Matewan Page #5

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.
Genre: Drama, History
Director(s): John Sayles
Production: Cinecom Pictures
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.9
Rotten Tomatoes:
93%
PG-13
Year:
1987
135 min
1,963 Views


got with these coal operators

he'd a changed his tune.

A man deserveth an hourly wage.

He'd say for those

the pit be gassy and the face

full of slate, a man still toileth by

the sweat of his brow.

And wants a better deal here on

earth, no matter what I got in store

for him in the hereafter?

Praise Jesus!

- Kenehan.

Out kinda late, aren't you?

I met some people and

we got to talking.

Talking?

Yeah.

Who are you?

Name is Sid Hatfield.

I'm chief of police around here.

It ain't against the law

to talk, is it?

Depends.

I take care of my people.

You bring them trouble,

you're a dead man.

Sleep tight, Kenehan

Hi.

Well, look at this, Griggsy.

They got up

a little reception committee for us

What is your name, honey?

- Bridey Mae Tolliver.

You like to watch the trains

come and go, Bridey Mae?

Yeah.

And the people what come into town.

There been a lot of new people

coming here lately?

A few.

- Fella named Joe Kenehan show up?

Maybe.

Are you married, Bridey Mae?

I was.

He got killed in the mine.

That's too bad.

Did you hear that, Griggsy?

He got killed in the mine.

It's a shame.

Was your husband a union man

while he was living?

No. He said it wouldn't never

take hold down here.

He sounds like a smart fella.

I think that you are real pretty.

You know that, Bridey Mae?

Thank you.

Don't you think she's pretty, Griggsy?

You are the best looking

mountain trash I've seen

in a long while.

We'll see you around.

Let's roll, Griggsy.

The sooner we get

out of this shithole the better.

I was putting up blackberrys

when Tremel Blankenship come

shouting up the hollar that

the #5 had blown.

I remember I took

the pot off the stovetop

and washed up my hands

before I went down.

It took two days to dig through.

Then when they brung 'em up you

couldn't tell which was which.

They found blood on the walls

from fellas trying

to claw their way out.

Mrs. Elkins, Mrs. Mounts,

Bridey Mae, me...

we all lost our men in that fire.

Danny was 7 then.

Now he's back in that same hole.

How did it start?

Coal dust gets hanging in the

air down there

and there's a spark.

They could spray the walls down

but the company says

that'd cost too much.

Hey, was..uh, was Sid Hatfield

ever a miner?

Not for long.

He don't like to be closed in, Sid.

He's always real friendly,

smiling Sid.

Then the war come.

Cabell Testerman got to be the mayor.

He made Sid chief of police

and then the girl

that Cabell married... Well...

I don't want you using Danny on

no crazy union business.

A man has to stand up

for what he believes in.

Danny ain't no man..

Look it mister,

you gonna be movin' on.

Win or lose your gonna

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote

John Sayles

John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Passion Fish (1992) and Lone Star (1996). His film Men with Guns (1997) has been nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. His directorial debut, Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980), has been added to the National Film Registry. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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