The Molly Maguires (1970)

Too much of everything

Best movie of this year hands down!

A Masterpiece!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

While reading some reviews here one reviewer pointed out that "this is a film that wouldn't be made today". How sad yet true a statement indeed! This film is rich in history and politics, two subjects that (seemingly) don't interest todays movie-going public. What does it say about a culture when the people have become so detached to their own history?The Molly Maguires was filmed at the very beginning of what I think is the greatest American movie decade ever, and I'm not alone in that opinion as the most recent (2007) AFI list of the top 100 films of all time contains more from the 70s than any other single decade (19!). As if hungover from the 60s, this post-revolutionary period gave birth to many great young directors making films that had an independent and political feel...this was the end of the old "studio system" of Hollywood, and was the beginning of the new independent film movement in America that still exists to this day.This film really succeeds in capturing the atmosphere of a bygone era. This is one of those movies that you just relax (maybe on a rainy afternoon) and let wash over you...appreciate the cinematography (notice the excellent tracking shot of the miners walking out of the mine after planting the explosives near the beginning) and fine acting by all involved. When I was done watching this I wanted to know more about the Molly Maguires. Is that a complaint? Actually I think its a compliment. A good story should leave you wanting to know more about the subject matter.Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery) is the leader of a secret cult of Irish coalminers in 1870s Pennsylvania, James Mckenna (Richard Harris) is an undercover detective sent in to capture the secret cult known as the Molly Maguires, who has lost a strike and begun committing acts of sabotage and murder against the Mining company. This film is rich in period detail and quite engrossing, this is the kind of film you want to watch again and see what dialog you might have missed as the Irish dialects are rather thick. This is also a violent film, but the violence is raw and sudden...believable, not stylishly choreographed and seemingly pandering to the audience like in todays movies. The early days of the American labor movement were quite violent indeed, whether our public schools teach it or not.Mckenna is a very ambitious man and makes its clear to us early on that he will do whatever he has to for career advancement. As he says..."I'm tired of being on the bottom looking up all the time, I want to look down". However, as he gets inside the miners and develops a bond with Kehoe, we see that despite his personal motives, he has actually started to care about these miners. In a poignant scene when the Molly Maguires are bent on desperate retaliation, Kehoe fervently tries to talk them out of it and he's serious (as he admits later to his handler), and we in the audience can tell. But the Molly Maguires are destined for self-destruction. Not even an (unknown to them) enemy can dissuade them from their fate. So this isn't a feel good type of movie. The conclusion doesn't necessarily leave a good taste and might not be that pat ending that modern movie-goers are used to seeing. This is the essence of real history however, the labor struggles in America seldom had a happy ending, and though at times it seemed like labor eventually won, here lately it sure doesn't look that way. Things aren't quite as clear as we like... the line between the good and the bad is often quite fuzzy. The Molly MaGuires is a perfect example of this....it is also a great example of beautiful filmmaking. This may not quite be an American classic, but its real close.One last thing...I really got some great insight reading the other reviews here on this film, they were very interesting, thanks.

The first things that stand out to me in the positive about this film (as the title indicates) are the music and cinematography.The theme by Henry Mancini really does carry the film, and you'll find it playing back (pleasantly) in your head. This made a (for me personally) rather plodding plot more viewable. The music is excellent.The cinematography also is very good. This, combined with the music make for good art. Many shots linger and linger... in a day when watching a film may send a normal being into fits of convulsions from rapid cuts.. the shots here are deliberate and rich. The opening shot slowly and seamlessly takes you from the beauty of the morning sunrise into the gritty, dingy underground world of the coal mines.As for the plot -- what can I say? Can one argue the validity of historical drama? I suppose not. Rather than do that, I'll just say that the story itself suffered from the lack of a person with truly redeeming qualities. The characters seem to embody the environment in which they live -- grungy, filthy and tainted.I spent much of the film a bit confused about the environment, time, and place in which I had been thrust. The film supposes that you understand at least generally the dynamics between the mine management and its workers in the 19th century. I didn't, and it made it difficult to fully understand the motives of the characters involved.The story moves slowly, yet steadily towards its climax. Unfortunately, this is one of those films that leaves a big empty blank in my mind and heart after I've watched it. What am I to take away from this? It's not trying to "entertain" the audience... it's a drama with a message... but this is a film without a hero, a story without an end. Some people like a film that leaves you "hanging" at the end. I can't say as it worked for me this time.In summary, I enjoyed the music and cinematography, the acting was very good... but the story leaves you with a very empty feeling in your gut.

Adaptation of Arthur H. Lewis' book, which was based on actual accounts, about a Pennsylvania coal-mining town in 1876 and the secret group of rebels who are sabotaging the mines. Stranger-in-town Richard Harris is actually a detective sent there to ferret out the culprits. Downbeat story might have stood some tightening (and possibly a little mood-lightening levity), but is otherwise quite good. Director Martin Ritt works exceptionally well with his cast, getting a terrific, surprisingly low-keyed performance out of Harris in particular; scaling back his high voltage nature, Harris is even approachable enough to make the romance sub-plot between he and Samantha Eggar rather sweet. Sean Connery is sturdy as always, and the colorful supporting cast includes Frank Finlay and Anthony Zerbe, an intriguing character actor who pops up in a myriad of '70's films. **1/2 from ****

RICHARD HARRIS is an informer who works his way into THE MOLLY MAGUIRES, a rebellious group and a secret society of Irish immigrants working under brutal coalmining conditions of 1876. Harris is suspected of snooping by SEAN CONNERY, the leader of the group, and it is their scenes together that make the film worth watching.Although realistically set in a Pennsylvania mining town, lovingly photographed with detailed attention to all the grime and soot, it fails to come to life as it should, given the caliber of the stars involved. SAMANTHA EGGAR has the only important female role and is a splendid addition to the cast, but somehow the film fails to have the kind of pace it needs to remain stimulating and reaches a rather inconclusive climax.A very atypical score by Henry Mancini adds to the atmosphere, but this is a film that never had broad enough appeal for the mass market. Fans of Harris and Connery should find it rewarding enough.