At the Coal Face

Synopsis: Two films from the 1940s on coal mining - THE CUMBERLAND STORY and RHONDDA AND WYE - combined on one tape.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Year of release: 2003
Year of production: 1948
Subjects: History
Keywords: archive films; coal mines

Title: Cumberland story, The
Synopsis: In the 1940s the mines of Britain were poised for great changes. Generations had faced poor pay and dangerous conditions and bad management had blighted lives at the coal face. So when a new manager arrives at the Cumberland coal field he has to gain the trust of the miners and their union leaders to strike a new agreement which will pave the way for new equipment and ultimately nationalisation. With miners and management as actors, THE CUMBERLAND STORY (1948), directed by Humphrey Jennings, includes a re-enactment of the modernisation of the mines in the 1940s. It includes a dramatic reconstruction of the Ladypit disaster in 1837, when callous mine-owners neglected safety and 36 men died as workings beneath the Irish Sea were flooded. Made in 1947 by Humphrey Jennings for the Crown Film Unit. 39 minutes.
Duration: 39 mins
Title: Rhondda and Wye
Synopsis: Made in 1948 for the Crown Film Unit. Contrasts the rural areas situated along the banks of the River Wye with the industrialised Rhondda Valley, the commentary being a very potted history of agriculture and coal mining. 20 minutes.
Duration: 20 mins

Name: Panamint Cinema
Email: cinema@panamint.co.uk
Web: http://www.panamint.co.uk External site opens in new window
Phone: 01505 834936
Address: Abercorn Schoolhouse
Whitequarries
Broxburn
West Lothian, Scotland
EH52 6PZ

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British Universities Film & Video Council