Backdrop image for movie Harlan County U.S.A.

Harlan County U.S.A. (1977)

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.

  • Documentary

Top billed cast

  • Photo of Norman YarboroughNorman YarboroughSelf - Eastover Mining President
  • Photo of Houston ElmoreHouston ElmoreSelf - UMW Organizer
  • Photo of Phil SparksPhil SparksSelf - UMW Staff
  • Photo of Bessie Lou Cornett ParkerBessie Lou Cornett ParkerSelf
  • Photo of Sudie CrusenberrySudie CrusenberrySelf
  • Photo of Mary Lou FergersonMary Lou FergersonSelf
  • Photo of Basil CollinsBasil CollinsSelf - Mine Foreman
  • Photo of Florence ReeceFlorence ReeceSelf
  • Photo of Lois ScottLois ScottSelf

Similar to Harlan County U.S.A.