The Molly Maguires
Added 9/21/2009
A riveting and accurate portrayal of the early labor fight in the coal mines of Pennsylvania during the late 1870s. Sean Connery at his finest!
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We live in Bangor, Pa. and love to go to Jim Thorpe, Pa. We have toured the jailwhere the Molly Maquires were hung. We are also Irish and found this movie phenominal.
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Background for Family History
Added 3/24/2009
I bought the DVD of Molly Maguires (1970) to study the branch of my family from eastern Pennsylvania. Much of this film was made in Eckley, Carbon County, where my great-grandmother was born in 1862. My great-grandfather was born in Minersville, Schuylkill County in 1859. He was in charge of the mules that pulled wagon-loads of coal in the mines. The action of the film opens in 1876.
Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery) and three other miners commit acts of violence against the mine-owners' property. A long strike had failed to better their pay and working conditions. Detective James McParlan (Richard Harris) charms his way into the inner circle to gather evidence against this secret society. To show that he is committed to their cause, McParlan beats up a superintendent so badly that he dies. In retaliation, mining police shoot one of the leaders and his wife, both asleep in bed. Eventually, the three other leaders are tried and convicted of murder with McParlan as chief witness.
Although there is a romance between McParland and Miss Mary Raines (Samantha Eggar), the real emotional bonding is between Kehoe and McParlan. McParlan feels the injustices the miners suffer, but he ultimately sides with law and order. This well-plotted tragedy was a commercial failure and did not advance the careers of Connery and Harris.
Artistically, however, the film has many gripping scenes. During the long opening sequence when the four "Mollies" light a long fuse deep in the mine, we wonder if they will reach ground level before the explosion goes off. At a secret meeting when the four tell McParlan to kneel down, we wonder if they are going to shoot him for being a spy. When Kehoe takes a suit from the company store for Mary Raines' dead father, we wonder if McParlan will stop the robbery.
The real Jack Kehoe was not a miner, but the owner of a saloon. In the film, the bartender is played by Malachy McCourt, brother of Frank, the author of "Angela's Ashes." At the urging of a great-grandson, Jack Kehoe was pardoned in 1979 by Milton Shapp, then Governor of Pennsylvania. (Some material from Wikipedia.)
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The Molly Maguires
Added 11/19/2008
It's an interesting story of what happened during the time of the coal barrons and how horribly the miners were treated. However, it seriously lacks any excitement and I found myself wondering when it was going to end. I love the cast, but I really think the director could have made better use of their talent.
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Portrait of the cruel labor conditions in 19th century America
Added 8/21/2008
I have been a union man all my life, as was my father and mother who was the daughter of a mine worker from Eastern Europe.
The Molly Maguires shows an accurate picture of the hard life these people faced and how the mine owners schemed to keep them poor and virtual slaves in company towns. Sean Connery and Richard Harris, along with Samantha Eggar and other Celtic actors do a fine job of showing how the workers pushed back against their mine-owner masters. The media of the time called them murderers, but in truth, the wretched conditions in the mine towns killed far more than the Mollies ever did. I've often thought that Sean Connery was good as James Bond, but he grew into a seasoned actor playing in this film.
This film is well worth your time.
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The Molly Maguires
Added 9/21/2009
A riveting and accurate portrayal of the early labor fight in the coal mines of Pennsylvania during the late 1870s. Sean Connery at his finest!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
We live in Bangor, Pa. and love to go to Jim Thorpe, Pa. We have toured the jailwhere the Molly Maquires were hung. We are also Irish and found this movie phenominal.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Background for Family History
Added 3/24/2009
I bought the DVD of Molly Maguires (1970) to study the branch of my family from eastern Pennsylvania. Much of this film was made in Eckley, Carbon County, where my great-grandmother was born in 1862. My great-grandfather was born in Minersville, Schuylkill County in 1859. He was in charge of the mules that pulled wagon-loads of coal in the mines. The action of the film opens in 1876.
Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery) and three other miners commit acts of violence against the mine-owners' property. A long strike had failed to better their pay and working conditions. Detective James McParlan (Richard Harris) charms his way into the inner circle to gather evidence against this secret society. To show that he is committed to their cause, McParlan beats up a superintendent so badly that he dies. In retaliation, mining police shoot one of the leaders and his wife, both asleep in bed. Eventually, the three other leaders are tried and convicted of murder with McParlan as chief witness.
Although there is a romance between McParland and Miss Mary Raines (Samantha Eggar), the real emotional bonding is between Kehoe and McParlan. McParlan feels the injustices the miners suffer, but he ultimately sides with law and order. This well-plotted tragedy was a commercial failure and did not advance the careers of Connery and Harris.
Artistically, however, the film has many gripping scenes. During the long opening sequence when the four "Mollies" light a long fuse deep in the mine, we wonder if they will reach ground level before the explosion goes off. At a secret meeting when the four tell McParlan to kneel down, we wonder if they are going to shoot him for being a spy. When Kehoe takes a suit from the company store for Mary Raines' dead father, we wonder if McParlan will stop the robbery.
The real Jack Kehoe was not a miner, but the owner of a saloon. In the film, the bartender is played by Malachy McCourt, brother of Frank, the author of "Angela's Ashes." At the urging of a great-grandson, Jack Kehoe was pardoned in 1979 by Milton Shapp, then Governor of Pennsylvania. (Some material from Wikipedia.)
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