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The Molly Maguires (1970)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 2/25

MollyM
2/25: If you liked Harlan County, U.S.A. because of the coal mining aspect, you'll probably appreciate The Molly Maguires.

A period picture set in almost the middle of Pennsylvania during 1876, it highlights the struggles that workers undergo through while being paid low wages, living in a company-owned shanty town, and shopping at a company-owned grocery store. Impressive is the high amount of blackness everywhere, even on doors where people will normally touch. So is the photography by James Wong Howe.

Unfortunately, the issues are never made clear. Neither are the gangs' motives. What's the end goal? The Molly Maguires doesn't explain. I've often asked why, and it's somewhat answered by Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery) at the end. After researching a bit online, I found out that the Irish faced discrimination everywhere and that coal mining jobs were the best they could do after moving to America. After working there, they ended up owing more to the company than what they had been paid which, in effect, made them slaves.

Instead, the film is about James McKenna/McParlan (Richard Harris), as an employee presumably for the Pinkerton Detective Agency, falling for Kehoe à la Point Break because he admires his character. But really...he got the job done and is ready to move on. The story of how it went down is what happened for real except Kehoe was a saloon owner. Everything was shot on location at Eckley Miners' Village in Eckley, Pennsylvania, which was at first abandoned and then converted into a museum afterwards.

As for the cast, Richard Harris dominates while Sean Connery is average. Samantha Eggar does what she can, and Frank Finlay comes out to offer a hand whenever he's needed. The rest of the players fill in the blanks. Apart from the somewhat unclear script, the pace should be picked up more. Because of the film's commercial failure, it damaged the careers of Richard Harris, Sean Connery, and Martin Ritt considerably.

All in all, The Molly Maguires is a decent picture that offers a bonus of seeing Richard Harris and Sean Connery together in major roles for only one time.