9to5 (also known as Nine to Five) is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Colin Higgins from a screenplay by Higgins and Patricia Resnick. It stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton (in her film debut), Dabney Coleman, Elizabeth Wilson, and Sterling Hayden. In the film, three female office employees band together to seek revenge against their sexist and autocratic male boss.
Development on 9 to 5 began after Fonda formed the production company IPC Films, and was inspired by 1940s-era films which featured multiple female leads. The initial screenplay was written by Resnick as a drama, but after discussions between Tomlin and Fonda, Higgins was hired and adapted 9 to 5 from a drama to a comedy. Production was paused during rewrites, during which the rest of the main cast was rounded out: 9 to 5 was a star vehicle for Parton, who was a successful musician prior to acting in the film. Principal photography took place primarily in Los Angeles. The film's theme song, performed by Parton, was released in November 1980.
9 to 5 was first theatrically released in the United States on December 19, 1980, by 20th Century Fox. Upon release, the film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with praise for Parton's performance but criticism for its plot. Its theme song was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, while Parton received two Golden Globe nominations, including for Best Actress. 9 to 5 has since received retrospective praise for its comedy and commentary on workplace sexism and women's labor. It grossed $103.3 million domestic, and has also been adapted into both a television series and a musical. In April 2024, it was reported that a remake, produced by Jennifer Aniston, is in development.
Plot
Housewife Judy Bernly starts work as a secretary at Consolidated Companies after her divorce and is placed under the supervision of sharp-tongued widow Violet Newstead. Both work under president Mr. Hinkle and egotistical, sexist vice president Franklin Hart.
When Hart turns down Violet for a promotion in favor of the less-qualified Bob Enright, Violet confronts him in his office when his secretary, Doralee Rhodes, follows Violet and subsequently learns about the rumor that she's having an affair with Hart. Discovering the rumor is a lie, both women hit a bar to drink away their frustration. Meanwhile, Hart fires Maria Delgado after learning from his loyal assistant, Roz, that Maria discussed her salary with a co-worker. Disgusted by Hart's cruelty, Judy joins Violet and Doralee at the bar.
They spend the evening smoking marijuana at Doralee's house and fantasizing about how they would get revenge on Hart: Judy would hunt him with a gun and mount his head on a wall, as he does to animals on his hunting trips; Doralee would turn the tables on sexual harassment, hogtie him rodeo style, then roast him over a fire; and Violet, in a fairytale-like sequence, would poison his coffee and throw him out the window. The next day, a distracted Violet accidentally puts rat poison in Hart's coffee, mistaking the box for the nearly identical box of sweetener. Before he can drink it, his desk chair malfunctions and he blacks out after hitting his head on a credenza.
Violet realizes her mistake and thinks the poisoned coffee caused Hart to black out. She and Judy meet Doralee at the hospital just in time to overhear a doctor pronounce a man dead from poisoning. Thinking the dead man is Hart, Violet steals the body to prevent an autopsy, but while arguing with Judy and Doralee, she crashes her car, damaging a fender. When Doralee retrieves a tire iron from the trunk to fix the fender, she discovers the body is not Hart so they return it to the hospital.
The next morning, Hart shocks the women when he arrives for work as usual. In the ladies’ room, Doralee explains that Hart hit his head but did not drink the coffee. Relieved that nothing will come out of the night's events, the ladies agree to meet for happy hour at the end of the day. However, Roz overhears their conversation and reports back to Hart.
Hart summons Doralee to his office and offers her a choice: if she spends the night with him, he will not report her, Judy, and Violet for attempted murder. Doralee refuses, and when Hart will not hear her out, she hogties him and stuffs a scarf in his mouth to keep him quiet. He tricks Judy into loosening the binds, which leads her to shoot at him with Doralee's handgun, nearly committing murder.
The women discover that Hart has been selling Consolidated inventory and pocketing the proceeds, so they decide to blackmail him into keeping quiet. When they are told that invoices Violet ordered to prove the crimes will not arrive for 4 to 6 weeks, they kidnap Hart and hold him prisoner in his bedroom.
While Hart is out of the office, Doralee forges his signature and in his name, they implement several programs that are popular with the workers, including an in-office daycare center, equal pay for everyone, flexible hours, and a job-sharing program allowing employees to work part-time.
Days before the invoices arrive, Hart's wife Missy returns from a cruise and frees him, giving him the time to buy back the inventory he sold. Before Hart can report Judy, Doralee, and Violet to the police, the chairman of the board Russell Tinsworthy arrives and congratulates Hart on his improvements to the office, which have resulted in a 20 percent increase in productivity. Tinsworthy invites Hart to join him on a multiyear project in Brazil, which he reluctantly accepts.
A postscript states that Violet is promoted to vice president. Judy marries the Xerox representative. Doralee leaves Consolidated to become a country & western singer. Hart is abducted by a tribe of Amazons in the Brazilian jungle and is "never heard from again".
