The Price of Coal.

[John]

By Barry Hines and produced by Ken Loach.



















As soon as this feller posts the second half where the explosion takes place, I'll post the videos.

[Mick]

Ive got the dvd John,its a great film.
Mick.

[John]

The ABC televised it in Australia when I first moved over there, I think on the anniversary of the Appin Colliery disaster.
I bought the book after I'd watched the movie.
Barry Hines is a brilliant writer and story teller, to say he'd never worked in a pit in his life, he got it right first time, caught pitmens humour, seriousness etc.
Ken Loach did a good job making the film too!!
That's over 30 years old now!!!!

I enjoyed Kes too.

[cortonwood]

my mate is one of the lads throwing paint at one another,they were apprentices at barnsley tech and were asked to take part.

[rac]

brilliant film hard to believe it was penned by some-one who had never worked down the pit obviously did his research well as said previously captured the humour spot on and also highlighted the serious side as well.watched it a few times and never tire of it .a classic.

[John]

Been years since I saw the full movie, but found the two parts on Youtube last night and watched them....Bit of info I found out on this movie, all Actors were amateurs, done that way to make it more realistic, some were semi pro comedians who did the local pub and clubs scene, most were actual pit workers.
The face scenes in the second part were a training face set up on the surface, the roof fall was supposedly done through a trap door over the road via a truck tipping a load and then closing the trap door.
The pit was Thorpe Hesley in Yorkshire, and I believe some shots were done at Smithywood Colliery which used Thorpe Hesley shafts for materials and ventilation..

Anyone else any information??? The above I found out from doing some online research.

The Missus had a hard time with the accents so fell asleep... I don't know what she'd make of the Geordie accent..LOL

[dazbt]

I worked at Thorpe Hesley a few times during the 60s on AB16 breakdowns, not the best of face conditions if I remember correctly, there wasn't a great deal of coal left for them to play with. One call-out I got in the middle of the night to attend an AB16 Mk1 allegedly slow hauling, got there eventually to find that they were cutting about a 34" section with a maximum thickness of coal about 26" throughout and a 15yard mid face length where the coal thinned to about 8", the machine was slogging its heart out to creep through, I credited the lads on the face with 9 out of 10 for trying to cope with the conditions and the shearer with 15 out of 10.
Thorpe Hesley downcast shaft was used for man riding in it's latter years, from memory it was slightly south of the pit buildings in the middle of a field with no built up air lock just two hinged metal plates over the shaft collar.
I once attended this pit to help deal with a shearer gearhead failure, but that as they say is another story, in fact a story that wouldn't have been out of place in the comedic aspects of the Price of Coal film or even a Brian Rix farce for that matter, involved a gearhead drum shaft failure, the pit ambulance being used to transport the shaft to Central Workshops and a well timed un-announced inspection visit by the area Medical Officer, one infamous Dr Holt, bless him !!