Harlan County U.S.A.
“Which Side Are You On?”
Synopsis
This film chronicles the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine, operated by the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky, in June 1973. The strike was triggered by Eastover's refusal to sign a contract after the miners affiliated with the United Mine Workers of America. The labor action lasted over a year and featured violent confrontations between armed company hired hands and scabs and the striking miners, along with their supporters, including many women. Director Barbara Kopple provides historical context by exploring the long-standing struggles of coal miners and the history of the UMWA. The film was preserved in 2004 by the Academy Film Archive in collaboration with New York Women in Film & Television.
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Principal cast & crew: 17
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This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Nancy BakerShot by Kevin Keating
Also known as
- Harlan County, USAen
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Cast & Crew
17 unique people credited
Top billed cast
John L Lewis
as Self - Pres., UMW, 1920-1960
Carl Horn
as Self - Pres., Duke Power Co.
Norman Yarborough
as Self - Pres., Eastover Mining Co. (Owned by Duke Power)
Logan Patterson
as Self - Chief Negotiator
Houston Elmore
as Self - UMW Organizer
Phil Sparks
as Self - UMW Staff
John Corcoran
as Self - Pres., Consolidated Coal
John O Leary
as Self - Former Dir., Bureau of Mines
Donald Rasmussen
as Self - Black Ling Clinic., W. Va
Hawley Wells Jr
as Self
Directors
1Producers
1Other crew
6Parents Guide
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Live · bot-verified- The Criterion ChannelStream
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