Harlan County U.S.A.

Synopsis

This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Eastover's 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. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with New York Women in Film & Television in 2004.

Watch the trailer

When & where

Streaming on

• HBO Max Amazon Channel↗
• YouTube TV↗
• Criterion Channel↗
• HBO Max↗

Top of the call sheet

• N
  Norman Yarborough
  as Self - Eastover Mining President
• H
  Houston Elmore
  as Self - UMW Organizer
• P
  Phil Sparks
  as Self - UMW Staff
• B
  Bessie Lou Cornett Parker
  as Self
• S
  Sudie Crusenberry
  as Self
• M
  Mary Lou Fergerson
  as Self

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