F.I.S.T.

F.I.S.T. follows Johnny Kovak, a Cleveland trucker and the son of Hungarian immigrants who loses his job after a strike in the 1930s. He joins the truckers' union and rises through its ranks, drawing on a gift for persuasion that wins him a large following among workers. As his position grows, his methods harden and he turns to organized crime contacts to hold his ground against employers, which brings him to the attention of Senator Andrew Madison and a government investigation into the union.

Norman Jewison directed and produced the film, the ninth of the nineteen features he directed, between Rollerball and ...And Justice for All. Sylvester Stallone plays Johnny Kovak and co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Eszterhas and Jewison. Rod Steiger appears as Senator Madison, with Peter Boyle, Melinda Dillon, David Huffman and Kevin Conway in supporting roles. The production, made by United Artists with Chateau Productions and Huron Productions, cost about 11 million dollars and returned roughly 20 million worldwide.

On IMDb the film holds a rating of 6.4 from around 9,400 votes, and on TMDB it sits at 6.5 from about 237 votes. The two audiences are closely aligned, both placing the film in moderate territory rather than among the best received of its director's work.