Cast
Jane Fonda as Judy Bernly, a new employee for whom Consolidated is her first job after being a housewife. She is forced to get a job after her husband leaves her for his young secretary, with whom he cheated on Judy. Soon after starting work, she befriends Violet and Doralee. Lily Tomlin as Violet Newstead, a widow with four kids who has been working at Consolidated for twelve years. Despite being very knowledgeable about the company and having once trained him, Hart treats her like a secretary and gives a promotion she wanted to a man. She is the most senior supervisor on her floor and becomes responsible for training Judy, whom she eventually befriends. Dolly Parton as Doralee Rhodes, Frank Hart's attractive, married secretary whom he consistently flirts with and sexually harasses. He also gives her presents he tells Violet are for his wife, and spreads an untrue rumor that he and Doralee are having an affair, resulting in the staff shunning her. Dabney Coleman as Franklin M. Hart Jr., a Vice President of Consolidated Companies who is the boss of Judy, Violet, Roz, and Doralee. Despite being married, he is not shy about flirting or sexually harassing other women, especially Doralee, and refers to the secretaries on his floor as his "girls". He also steals an idea from Violet and tries to embezzle from Consolidated. Sterling Hayden as Russell Tinsworthy, Consolidated Companies' chairman of the board who is mostly away working on a jungle clearance project in Brazil. Elizabeth Wilson as Roz, Hart's sycophantic, loyal administrative personal assistant who constantly eavesdrops on the other staff and reports what she learns to Hart. Henry Jones as Mr. Hinkle, the President of Consolidated Companies who Hart works under and answers to Tinsworthy. Lawrence Pressman as Dick, Judy's ex-husband. Marian Mercer as Missy Hart, Franklin's sweet-natured wife who adores him and is oblivious to his cheating. Renn Woods as Barbara, one of Judy and Violet's co-workers Norma Donaldson as Betty, another co-worker Roxanna Bonilla-Giannini as Maria Delgado, a friendly co-worker that has children who Judy befriends. Roz reports to Hart on derisive comments on salary that she heard her make in the ladies' room which results in Hart having Roz inform Maria that she is fired. She later returns to work part-time under the women's job-sharing program that impresses Tinsworthy. Jeffrey Douglas Thomas as Dwayne Rhodes, Doralee's husband. Peggy Pope as Margaret Foster, an alcoholic secretary whom others refer to as "the old lush". Richard Stahl as Meade Ray Vitte as Eddie, a friend of Violet's who works in the company mail room, but aspires to become an executive. Earl Boen as Perkins
Production The film was based on an idea by Jane Fonda, who had recently formed her own production company IPC Films:
My ideas for films always come from things that I hear and perceive in my daily life ... A very old friend of mine had started an organization in Boston called "Nine to Five", which was an association of women office workers. I heard them talking about their work and they had some great stories. And I've always been attracted to those 1940s films with three female stars.
Fonda said the film was at first going to be a drama, but "any way we did it, it seemed too preachy, too much of a feminist line. I'd wanted to work with Lily [Tomlin] for some time, and it suddenly occurred to [her producing partner] Bruce and me that we should make it a comedy." Patricia Resnick wrote the first draft drama, and Fonda cast herself, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton in the leads, Parton in her first film role.
Colin Higgins then came on board to direct and rewrite the script; part of his job was to make room for all three in the script. Higgins said Fonda was a very encouraging producer, who allowed him to push back production while the script was being rewritten. "He's a very nice, quiet, low-key guy", said Parton of Higgins. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd had one of those mean directors on my first film." Higgins admitted that he "expected some tension" from working with three stars, "but they were totally professional, great fun, and a joy to work with. I just wish everything would be as easy."
Fonda stated that the resulting film "remains a 'labour film, but that she hoped it to be "of a new kind, different from the Grapes of Wrath or Salt of the Earth. "We took out a lot of stuff that was filmed, even stuff the director, Colin Higgins, thought worked but which I asked to have taken out. I'm just super-sensitive to anything that smacks of the soapbox or lecturing the audience".
Fonda said she did a lot of research, focusing on women who had begun work late in life due to divorce or being widowed.
What I found was that secretaries know the work they do is important, is skilled, but they also know they're not treated with respect. They call themselves "office wives". They have to put gas in the boss's car, get his coffee, buy the presents for his wife and mistress. So when we came to do the film, we said to Colin [Higgins], OK, what you have to do is write a screenplay which shows you can run an office without a boss, but you can't run an office without the secretaries!
Filming locations The home of Franklin Hart is located at 10431 Bellagio Road in Bel Air, Los Angeles. According to commentary included in the DVD release of the film, the home was, at the time, owned by the Chandler family, publishers of the Los Angeles Times.20th Century Studios DVD release, 9 to 5 (Sexist, Egotistical, Lying Hypocritical Bigot Edition - Widescreen) (Audio commentary). April 4, 2006. The Consolidated offices were presumably in the Pacific Financial Center located at 800 W 6th Street, at South Flower Street in Los Angeles. Although the story appears to be set in Los Angeles, the opening credit montage, set to the title song, is mostly composed of shots from downtown San Francisco. These shots include an electric Muni bus fitted with a KFOG 104.5 FM advertisement, the Ferry Building clock, and a brief glimpse of the San Francisco twins, Marian and Vivian Brown.
Soundtrack