The Last Pullman Car

In 1864, George Pullman began selling his famous railroad sleeping cars which helped him build a vast industrial empire that was supposed to last forever. In 1981, however, Pullman workers found themselves in the midst of a fight not only for their jobs but the future of the American rail car industry. One hundred years of government, union and corporate policies are traced in this engaging story.

"What’s great about this film, and many Kartemquin documentaries, is that it develops a theme that feels central to the history of Western civilization: the ordinary person called to greatness by circumstance." —Michael Phillips, Jr. - South Side Projections "This film is a battlecry!" —Studs Terkel "Never intrusive and avoiding obvious, human interest techniques 'Pullman Car' makes the members of local 1834 come alive on their own terms… By the time the film is over it's impossible to distance oneself from the plight of these workers who are being shunted aside by their company, by their legislators, and by society as a whole." —Larry Kart, Chicago Tribune