Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)

A filmed account of a bitterly violent miner strike.

Director:

Barbara Kopple

Stars:

Norman Yarborough, Houston Elmore, Phil Sparks

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Norman Yarborough	...	Himself - Eastover Mining President
Houston Elmore	...	Himself - UMW organizer
Phil Sparks	...	Himself - UMW staff
John Corcoran	...	Himself - Consolidated Coal President
John O'Leary	...	Himself - former Bureau of Mines director
Donald Rasmussen	...	Himself - Blackwing Clinic, WV (as Dr. Donald Rasmussen)
Hawley Wells Jr.	...	Himself (as Dr. Hawley Wells Jr.)
Tom Williams	...	Himself - Boyle campaigner
Chip Yablonski	...	Himself
Ken Yablonski	...	Himself
Logan Patterson	...	Himself - negotiator
Harry Patrick	...	Himself - UMW secretary-treasurer
Mike Trbovich	...	Himself - UMW VP
Bernie Aronson	...	Himself - UMW staff
Guy Farmer	...	Himself - BCPA General Counsel

Storyline

This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Eastovers refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined with the United Mine Workers of America) led to the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent battles between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and the picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA.

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Plot Keywords:

kentucky | miners strike | mining | harlan county | union movement | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1977 (France)

Also Known As:

Eparhia Harlan I.P.A.

Filming Locations:

Brookside, Kentucky, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cabin Creek

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When filming began, the film was intended to be about the 1972 campaign by Arnold Miller and Miners For Democracy to unseat UMWA president Tony Boyle, in the aftermath of Joseph Yablonski's murder; but the Harlan County strike began and caused the filmmakers to change their principal subject, with the campaign and murder becoming secondary subjects.

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Connections

Version of Harlan County War (2000)

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Soundtracks

"They Can Never Keep Us Down"
Written and Sung by Hazel Dickens
Accompanied by Lamar Grier, John Katarakis, John Otsuka, and Gary Henderson

User Reviews

Gritty and real.

Harlan County USA might surprise viewers that even in the 1970s, large communities existed without indoor plumbing. This documentary is disturbing in that even during the late 20th century, conditions like the one in the movie still existed. Viewers experience many different things as the documentary unfolds; the dangers and pains of working in a coal mine, the corruption of unions and their non-union opposition, and the mind set of American laborers. Harlan County USA is a great documentary and not to be missed by those interested in American labor and the coal mining industry.