Matewan (1987)
7.9/10
135 min
1987
en
Action
Drama
History
Synopsis
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.—Susan C. Mitchell , expanded by Silverwhistle
Cast
Mary McDonnell as Elma Radnor James Earl Jones as Few Clothes Chris Cooper as Joe Kenehan Bob Gunton as C.E. Lively
