The Littlest Horse Thieves (1976) Movie Script
1
Old Flash Was The Best
Of The Ponies
In The Emsdale Colliery
Never Saw The Light
From Morn Till Night
But A Grand Little Pony
Was He
He Knew Every Inch
Of The Coalface
In The Emsdale Colliery
And He Knew That
Once His Shift Was Done
He Could Rest
Till The Morning Free
[Happy Music]
[Bell Dings]
[Indistinct Chatter]
[Indistinct Yelling]
Luke, Quick --
Come Out Of There.
It'll Like Come Down On Us
As It Will On Thee.
All Right, Then.
Pitch In Some More Pit Props
And We'll Shore It Up.
Whoa!
Get!
Hey, You, Flash.
What Are You Doing
With My Baitbox, Eh?
Do You Think There's
Something There For You?
Go On With You.
It's All Right.
Here Now.
Ahh...
Go On.
Go On With Ya.
Come On.
Come Here, Flash.
Beg Your Pardon, Sir.
Well, They Can't Pull More
Than Two Tubs At A Time.
Nay, Sir, Each One Of Them
Things Weighs Nearly Half A Ton.
Come Here, Flash.
Come On.
Come Here.
Come On.
Have You Ever Seen
A Mane And Tail Hauler?
No, Sir, I Never Have.
I've Heard Of Them,
But I've Not Seen One.
It's A Machine
That Can Handle,
Oh, Up To
100 Tubs At A Time.
Brings The Empty Ones In
And Takes The Full Ones Out.
Oh, Aye.
Why Are Those Men Idle?
Oh, They're Just Waiting
For Empty Tubs To Arrive, Sir.
They've Got A New Pony.
He's A Bit Slow.
Not Like Old Flash Here.
You Won't Find His Kept Waiting.
He's Making You Sweat,
Ginger.
Mind Your Leg,
Mr. Amiss.
You'll Have My Leg Off
One Of These Days.
Good Boy.
Come On. Come On.
Come On.
There.
Easy, Flash.
Come On.
[Neighs]
[Mumbles]
Come On. Come On.
Why, You Obstinate,
Mule-Headed --
Hey, Ginger,
None Of That!
He Tried To Kick Me!
Aye, And So He Will
If You Try To Turn Him Around.
It's The End Of His Shift.
I Thought I'd Get Some Empty
Tubs Up For The Morning.
Not With Old Flash,
You Won't.
You May As Well
Turn Him Loose.
He Knows When His Shift's Over,
And He Knows Where He's Going.
Nosey.
[Neighs]
Here Comes Flash.
[Knickers]
Hello, Flash.
Look What I've Brought Ya.
There...
Eh, Flash,
You're A Beauty.
The Best Of All,
You Are.
He's No Better Than Lion,
Is He Bert?
Nay, Lion's A Good 'Un,
But He's Only A Young 'Un.
He's Not As Knowing
As Flash Is,
But He'll Learn.
Tommy...
Dave...
Don't Be Too Long.
Your Mother Will Have
Your Tea Ready.
Bert.
Aye?
Best Get The Boys
Out Of Sight--
The Gaffer's Coming.
Oh.
Dave:
Who's The Gaffer?
The New Manager.
Hey, Now, Come On,
Let's Have You Out Of Here.
Get In Behind This Board.
Do As Your Father Says.
He's Not Our Father.
Your Stepfather, Then.
He's Not Our Father.
Get Behind There
And Argue After.
Go On, Now.
Keep Yourself Hidden
Down There.
Man: Bert!
Aye.
Just A Minute.
Coming, Sir.
Now Then, Sir,
This Is Bert Cawsden.
He Looks After The Ponies.
Bert, Mr. Sandman.
Afternoon, Cawsden.
Afternoon, Sir.
Ah, Yes...
How Long's This One
Been Down Here?
14 Years, Sir.
Mm-Hmm.
And He'd Be, What,
3 Or 4 Years Old
When He Came Down?
Aye.
Must Be Past
His Best Now, Then.
Flash?
He's The Best Worker
Of Them All.
