Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers:

Loretta Lynn (autobiography)
Thomas Rickman (writer)

Release Date:

7 March 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Tagline:

She was married at 13. She had four kids by the time she was 20. She's been hungry and poor. She's been loved and cheated on. She became a singer because it was the only thing she could do. She became a star because it was the only way she could do it.

Plot:

Biography of Loretta Lynn, a country and western singer that came from poverty to fame.

Plot Keywords:

Loretta Lynn | Poverty | Country Music | Singer | Grand Ole Opry

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Sissy Spacek	...	Loretta Lynn
Tommy Lee Jones	...	'Mooney' Lynn
Levon Helm	...	Ted Webb
Phyllis Boyens	...	'Clary' Webb
Bill Anderson Jr.	...	Webb child
Foister Dickerson	...	Webb child
Malla McCown	...	Webb child
Pamela McCown	...	Webb child
Kevin Salvilla	...	Webb child
William Sanderson	...	Lee Dollarhide
Sissy Lucas	...	Loretta & Mooney's child
Pat Patterson	...	Loretta's child
Brian Warf	...	Loretta & Mooney's child
Elizabeth Watson	...	Loretta & Mooney's child
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Patsy Cline

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bee, Virginia, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Sissy Spacek's Best Actress Oscar win for playing singer Loretta Lynn created a rarity in the Academy's history in that the real-life Loretta Lynn was in the audience witnessing the victory. That same evening (March 31, 1981) boxer Jake LaMotta was in the pavilion audience when Robert De Niro won the Best Actor statuette for his portrayal of LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980), making the event even more rare.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Doo and Loretta are in the radio station, after the disc jockey said he had listened to the record, it shows Loretta picking up the envelope and handing it to Doo. He lifts the flap, the scene goes to the disc jockey and in the next scene it pans back to Doo opening the flap again, only this time it's licked and sealed with the metal clasp.

Quotes:

[Doolittle walks out of the door after an argument with Loretta]
Loretta: Doolittle; are you leavin'?
Doolittle: [come back in the house] Naw, Loretta; *I* ain't leavin'.
[Loretta walks up to her parents' house]
Ted: Well, look whose back!
Loretta: Doolittle's done throwed me out.
Clara: Maybe it ain't to late to stop you from ruinin' your life.
Ted: I believe married life is makin' you fat, girl.
Clara: [to herself] Oh, no!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Skydivers (#7.9)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Blue Moon of Kentucky

Honest and Accurate

Coal Miner's Daughter spans the decades from 1948 Kentucky to the 1970's, when Loretta Lynn had a nervous breakdown and collapsed on stage. First off, the scenes in rural Kentucky are very familiar to anyone who grew up in the mountains at that time. My own grandmother had seven brothers and sisters, lived in a cabin, and married at age 15. So I've heard the stories of her growing up, and it's VERY close to what is depicted in this film. The Butcher Holler scenes are so realistic, they make you feel like you're right there. It wasn't like the Waltons, folks. This shows how it really was back then. I will always love Loretta for her honesty and I'm sure that many women can relate to her wedding night innocence. In fact she didn't know where the babies were coming from until the first four were born. By that time she was 18 years old. It was only after Loretta's father died in 1959 that she started singing in honky tonk bars. For anybody who loved the book as much as I did, I wish they would have shown how Loretta's career affected her children. By the time her twins were born she was on the road so much that she simply didn't have time to be an attentive mother. Success didn't bring lasting happiness. Loretta's busy career caused stress which led to her pill addiction and breakdown. The scenes of Nashville in the 1960's are very accurate and Loretta's friendship with Patsy Cline is fun to watch. Patsy was like a big sister and a mother figure to Loretta. She was brilliantly depicted by Beverly D' Angelo. Sissy Spacek became Loretta Lynn for this film and seeing is believing. She was very convincing as a 13-year-old. What an amazing performance. Tommy Lee Jones redeems the character of Doo for his bad behavior and in the end he is a supportive father and husband. Loretta's parents are portrayed very accurately by Levon Helm and Phyllis Boyens. I especially liked the mother's "squaw dance". Coal Miner's Daughter is a masterpiece as a song, a book, and especially a movie.