Matewan (1987)

A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.

Director:

John Sayles

Writer:

John Sayles

Stars:

Chris Cooper, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Cooper	...	Joe Kenehan
Mary McDonnell	...	Elma Radnor
Will Oldham	...	Danny Radnor
David Strathairn	...	Sid Hatfield
Ken Jenkins	...	Sephus Purcell
Kevin Tighe	...	Hickey
Gordon Clapp	...	Griggs
Bob Gunton	...	C.E. Lively
Jace Alexander	...	Hillard Elkins
Joe Grifasi	...	Fausto
Nancy Mette	...	Bridey Mae
Jo Henderson	...	Mrs. Elkins
Josh Mostel	...	Cabell Testerman
Gary McCleery	...	Ludie
Maggie Renzi	...	Rosaria

Storyline

Mingo County, West Virginia, 1920. Coal miners, struggling to form a union, are up against company operators and the gun thugs of the notorious Baldwin-Felts detective agency. Black and Italian miners, brought in by the company to break the strike, are caught between the two forces. UMWA organizer and dual-card Wobbly Joe Kenehan determines to bring the local, Black, and Italian groups together. While Kenehan and his story are fictional, the setting and the dramatic climax are historical; Sid Hatfield, Cabell C. Testerman, C. E. Lively and the Felts brothers were real-life participants, and 'Few Clothes' is based on a character active several years previously.

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Plot Keywords:

union | miner | labor | coal miner | labor union | 

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Taglines:

At the coal company they use you until you wear out

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

30 June 1988 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Azok a véres napok

Filming Locations:

New River Gorge, New River Gorge National River, West Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$1,680,358 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinecom Entertainment Group, Film Gallery, Goldcrest Films International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Thurmond was the site of one of the five offices of the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency. Two of the men killed in Matewan that day were Albert and Lee, brothers of agency owner, Thomas Felts. In retaliation, Felts had the former Matewan police chief, Sid Hatfield, and his deputy and friend Ed Chambers, killed when he was tried in Welch, WV. Both young men, unarmed and accompanied by their wives, walked up the steps to the courthouse and met five detectives (including the former spy Charles Everett Lively) waiting for them at the top. They were gunned down. Hatfield died almost instantly from chest wounds. Detective Hugh Lucas turned and emptied a gun into the courthouse wall, then placed the gun in the dead man's hand to make it look like self-defence. Lively shot Chambers, who had already been hit several times in the body and neck, behind the ear to make sure he was dead, despite Mrs Chambers' efforts to fend him off with her parasol. Hatfield was 28 years old, and Chambers 22, when they were killed. Their funeral was attended by thousands of miners.

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Goofs

The steam locomotive used in "Matewan" was ex-New York, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway ("Nickel Plate Road") #765. It was a modern steam locomotive built in the 1940's and thus would not have existed at the time of the events depicted in "Matewan."

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Quotes

Joe Kenehan: You think this man is the enemy? Huh? This is a worker! Any union keeps this man out ain't a union, it's a goddam club! They got you fightin' white against colored, native against foreign, hollow against hollow, when you know there ain't but two sides in this world - them that work and them that don't. You work, they don't. That's all you get to know about the enemy.

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Connections

Referenced in Game On: Episode #3.2 (1998)

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Soundtracks

"GATHERING STORM"
Music and lyrics by Mason Daring
(c) 1987 Daring Music/ASCAP
Sung by Hazel Dickens

User Reviews

If All History Lessons Were This Good

With the Corporate greed scandals going on today, it's still a shock to see what went down in the Coal Mines in the 1920's and the battles for worker's rights vs. Greed. This movie plays out like a Woody Guthrie song, a Steinbeck novel; we have the Vigilante Men and the strings being pulled against the common man, whether he/she is local, an immigrant or a minority. Period details are all taken care of, and there's plenty of great suspense and wonderful performances. It gets a 10 from me - how could you not be moved by this film?