Molly Maguires



1970 film starring Sean Connery, Richard Harris, and Samantha Eggar. The movie tells the story of a nineteenth century group of Irish-American coal miners who form a terrorist group known as the Molly Maguires to fight exploitation by their oppressive employers. A Pinkerton Detective named James Mc Parlan infiltrates the group to take them down from the inside. But he finds himself sympathizing more with the Mollies than with the company men who hired him.

The film takes a few small liberties with the plot, sacrificing strict historical accuracy for drama, but the setting is highly realistic and occasionally beautiful. Was a box office flop, but well worth watching.

This movie provides examples of:

 * Black and Gray Morality
 * Conflicting Loyalty
 * Crowning Music of Awesome - The whole movie, but in a very low-key way.
 * Dirty Business
 * The Infiltration
 * Jade Colored Glasses
 * Knight Templar
 * The Mole
 * Moral Event Horizon - In case you didn't realize that the Mollies' opponents are evil, they send men to kill a husband and wife in their sleep. The crying baby hammers the point home.
 * No One Gets Left Behind - James going back for the Molly who is wounded during the gunfight.
 * Pay Evil Unto Evil
 * Pinkerton Detective
 * See You in Hell
 * Sliding Scale of Visuals Versus Dialogue - The first words are spoken 15 minutes into the movie. Jack Kehoe doesn't speak until 40 minutes in.
 * Stuff Blowing Up
 * There Are No Good Executives
 * Token Romance
 * Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters