Harlan County U.S.A.
Which Side Are You On?
105 mins
This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Eastovers 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.
Norman Yarborough
Self - Eastover Mining President
Houston Elmore
Self - UMW Organizer
Phil Sparks
Self - UMW Staff
Basil Collins
Self - Mine Foreman
Florence Reece
Self
Lois Scott
Self
Hazel Dickens
Original Music Composer
Merle Travis
Original Music Composer
Lora Hays
Editor
Nancy Baker
Editor
Mirra Bank
Editor
Joshua Waletzky
Sound Editor
Anne Lewis Johnson
Other
Kevin Keating
Director of Photography
Hart Perry
Director of Photography