Part fact and part fiction, Zoot Suit is the film version of Luis Valdez's critically acclaimed play, based on the actual Sleepy Lagoon murder case and the zoot suit riots of 1940s Los Angeles. Henry Reyna is the leader of a group of Mexican-Americans being sent to San Quentin without substantial evidence for the death of a man at Sleepy Lagoon. As part of the defense committee, Alice Bloomfield and George Shearer fight the blatant miscarriage of justice for the freedom of Henry and his friends.
Direction
Valdez translates stage magic to screen without losing power.
Costume
Those zoot suits are characters themselves—extravagant, defiant, alive.
Acting
Olmos as El Pachuco: swagger, conscience, and devil all in one.
Director
Luis Valdez
Edward James Olmos
El Pachuco
Charles Aidman
George Shearer
Tyne Daly
Alice Bloomfield
John Anderson
Judge F.W. Charles
Mike Gomez
Joey / Jose Torres
Alma Martinez
Lupe
Francis X. McCarthy
Press
Lupe Ontiveros
Dolores
Ed Peck
Lieutenant Edwards
Robert Phalen
District Attorney
Tony Plana
Rudy
Rose Portillo
Della
Marco Rodríguez
Smiley / Ismael Torres
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Edward James Olmos originated El Pachuco on Broadway and nearly missed the film due to scheduling—Valdez waited.
The Sleepy Lagoon case helped birth the Mexican-American civil rights movement; this film remains one of few mainstream depictions of the zoot suit riots, which LA newspapers originally blamed on 'Mexican gang warfare.'
US