Mm-Hmm.
All Right.
Thank You.
All Right, Mr. Carter.
Carry On, Bert.
Time's Money.
Right, Sir.
Mr. Sandman:
Which Way Now, Carter?
Carter:
We're Going West.
Flash--
Past His Time?
He's No But A London Fella.
He Doesn't Know Much.
I'll, Uh,
I'll Just Get Some Tobacco.
Right.
Cheerio, Amos.
See You Tomorrow.
Hello, Love.
Hello, Lass.
Have You Seen The Boys?
Aye, They're Just Giving Bert
A Hand With The Ponies.
Oh, No, Not Again.
Will They Be Home
For Their Tea?
How Should I Know?
They Never Speak To Me.
One For You...
And One For You.
Go On, Lads,
Off With You.
Thanks, Bert.
Thanks, Bert.
Carter!
Sir?
Who Were Those Boys?
Boys, Sir?
Yes, There Were Two Boys.
They Came Out Of The Pit.
Oh, Them Boys.
It's Dave
And Tommy Sadler.
They Help The Horsekeeper
With The Ponies.
They're Too Young
To Be On The Payroll.
Well, They Just...
Bert Gives Them A Penny
Now And Then.
They Like To Do It.
Apart From Anything Else,
There's Safety Regulations
To Be Considered.
They Have No Business
To Be Going Down.
No Business?
Their Father
Died Down There.
Dave!
That's Good Food
You've Got There.
Be Thankful For It,
And Don't Gobble It Up
As If It Was Nothing.
And Where Do You Think
You're Going?
I'm Gonna Take Danny
Out For A Run.
A Bit Late,
Isn't It?
We Always Used To Take
Danny Out Last Thing.
Yes, But Your --
Not Alone.
Can We Go?
Oh, Go!
Go, Why Don't Ya?!
Come On, Tom.
Danny, Come On.
I'll Have Some More Tea.
He's Back!
He's Back!
Is He, Dear?
That's Nice.
Man: Hello, My Dear.
Oh, Father, I Thought
You'd Never Get Back.
[Chuckling]
Clara And I Have Unpacked
All The Pictures.
We've Done Well,
Haven't We?
Very Well. I See
You Put The Curtains Up.
Mother And Clara
Did That.
Oh, Well Done, Clara.
Thank You, Sir.
Mother's Putting
The Best China Away.
She Wouldn't Let Me Help.
She Said I Might Drop It.
Did She?
Hello, Dear.
Hello.
You're Back.
Yes.
Clara, You Can
Serve Dinner Now.
The Master's Home.
All Right, Mum.
That Girl...
I Wish She'd Call Me "Madam."
"Mum" Is So Vulgar.
Well, I've Been Brought Here
By Lord Harrogate
To Make His Colliery Pay,
And I'm Going To Do It.
And If I Don't,
He'll Close Down The Pit,
And Then I Shall Lose
My Job...
As Well As
The Miners' Livelihood.
What Exactly
Is The Problem, Dear?
Alice, Do Drink
Your Soup Quietly.
The Real Problem Is That
We Can't Get The Coal Out
In Sufficient Quantities.
And Therefore,
It's Too Expensive.
At That Price,
We Can't Sell It.
That's Why They Had To Stop
The Night Shift.
What Will You
Have To Do, Father?
Well, For A Start,
I Shall Try And Get Rid
Of Those Pit Ponies.
[Steam Whistle Blows]
[Barking]
Come On, Tom,
I'll Race You To The Top!
That's Not Fair --
You Started Off First!
Don't Worry--
I'll Wait For You
When I Get There.
Oh, No, You Won't!
I'll Beat You Yet!
See If I Don't.
Bye, Daddy.
Goodbye, My Dear.
Have A Nice Day.
Alice!
Alice,
Where Are You Going?
Just Going To
Fly My Kite, Mother!
Don't Go Too Far.
I Don't Like Her
Going Up In The Moors Alone.
Well, It's A Bit Lonely
For Her Here.
I Don't Want Her Playing
With Any Of Those
Rough Miners' Children.
