The Molly Maguires is a 1970 American historical drama film directed by Martin Ritt, starring Sean Connery and Richard Harris.

[3] Set in late 19th century Carbon County, Pennsylvania, this social drama tells the story of an undercover detective sent to a coal mining community to expose a secret society of Irish-American miners battling exploitation at the hand of the owners.

Partly inspired by a true story, the film portrays the rebellious leader of the Molly Maguires and his will to achieve social justice.

In a coalmine in Pennsylvania in 1876, coal is still dug by hand and taken out on rails in wagons pulled by ponies.

He arrives by train in the late evening and goes to a local bar and orders a beer, while Jack Kehoe, the Molly Maguires' leader, observes and motions for two of his men, Dougherty and Frazier, to deal with the matter.

Davies explains to McParlan the problem of the Molly Maguires—and that they are named after a gang in Ireland.

In church, the priest condemns "last night's actions" by the Molly Maguires—beating a watchman and flooding a mine.

A fake accident is organized where Kehoe rescues James from a huge avalanche of coal.

While Mary is looking at hats, he has a rendezvous with the captain and gets payment for giving the names of the ringleaders.

At a meeting of the Hibernians, James is asked to put a superintendent at the Shenandoah pit out of action.

Dougherty is arrested for killing the superintendent of the Shenandoah, but this is a ploy to bring the real killers forward.

Kehoe and McAndrew are caught red-handed as they break into the explosives store at the pit and find that it is full of police.

The Molly Maguires were a secret organization of Irish coal miners established in nineteenth century Pennsylvania to fight oppressive mineowners.

The lead sequence and opening credits for The Molly Maguires runs 14 minutes and 51 seconds, through three Henry Mancini scores, before the first word of dialogue is spoken.

The town of Eckley, was so unchanged from its 1870s appearance that the only major alterations needed for filming were to remove television antennas and install underground electric wiring.

A wooden coal breaker which was built as a prop and is featured extensively in the film, partially stands to this day.

A big budget film for its time, with stars Connery (who had recently left the James Bond franchise) and Harris (Camelot) at career peaks, it was considered a major box-office failure.

This was the next-to-the-last film for legendary cinematographer James Wong Howe, who had previously worked with Ritt on Hud and Hombre.