputed.

Dip, lick, paint.

Dip, lick, paint.

Dip, lick, paint.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

One penny per face.

Now look at my face.

My knee aches something awful.

No one believed me until I was holding my son,

and it just gave out.

Next thing I know, I'm at the doctor's office

having a cast put on.

One time I asked if the paint

could be why I was breaking out.

And Mrs. Butkiss ate a whole mouthful

of Undark off the spatula to show us it was safe.

She said it would put a glow in my cheeks.

This is awful.

The autopsy results were confirmed by three laboratories.

The bones of the already deceased dial painters

are radioactive, and will be for another thousand years.

There's no doubt in my mind that chronic exposure

to radium caused the death of Mary Cavallo,

and is killing the women before you now.

On average, they have less than one year to live.

Radium poisoning has ravaged their bodies.

Radium will certainly deliver its victim to death

sooner or later.

But they're still saying it's harmless.

Well, Clara can barely walk

and Ruth's jaw is blown up like a balloon.

I'm scared.

What's gonna happen to us?

I dunno.

My husband thinks it's all made up.

I dunno about you, but I'm not going back in there.

I don't want to get in trouble.

- Oh my God! - Bessie!

What's happened?

How could anybody do this?

I don't know.

How can anyone hate us this much?

The Consumer's League, led by Katherine Wiley

has the ear of Walter Litman, editor of one

of the most powerful newspapers in New York.

The million dollar question becomes did the corporation

knowingly expose their workers to the toxins?

Social reformer and scientist Dr. Alice Hamilton

has publicly attacked the lucrative radium industry.

My dear Katherine,

as your Harvard colleague,

I must let you know that the New Jersey Department of Labor

has a copy of your report.

It shows that every girl is in perfect health.

How can Arthur Roeder do such a thing?

He forged a report in your name.

Some action must be taken.

Most sincerely, Alice Hamilton.

I have examined the women you see before you.

I have examined their coworkers.

They suffer from syphilis, nothing more.

Radium poisoning is an invention

of fame-hungry doctors itching for a discovery.

Do you have a license to practice medicine, Mr. Flint?

As a professor at Columbia University, and a physiologist

with the United States Public Health Service,

I hold a doctorate...

Are you a medical doctor, sir?

As I was saying, I hold a doctorate...

Are you a medical doctor, yes or no, Mr. Flint?

No.

And yet, you performed

medical examinations on the plaintiffs?

Yes.

Mr. Roeder, were you aware that Dr. Flint

was not a licensed physician?

I'm sorry?

Can you read the question back to Mr. Roeder?

"Were you aware that Dr. Flint

"was not a licensed physician?"

I assure you, Dr. Flint

is a scientist of the highest caliber.

Did you pay Dr. Flint to diagnose the plaintiffs

with syphilis in order to smear their reputations?

No.

When did you first become aware

of the consequences of radium?

These deaths are tragic.

But let's be clear, Mr. Berry,

there are many competing theories...

Mr. Roeder, did you commission a study of the radium paint

two years before the death of Mary Cavallo?

I did.

The Drinker Report showed nothing amiss.

People are so quick to jump on things

that they just don't understand.

But the fact is, this radium energy

is one of the most vital therapeutic agents

we have at our command.

Even if there were harmful effects,

American Radium cannot be blamed for scientific progress.

Arthur Roeder, president of American Radium,

maintains that the women suffer from Menierial disease.

I don't believe it.

How dare he?

You're trespassing.

I'm here to see Leech.

He's been out for weeks.

Where is he?

Mrs. Butkiss, please!

I need to find him.

Please, I will never ask you for anything again.

Oh, you were always one for melodrama.

He's at St. Francis.

We'll all be in the end.

Thank you.

It's nice of you to visit.

None of the other girls have.

Will you help us?

If a dying man could be of help.

I found something that Mary wrote.

It said you warned her.

Yes, I remember.

You knew it was dangerous?

Yes.

- Did Arthur Roeder? - Yes.

Years ago, we hired a team of Harvard scientists.

A married couple, the Drinkers.

They were the ones who first told us.

Years ago.

Years.

Why didn't you tell us?

I don't know, I was scared.

I didn't know what to do.

The business got bigger than I ever imagined.

I invented Undark.

That snake took it all away from me.

Arthur Roeder?

Never trust a money man.

Never have a partner.

Help me take American Radium down.

No.

You must be careful.

Please, Walter!

Please.

We exhumed Mary.

She died from radium poisoning, just like you are.

You'll never win.

