In 1984 the women of the Iron Range mine had finally had enough — of unwanted touching, sexually explicit graffiti and offensive language. They went looking for a lawyer and made legal history.

Now a Warner Brothers film inspired by the true events at the Eveleth, Minn., mine has reached movie theaters. “North Country,” starring Charlize Theron, presents a somewhat fictionalized account of Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., the first successful class action over sexual harassment. The case settled for a confidential amount in 1998.