I Shall Be Glad
When The Governess Arrives
To Keep Her
Out Of Mischief.
Well, Goodbye, Dear.
Hmm.
I Do Hope His Lordship
Is Agreeable.
Yes, So Do I.
Uh, Mr. Sandman
To See Lord Harrogate.
His Lordship
Is Expecting You, Sir.
Now, Then, Sandman,
What Do You Propose To Do
About This Colliery
Of Mine?
Well, Lord, One
Of The Problems Is That--
Uh, No, Thank You--
Is That Emsdale
Is A Small Colliery,
And The Seam Is A Long Way
From The Surface.
Yes, Yes.
I Know All About That.
But The Point Is That
It Doesn't Make A Profit.
Now, Kirkdale's Colliery
Makes A Profit,
But My Colliery
Does Not Make A Profit.
In Fact, My Colliery
Keeps Losing Money.
Now You, As My New
Manager, Tell Me,
What Do You Propose
To Do About That?
I'd Like To Explore
The Possibility
Of Using Machinery
In The Pit, Milord.
Machinery?
[Laughing]
Are You Suggesting
We Might Use Machinery
Instead Of Miners,
Perhaps?
Um, Well, No, Milord.
But It Might Be Possible
To Bring The Coal
From The Face To The Shaft
By Means Of Machinery
Instead Of Ponies.
Hmm?
Well, Yes, Yes,
At Least I'm --
I'm Prepared
To Explore That Idea.
Hmm? Look Into That For Me,
Will You, Sandman?
And Find Out
All About The Costs,
And Show Me Things,
Like Plans And So On.
You Know,
That Sort Of Thing.
I Will, Milord.
My Goodness,
Just Look At Those Rabbits
All Over The Lawn
Simply Ruining It.
[Barking]
Alice: Go Away!
Go Away, You Horrible Dog!
Go Home!
It's A Girl Up A Tree.
Aye.
Come On.
Go Away,
You Horrible Dog!
What Are You Doing
Up There?
Go Away!
Can You Get Down?
Yes!
Of Course I Can.
[Gasps]
No!
Come On.
I Want My Kite.
You Don't Want Much,
Do You?
You Best Get
Yourself Down First.
Come On--
That's The Way.
Go On--
Down A Bit More.
[Gasps]
Be Careful!
Why Did You Put
Your Kite In A Tree?
I Didn't Do It
On Purpose.
I Can't Run Fast Enough
To Get It Up In The Air
Properly.
Dave Could.
Pull, Dave, Pull.
It's Nearly There.
Run Faster, Dave.
Dave: There It Goes --
I Can Feel The Wind Take It.
Come On, Kite.
Come On!
Oh, Dave, It's Flying!
You've Done It!
Oh, Well Done.
Oh, Let Me Have A Go,
Please.
Here You Are.
Thank You.
Why Aren't You
In School?
Why Do You Think?
Summer Holidays.
You're Lucky--
I've Got A Horrible
Governess Coming,
And She'll Want To Stay
Indoors All Day Doing Lessons.
What's A Governess?
She's A Sort Of Teacher,
Ain't She?
Why Don't You
Go To School Like Us?
Because It's A Colliery School,
And She's A Lady.
I'm Not A Lady!
Oh, Yes, You Are.
I'm Not A Lady!
I'm Not!
I Only Said
You Were A Lady.
How Dare You Call Me That?
Take That Back!
Nothing Wrong With That.
Yes, There Is--
The Way You Said It.
Watch What You're Doing.
You'll Tear Your Dress.
I Don't Care!
I'm Not A Lady!
Take That Back!
Stop It!
That's Enough!
What?
Ladies Don't Fight.
Alice: I Wonder What
It's Like Down The Pit.
Haven't You Ever
Been Down?
We Go Down All The Time.
You Can't.
You're Too Young.
Boys Aren't Allowed
To Work Down The Mines
Until They're 14.
We Don't Work, Exactly.
We Help Bert
With The Ponies.
The Ponies?!
You Help With The Pit Ponies?!