I'm doing it, no matter what.

If you loved her, please!

Okay, okay.

I'll do it, Bessie.

Okay.

Leech says that he'll tell the truth,

that American Radium forced those scientists to keep quiet.

They knew that it was toxic,

and they told us it was safe.

- Bessie, this is huge! - They knew.

You swear to tell the truth, the whole truth

and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

I do.

Your name?

Bessie Patricia Cavallo.

And when did you begin working at American Radium?

Three years ago,

after my sister Mary passed away.

My other sister, Josephine,

had already worked there for two years.

And where is Josephine today?

She is recovering from bone removal surgery

due to radium necrosis.

Objection!

Your Honor, radium necrosis

is the hospital's official diagnosis of Josephine Cavallo.

- I'll allow it. - But your Honor...

Overruled!

During your time at American Radium,

were you ever made aware

of the dangerous nature of radium paint?

No.

When did you learn the truth?

When we autopsied Mary.

But the former president of American Radium

and the inventor of the paint, Mr. Leech,

warned Mary a long time ago.

I read about it in her diary.

Your Honor, we submit the diary

of Mary Cavallo as evidence.

Objection.

A teenage girl's diary

is hardly reliable evidence, your Honor.

I'll allow it.

What did you do when you read this, Bessie?

I asked Mr. Leech if it was true.

He said yes.

He warned Mary.

American Radium knew that it was dangerous

years before she died.

I have nothing further.

Can you prove these outrageous allegations, Miss Cavallo?

No, I can't.

But Mr. Leech can.

Cavallo, how did you get Arthur Leech to testify?

Miss Cavallo, what about your fellow workers

who will lose their jobs?

Do you really think

you can beat American Radium?

Radium Girls, 50 dollars

for exclusive access to your story.

You'll be the face of the New Jersey Evening Star.

Hey, my sister needs this factory job!

Don't shut it down.

I'm doing a piece.

Tell me, how do you prepare for death?

I don't think about it much.

I haven't had the time.

If it were up to me, I would charge them with murder.

Miss Cavallo, how do you feel

about American Radium covering up the truth?

Miss Cavallo, how does it feel

to be leading the way?

Listen, listen.

"Public outcry on behalf of the Radium Girls.

"Marie Curie, the scientist who discovered radium,

"has commented on their tragic fate.

"Curie says there is no way to remove the substance

"from a human body once it has entered."

What on earth are we supposed to do?

"Dear Radium Girls, I am your same age

"at school in Paris, and I read about you in the papers.

"Here's holy water that I got from the Lord.

"You are in my prayers, sincerely, Martin."

Here, close your eyes.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Here, I'll get it.

I bet you could score a fancy audition now.

I wouldn't take it.

I'll give you a million dollars, kid.

What do you say?

Why, thank you sir, but...

I wouldn't do it for a billion.

What about a trillion?

No, not even that.

Is that crazy?

Well, maybe a trillion.

We're gonna win.

Hello?

This is Anne Butkiss

from the American Radium factory.

There's something I need to talk to you about.

Walter Leech, do you swear to tell the truth,

the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

I do.

How long have you been aware

of the dangers of radium?

I always believed it to be a great medical good.

That's why I invested in radium mines 20 years ago.

And how were you acquainted with Mary Cavallo

in the years leading up to her death?

She was, um...

She was one dial painter among hundreds.

The rumor was she had syphilis.

Apparently she had quite the reputation.

Did you ever warn her

against ingesting the radium paint?

Well, at one time I did warn a girl or two

against licking the brushes.

You see, the human mouth is teeming with bacteria.

Licking unclean brushes is unsanitary behavior.

- Unsanitary? - That's right, Mr. Berry.

Unsanitary.

I have nothing else.

Order, order please!

You are suffering from the same

supposed radium poisoning yourself, are you not?

I am.

If you had been aware of the danger,

wouldn't you have been able to save yourself?

That's correct.

Order in the courtroom!

Mr. Berry, I'm Katherine Drinker.

Bessie, I think you're brave.

Will you be calling another witness, Mr. Berry?

We call Dr. Katherine Drinker of Harvard University.

Will you state your name and occupation for the record?

Dr. Katherine Drinker.

I'm a professor at the Harvard School of Industrial Hygiene.

Dr. Drinker, can you tell the court

when you first became acquainted with American Radium?

Four years ago, American Radium hired my team

to investigate whether their radium paint could be harmful.

What were your results?

The workers were all luminous.

Their hair, faces, hands, arms, necks, dresses,

underclothes, even their corsets glowed.

Of the 22 employees we examined,

none had normal blood levels.

We found the trouble due to radium,

and recommended precautions to take.

And what did American Radium do with this information?

They found our results tentative

and maintained there was nothing harmful

anywhere in the works.

Do you stand by your findings?

Of course.

Then why didn't you publish the study?

We wanted to.

American Radium found the study too sensitive to release.

They would sue us

and cut off their support to our university if we did.

However, listening to testimony this past week...

I could not stand by once again.

Thank you, I have nothing further.

Um, permission to approach the bench?

I'll allow it.

Your Honor...

Your Honor, that's not fair.

Mind your tone, counselor.

American Radium has requested a recess for 18 weeks.

A key witness to the defense is abroad.

The bank is coming after our house.

Henry, how is this legal?

The recess is granted and we'll reconvene then.

Court is dismissed.

- We're running out of time. - We'll fight it.

How?

In the court of public opinion.

The nation has rallied

in support of the Radium Girls

in the wake of the postponement of their case.

Arthur Roeder has resigned amidst controversy

as other dial painters from Illinois to Connecticut

are now coming forward.

Dear sisters, the New Jersey League

of Women Voters is working to set a legal precedent

for radium toxicity, because of you.

Did you know everyone in Ottowa

is talking about your case?

My dearest Miss Cavallos...

We are dial painters like you.

I was only 15 at the time.

Dial painting paid very well.

I myself have had 19 operations.

I was put in a steel cast

from my chest to my knees.

My doctor said the radium honeycombed my jaw bone.

One of my legs

is now shorter than the other.

We had big dreams.

Thank you for standing up for us.

Yours in fighting spirit, Amelia.

Mary, is that you?

No.

Leave, spirit!

Why did you do it?

My sister...

She was dying of cancer.

Radium was the miracle cure.

What?

But I was too late.

I'm always too late.

But American Radium will take care of her children

for the rest of their lives, and their children's lives.

She loved you!

Forgive me, Mary.

Maat, will you break the power of Satan

from his assignments in Walter Leech's life?

The goddess of truth is watching.

Our bones will glow forever, you know.

Yes, I know.

Goodbye, sisters.

- Delivery. - Hey Walt.

The postmark says California.

California!

I got your message, what's up?

Um, Wiley called a meeting for tomorrow.

Maybe she got a court date set.

The papers say that it could be any day now, so...

Finally, this is what we've been waiting for.

What's going on?

Girls, this is federal judge Clark.

Was a court date set?

I have been following your painful story,

so I took it upon myself to negotiate a deal

with American Radium on your behalf.

10 thousand, each.

Dollars?

Yes.

And they'll pay for all your medical expenses.

And are they admitting that radium is toxic?

Oh, they'll shut down the factory.

Don't worry, it's all in there.

Okay, um...

I'm sorry, but what about getting radium banned?

- That was... - $10,000, Bessie!

Thank God!

This is about more than just one factory.

There are future lives at stake.

Our lives are at stake.

American Radium has a team of attorneys,

the best in the state,

with unlimited resources at their disposal.

They could drag this out for years.

We don't have years.

All they have to do is run out the clock.

It will be brutal.

My father has mortgaged our house to the gills.

I don't want my boys growing up on the street.

I just wanted it to mean something.

It does.

He says they'll shut down the factory.

That's good, Bessie.

So this is how it ends?

Can I tell you a secret

I learned a long time ago?

It never ends.

Do you mind if I sit?

You wanna help?

I'm too tired.

You're too young to be tired, my child.

Come on...

The fishes, he's no tired, he run away.

You see, no like my worm.

Bessie.

Sometime these eyes too old to see something, no?

I'm sorry.

Forgive nonno?

Yeah.

Of course.

I believe you.

I believe everything now.

- I - wish you could see yourself

the way I see you.

As a warrior, a goddess,

full of power and light.

A ticker tape parade in your eyes.

Did you know some people call The Book Of The Dead

The Book Of Coming Forth Into Light?

That's beautiful.

Oh look, I love this part.

Mayest thou be at peace with me.

May I advance upon the earth.

May I crush the evil one.

May my arms become spears to thwart crocodiles.

May I live in the season of revolution.

May the light of my soul detect shadows of evil.

The doors of perception open.

Hey!

What was hidden has been revealed.

I am restless.

I smell a change coming.

The shape of truth is coming.

Let me fly to the far edge of sky.

Let me rest in the folds of the earth.

I am a child of eternity.

Subtitles by explosiveskull