Under the guiding hand of Etienne Lantier (Mark Jones), a group of mineworkers are on strike for more money and better conditions, both of which are being denied by the management.
This BBC production was particularly strong in its creation of the atmosphere of the small mining village where Emile Zola’s story takes place. Especially good were the scenes in the mine itself, where the sweat and the coal dust appeared as real as the pit ponies and the coal in the trucks.
Zola’s point was that the men were treated no better than the pit ponies which dragged to the surface the results of the miners’ toil, and this animal-like quality of the miners’ predicament came across strongly. The theme was punched home most forcibly when Etienne and Maheu (Freddie Jones) arrived home literally collapsing with exhaustion, having narrowly escaped the police.
At this moment, one realised that what they were fighting for was not just better working conditions and more money, but the fundamental right to conduct their lives with dignity and freedom like real human beings.
Souvarine
Donald Burton Chaval
Graham Haberfield Rasseneur
Ken Jones Etienne Lantier
Mark Jones Maheude
Rosemary Leach Catherine
Annette Robertson Monsieur Gregoire
John Wentworth Jeanlin
Spencer Banks Zacharie
Derek Carpenter Deneulin
Edward Jewesbury Maheu
Freddie Jones Bonnemort
Jack Lambert Mouquette
Alex Marshall Dansaert
Arnold Peters Cécile
Petronella Barker Madame Gregoire
Nancie Jackson Madame Rasseneur
Joyce Latham Négrel
Terence Lodge Levaque
Norman Mitchell Monsieur Hennebeau
Charles Morgan Alzire
Deborah Rawlings Miners
John Caesar
Steve Emerson