Yes. We Go To The Stables
Near Every Day.
We Help Look After Them.
You'll Miss Them
When They're Gone, Won't You?
Gone?
The Ponies!
Mum, The Ponies!
Now,
Where Have You Been?
The Ponies!
What About The Ponies?
They're Gonna
Get Rid Of Them.
They're Putting
Machinery In Instead.
What'll Become
Of The Ponies?!
What Will They Do
With Them?!
What Can They Do
With Them?
Nobody's Going To Pay
For Their Keep
If They Can't Work.
Come On, Sit Down
And Have Your Tea.
What Will Happen To Them?
How Should I Know?
Be Thankful It's Only The Ponies
They're Getting Rid Of
And Not The Men.
Of Course,
You Wouldn't Care!
You're The One That Left
My Father In The Pit!
You Got Out Yourself
And Left Him To Die!
Luke!
Dave...
...How Could You Say
Such A Thing To Him?
I Don't Care.
He Has No Right
To Be Here In Our House.
It's His House Now.
He Works All Day
Down That Pit
To Keep Us In Food
And Clothes, And You--
I Don't Want Him Here.
Nor Do I.
What Does It Matter
What You Want?!
Go To Bed, Both Of You!
You Can Go Without Your Tea!
Perhaps That Will Teach You To
Remember Who Earns It For You.
I Brought You
Some Bread And Milk.
Come On.
Ta.
If He's Asleep,
You Eat It All.
Shove Over A Bit.
Dave, You Know
Luke Didn't Leave Your Father.
Yes, He Did.
No, He Didn't.
Luke Was Injured
In The Fall,
And Your Father Went In
To Rescue Him.
Then The Second
Explosion Came.
I Know...
But Luke Could've Done
Something To Help Him.
He Was Brought Out
Unconscious.
What Could He Do?
God Bless.
Well, That's The Lot.
The Rest Of My Men
Will Be Here On Saturday.
Right.
I Wish I Could Go Down And
See The Ponies Before They Go.
Girls Aren't Allowed
Down The Pit.
Nor Are Boys.
But You Get Down,
And I'm Bigger Than You Are.
But Not Much.
Alice!
No, Alice, You Can't.
Morning, Bert.
Morning, Boys.
Hi, Bill.
Got Some Spares?
There You Are.
Thanks.
Sir?
If I See Those Boys
Going Down Again,
You'll Be Dismissed.
Watch It.
[Pony Neighing]
And Jester
And Bertie And Bluey.
And You Know
Which One This Is?
No.
This Is Flash.
Flash? Flash!
Watch It!
He's Not Used To Strangers.
He Might Lash Out.
Oh, Flash, You Wouldn't
Hurt Me, Would You?
Seen The Machinery On Top?
Machinery?
Them Big Crates With
The Engineers From Sheffield.
Poor Beasts--They Won't
Be Here Much Longer.
That's Wonderful.
Wonderful?!
What Do You Mean, "Wonderful"?!
If They've No More Work
For Them,
They'll Be Brought
Up Out Of The Mine
And Let Out
Into The Fields.
We Can Go Visit Them
Every Day
And Feed Them
And Look After Them.
Flash, And Jester,
And Bluey, And All Of Them.
They'll Be Able
To Run About In The Sunshine
And Be Happy And Safe.
That's What You Think,
Is It?
[Pony Neighs]
Ask Thee Father.
Ask Thee Father What Will
Become Of The Pit Ponies.
Father!
Mother,
Do You Know Fa--
Mrs. Sandman: Alice...
Alice...
This Is Miss Coutts.
She Has Come To Be
Your Governess.
Had You Forgotten
She Was Arriving Today?
How Do You Do, Alice?
Dear Me, We Are
Miss Grubby Paws, Aren't We?
I'm Afraid We Have Rather
Let Her Run Wild.
Never Mind, Mrs. Sandman.
I'm Sure We Shall Soon Get Alice
Back Into Ladylike Ways Again.
When Will Father Be Home?
I Wanted To Ask Him--
Alice!
Where Are Your Manners?
