Matewan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Matewan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Sayles
Produced by	Peggy Rajski Maggie Renzi
Written by	John Sayles
Starring	Chris Cooper James Earl Jones Mary McDonnell Will Oldham
Music by	Mason Daring
Cinematography	Haskell Wexler
Editing by	Sonya Polonsky
Distributed by	Cinecom Pictures
Release date(s)	August 28, 1987 (1987-08-28) (United States)
Running time	132 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4,000,000 (estimated)
Money made	under $2 million (US).

Matewan is a 1987 American drama film directed by John Sayles. It stars Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, and Mary McDonnell. The movie tells the story of a real event called the Battle of Matewan. This happened during a strike by coal miners in 1920. The town of Matewan is in the hills of West Virginia.

Matewan was praised by critics. However, it did not make much money at the box office. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. It was also re-released in 2019 by Criterion Collection.

The Story of Matewan

A Town in Trouble

The film begins in 1920 in Matewan, West Virginia. A man named Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper) arrives in town. He works for the United Mine Workers union. His job is to help the miners organize against the Stone Mountain Coal Company.

When Joe first gets to Matewan, he sees angry miners. They are upset because their pay has been cut. They are also angry at new workers, both black and Italian, who have come to work. Joe tries to help everyone work together.

Joe stays at a boarding house run by Elma Radnor (Mary McDonnell). Her 15-year-old son, Danny (Will Oldham), is also a miner. Danny is also learning to be a Baptist preacher.

Company Spies and Evictions

A company spy named C. E. Lively works secretly within the union. He tries to cause trouble and violence. He also tells the Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency that Joe Kenehan is in town. This agency hires people to break strikes.

Soon, two men from Baldwin–Felts, Hickey and Griggs, arrive. They try to stay at Elma Radnor's boarding house. Danny doesn't want them there. But Joe moves to a hotel to avoid problems for Mrs. Radnor.

Hickey and Griggs then start forcing miners out of their company-owned homes. Mayor Testerman and Police Chief Sid Hatfield refuse to let this happen. They say the company needs official papers from Charleston. Chief Hatfield then makes all the men in town special deputies. He tells them to get their guns.

Fighting Back

The Baldwin–Felts men then attack the miners' camp outside town. The miners and their families are living in tents. The gunmen shoot into the camp at night, hurting some strikers.

The next day, the company men try to take back food and clothes. These items were bought with "company scrip," which was special money only used at the company store. But armed "hill people" arrive. Their land was taken by the coal company, and they support the miners. Their presence makes the Baldwin–Felts men leave without taking anything.

Growing Tensions

The union's strike money arrives slowly. This makes Danny Radnor and other miners lose patience. They start to think about using violence, even though Joe Kenehan warns them not to.

One night, miners get into a shootout with the agents. A miner named Sephus is hurt. He is saved by the hill people. Before he is rescued, he realizes that Lively is the spy.

Lively tries to turn the miners against Joe. He convinces a young widow to falsely accuse Joe of something bad. He also plants a letter to make Joe look like the spy. The miners then plan to kill Joe.

Danny's Discovery

Danny overhears Hickey and Griggs talking about their plan. He is discovered and threatened by Hickey. That night, Danny is preaching at the Freewill church. He tells a story about Joseph that helps the miners understand they have been tricked.

Lively quietly leaves the church. A miner runs to stop Few Clothes (Jones) from killing Joe. Meanwhile, Sephus has returned to town. He tells everyone about Lively's betrayal. Lively's restaurant is burned down, and he swims across the Tug Fork river to escape.

A Tragic End

Later, Danny and his friend Hillard Elkins are taking coal from the mine. The detectives find them. Danny hides, but Elkins is forced to give information. He names five people, but Griggs kills him anyway. Lively points out that the men Elkins named had died years ago. He realizes that killing a young boy will make things much worse.

The conflict between the Baldwin–Felts men and Chief Hatfield gets worse. More company men arrive to force the evictions. The mayor tries to talk things out. Joe Kenehan runs to stop the fight.

Suddenly, a big gunfight breaks out. The company men are out in the open. The townspeople shoot from behind barriers and rooftops. Chief Hatfield shoots two men and survives. But Joe Kenehan is killed, and the mayor is shot. Griggs is killed. Hickey escapes to Elma Radnor's boarding house, where Elma shoots and kills him. In the end, seven company men and two townspeople are killed.

Aftermath

An older Danny tells the rest of the story. Mayor Testerman died from his wounds. His wife later married Chief Sid Hatfield. But Hatfield was later shot and killed in broad daylight in Welch. Lively was the one who delivered the final shot. Danny remembers this event as the start of the Great Coalfield War.

Cast

Filming Locations

The film was made in West Virginia. The town of Thurmond was used to look like Matewan. Other scenes were filmed along the New River Gorge National River.

Music in the Film

The film's music features Appalachian music from that time. It was composed by Mason Daring, who often works on John Sayles' films.

West Virginia bluegrass singer Hazel Dickens sings the film's main song, "Fire in the Hole." She also appears in the film as a member of the Freewill Baptist Church. You can hear her leading the church in a song without instruments. She also sings over the grave of a miner named Hillard Elkins. Dickens also sings "Hills of Galilee" during the end credits.

The soundtrack was released on LP. Other musicians include John P. Hammond, Phil Wiggins, Gerry Milnes, Stuart Schulman, Jim Costa, John Curtis, and Mason Daring.

See also

In Spanish: Matewan (película) para niños