Hello. Here is today's movie. I hope you enjoy it and watch it tonight.
MATEWAN
In Mingo County, West Virginia in 1920 after the Stone
Mountain Coal company reduces wages and raises prices in the company store in
the same week, the miners vote to form a union and go on strike. The company
brings in African-Americans and recent immigrants to work as scabs, relying on
racism and xenophobia to divide the miners.
Joe Kenehan, a union organizer arrives in Matewan and stays at the
boarding house of widow Elma Radnor and her son Danny, a miner and preacher.
Kenehan meets with the local union at the restaurant of C.E. Lively. During the
meeting the unofficial leader of the African –Americans, "Few
Clothes" Johnson comes to the meeting and Kenehan says to succeed the
union must accept African-Americans and immigrants as members so there will be
no one left to work in the mines. Mrs. Radnor is forced to allow two hired
thugs of the company from the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency to stay in the
boardinghouse. When they try to illegally evict a mining family from company
housing, the town marshall, Sid Hatfield stops them after deputizing the
miners. Kenehan and the local union
leader Sephus eventually persuade the African-Americans and immigrants join the
strike. The miners are forced to live in tents, but when Baldwin-Felts men try
to pressure them, some hill people drive them off. The company tries to ‘buy’
Sid Hatfield and the mayor, Cabell
Testerman, but fail. There is a nighttime shootout with the Baldwin-Felts men.
Sephus is wounded and taken in by some hill people, but he sees that Lively is
actually a company spy. Lively convinces a young widow Bridey Mae Tolliver,
that Kenehan, instead of responding
positively to a love letter she addressed to him, has been saying derogatory
things about her. She tells a story that Kenehan raped her and Livley produces
a fake letter from Baldwin-Felts to Kenehan that says Joe is the spy. The
miners draw straws to decide who will kill Kenehan. Danny overhears this plot,
but the Baldwin-Felts men threaten him into staying silent. However, at a
prayer meeting that night Danny tells the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife,
but alters it sufficiently to alert the miners present (but not the
Baldwin-Felts men) that Kenehan is innocent and his murder is called off.
Sephus returns and Lively’s restaurant is burned down and he flees town. While
Danny and another miner Hillard are stealing coal, Hillard is caught. After
being threatened with death Hillard gives the names of five other union men
(which turn out to be the names of men who died in a coal accident years ago),
he is killed anyway, while Danny watches. On May 19, 1920 [2:01:00 to 2:07:36]
more Baldwin-Felts men arrive to
complete the evictions and Sid Hatfield and the mayor stand in their way.
Kenehan tries to stop it but a gun fight begins with the miners assisting
Hatfield. The mayor and Kenehan are killed as well as seven of the Baldwin-Felts
men.
This is a very interesting little
movie about a forgotten episode in American history. Shines a spotlight on a
two American heroes, Sid Hatfield and Cabell Testerman, who refused to be
bought and stood up to the big money for the little man. Everybody who works
should watch this movie. Corporate America has only changed its methods, not
its goals since the time of Matewan.
West Virginia by John A. Williams (W.W. Norton &
Co., New York, 1976) at page 147 gives the date of the “battle”
Director - John Sayles
Producer - Peggy Rajski and Maggie Renzi
Screenplay - John Sayles
Released - August 28, 1987
Runtime – 1 hour 12 minutes
Starring –
Chris Cooper as Joe Kenehan
James Earl Jones as "Few Clothes" Johnson
Mary McDonnell as Elma Radnor
Will Oldham as Danny Radnor
David Strathairn as Police Chief Sid Hatfield
Ken Jenkins as Sephus Purcell
Gordon Clapp as Griggs
Kevin Tighe as Hickey
John Sayles as Hardshell Preacher
Bob Gunton as C.E. Lively
Josh Mostel as Mayor Cabell Testerman
Nancy Mette as Bridey Mae Tolliver
Jace Alexander as Hillard Elkins
Joe Grifasi as Fausto
Maggie Renzi as Rosaria
Jo Henderson as Mrs. Elkins
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