Miss Coutts
Was Just Going Upstairs.
Would You Like To Go With Her
And Show Her The Schoolroom?
Will They Really
Put Them In The Field
And Let Them Run About?
Yes, Of Course They Will.
They'll Like That,
Won't They?
Aye, That They Will.
Good Night, Tommy.
Night, Dave.
Dave: There, Flash,
What Do You Think Of That?
See The Sunshine, Flash?
Look--
There's Grass And Trees.
Alice: Bluey, Oh, Bluey.
[Indistinct Murmurs]
You'll Like It Here.
They All Like It.
Come On, Flash, Sandie,
Jewel, Jester, Soldier.
Come, Star--
Flash Will Show You The Way.
[Indistinct Conversation]
...And No Tubs To Pull,
Neither.
They're Free,
Aren't They?
They're Free.
Flash, You're A Beauty.
And You Can Run About
As Long As You Want...
Clara:
I Showed My Love A Chicken
That Had No Bone
I Told My Love A Story
That Had No--
Morning, Clara.
Morning, Love.
I Showed My Love A Baby...
Mother, I Must See Father.
Do You Know
If He'll Be Home For Lunch?
Alice, Dear,
You Mustn't Bother Him.
He Has A Lot
On His Mind.
And, You Know,
Little Girls
Should Be Seen
And Not Heard.
But I Must
Ask Him Something!
Well, Alice, Perhaps I Can Tell
You What You Want To Know.
It's About The Ponies.
Ponies?
The Pit Ponies.
Father's Bringing Machinery
Into The Mine
To Do The Work
The Ponies Used To Do,
And I Want To Know
What Will Happen To Them.
Well, I Suppose,
If Their Usefulness Is Finished,
They'll Have To Go.
But Go Where?
Mother?
Well, I Suppose--
I Don't Really--
I'm Sure Your Father
Will Have Made Plans For Them.
But What Plans?
What Will Become Of Them?
Well, If There's
No Work For Them To Do,
I Imagine
They'll Be Sent--
Sent Where?
To The Slaughterhouse.
No!
No, Father Wouldn't Do
A Thing Like That!
Alice!
Runner!
Runner!
[Indistinct Shouting]
Well, What's Going On
Here, Then?
Them Engineers Came At Him
With A Big Bale Of Wire
And Frightened Him.
That Wire Cable's
Got To Be Laid.
We Can't Work With Them And
Their Gear All Over The Place.
You'll Have To Go
Home Then, Won't You?
What,
And Lose Our Money?!
Alice?
Come On.
What's Up, Alice?!
We've Had To Stop Work, Sir,
In The Lower Drift Heading.
Oh? Why?
They Can't Work While
That Cable's Being Laid.
Alice,
What Are You Doing Here?
I Wanted
To Ask You Something.
Not Now, Dear,
I'm Busy.
Come On, Carter, Show Me
Exactly Where They've Stopped.
Now, They're Laying
The Cable Here.
Carter:
That's Right, Sir,
And There's
The Lower Drift Heading.
Mr. Sandman:
Yes, I See.
Send The Men Home,
Then, Shall I?
Oh, Yes, Very Well.
Alice, You Run Along.
I've Got A Lot To Do.
Please, Father.
All Right.
What Is It You Want?
It's About The Pit Ponies.
What Will Happen To Them?
Alice,
I Haven't Got--
Please, Father,
I Want To Know.
Well, I Can Hardly
Turn Them Loose On The Moors.
They're Not Used To
Fending For Themselves.
Isn't There
A Field Somewhere,
So They Can Live Happily
And Run About
And Enjoy Themselves?
Who'll Pay
For Their Feed?
The Colliery Owner.
They Work In The Colliery.
You Can Hardly Expect
Lord Harrogate
To Pay For Animals To Do
Nothing, Anymore Than Men.
Well, Then What
Will Become Of Them?
They Won't...
Be Sent To
The Slaughterhouse,
Will They?
[Voice Trembling]
Father...
Run Along Home.
Why Aren't You
With Your Governess?
