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.
Release Date: 30 June 1988Runtime: 135 min
Stars:
- Bob Gunton
- Chris Cooper
- David Strathairn
- Gary McCleery
- Gordon Clapp
- Jace Alexander
- Jo Henderson
- Joe Grifasi
- Josh Mostel
- Ken Jenkins
- Kevin Tighe
- Maggie Renzi
- Mary McDonnell
- Nancy Mette
- Will Oldham
Director: John Sayles
