The Pennsylvania Miners' Story

The Pennsylvania Miners' Story is a 2002 television film. It was written by Elwood Reid and directed by David Frankel. The film is based on the real events occurred at the Quecreek Mine. It was mostly filmed on location at Somerset County, Pennsylvania and some scenes were shot on the actual Quecreek Mine. "The Pennsylvania Miners' Story" was first aired at ABC on November 24, 2002.

The Pennsylvania Miners' Story
DVD cover
Written by	Elwood Reid
Directed by	David Frankel
Starring	Graham Beckel Dylan Bruno Marisa Ryan JD Souther Michael Bowen
Music by	Mason Daring
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Jack Clements
Cinematography	Tony Cutrono Igor Meglic John Thomas
Editors	William Marrinson Christopher Rouse
Running time	100 minutes
Production companies	Sanitsky Company Touchstone Television
Budget	$8,500,000 (Estimated)[1]
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	November 24, 2002 (2002-11-24)

Plot

The film tells the real story of nine miners trapped underground and the attempts to rescue them. Based on the events occurred on the Quecreek Mine between July 24 to 28, 2002.

Production

Disney reportedly paid "$1.35 million ($150,000 to each miner) for the television and book rights."^[2]

Cast

• Graham Beckel as Randy Fogle
• Dylan Bruno as Blaine Mayhugh
• Marisa Ryan as Leslie Mayhugh
• JD Souther as Dennis 'Harpo' Hall
• Michael Bowen as Robert 'Boogie' Pugh

Reception

"The Pennsylvania Miners' Story" was nominated for two Golden Reel Awards, in the categories of "Best Sound Editing in Television Long Form - Sound Effects & Foley" and "Best Sound Editing in Television Long Form - Dialogue & ADR".^[3]

Anita Gates from The New York Times wrote: "The film captures the elation of the rescue and of renewed hope along the way but doesn't begin to convey the drama of the actual events in Quecreek, Pa. And this was a story in which the news coverage could make a person cry."^[2]

Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central wrote: "Tweaking emotions is a fragile pastime, and there's a thin line between "tribute" and "mawkish.""^[4]