Joey King fights for female factory workers in Radium Girls clip

Joey King is on a life saving mission.

In an exclusive clip from Radium Girls, the upcoming drama based on real historical events, King (The Act, The Kissing Booth) tries to convince her coworkers at a radium factory that they are in danger of contracting radiation poison from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. As she warns the girls of the peril, they tell her she sounds crazy and they're not willing to lose their jobs over this, even if "six dial painters have already died of inexplicable causes."

Set in 1928 New Jersey, Radium Girls tells the story of two teenage sisters, Bessie (King) and Jo (Abby Quinn), who are working at the American Radium Factory, when Jo loses a tooth and then proceeds to get sicker and sicker. Bessie then makes it her mission, alongside two other young activists, to expose a corporate scandal, filing a lawsuit against American Radium. The notorious case ultimately led to a lasting impact in the area of workplace health and safety, as well as the study of radioactivity.

Radium Girls premieres in select theaters and virtual cinemas on Oct. 23. Watch the clip above.

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