I've Got Enough On My Mind
Without Being Bothered
About A Lot Of Ponies!
[Crying]
What Is It, Alice?
What's The Matter?
The Ponies...
He's Going To Kill
The Ponies.
[Sobbing]
There's Only
One Thing To Do.
We'll Have To Steal Them.
Steal Them?
You Mean Get Them Out Of
The Mine And Keep Them Safe?
Oh, Yes!
How Will We Do It?
I Don't Know.
Bert Can Help Us.
No. You're Not
To Mention It To Bert.
But You Said --
I Was Wrong.
He Might Tell Luke.
Luke Likes The Ponies.
He'd Be Afraid
Of Losing His Place.
Couldn't We Come In
Along At Night
And Wind Them Up?
No. Someone Would Hear Us.
Besides, There's
Always People About
Doing Maintenance
In There.
Then How
Can We Get To Them?
There Must Be
Another Way In.
There'd Be
Some Old Workings.
Might Be A Way
Of Getting In Through Them.
How Do We Know
Where They Are?
They Always Keep Plans
Of All The Workings.
Where?
In Your Father's Office.
Carter!
What's Going On, Carter?
Carter: You Better Come Over,
Mr. Sandman,
Unless You Want
The Whole Pit Standing Idle.
What's Going On?
Your Man Tells Me I Can't
Take This Stuff Down Pit.
I Warned You
Time And Time Again,
No Naked Flames Down There.
[Indistinct Arguing]
You Given Me Four Weeks
To Finish This Job.
If I Can't Do...
...Any Delay
As Of Yesterday.
Firmly Promised.
[Indistinct Arguing]
It Should Be
Somewhere Here.
Yes, But Where?
Let's Look Up Here.
Look!
Look, I've Found It!
Come On!
Watch Yourself!
[Clattering Echo]
That Could've Been You.
That Should Be
The Old Engine House There.
Let's See.
[Creaking]
Aye, It's A Winding Engine.
You Know, For Winding
The Gauge Up And Down.
Then If We Can Get It Working,
We Can Bring The Ponies Up.
Father, How Does
A Winding Engine Work?
Alice, Dear, That's Hardly
A Suitable Subject
For A Young Lady.
Miss Coutts, I Want My Daughter
To Be A Young Lady
And To Learn French,
And Sewing, And Watercolors--
But I Also Want Her
To Take An Interest
In The Things About Her.
So, Alice, If You'd Like
To Come To My Study,
I'll Show You How
A Winding Engine Works.
Thank You, Father.
This Should Go In There.
No, It Shouldn't.
You're Doing It
All Wrong.
No, I'm Not.
What Do Girls Know
About Machinery?
You Can't Put This
In There.
Any Fool Can See That.
Try Lifting It Up
And Putting It In.
Now All It Needs
Is Some Grease.
Hello, Tommy.
What Do You Want?
It's A Big Engine,
Ain't It, Harry?
Ah, It's A Big Engine.
It's Got A Lot To Do.
Harry!
Aye?
What Does It Have To Do?
You Know What It Does.
It Rides The Gauge Up And Down
And Pumps The Water Out.
Where Does
The Water Come From?
I Don't Know Where
The Water Comes From.
Everywhere, I Suppose.
If You Didn't Pump
The Pit Out Every Day,
It Would Soon Be Flooded.
Harry!
Aye?
Goodbye, Harry.
Hey, We Best Not Get
Too Mucky,
Or They'll Wonder
Where We've Been.
Dave...
Come And Look.
I Think I've Put Enough On.
[Creaking]
It Must Work!
It Must!
That Valve --
Turn It The Other Way.
I Tried It.
It Doesn't Help!
What's Going On Here, Then?
Trying To Get The Old Engine
To Go, Are You?
Well...
What Are You Going To Do
When You Get It Going?
We're Going To Get
The Ponies Up.
Oh, Tommy...
Up Out Of The Pit,
Are You?
And How Do You Think
You'll Do That?
Through The Old Workings.
You're Gonna Get The Ponies
Up Out Of The Pit?
You, Tommy,
And The Little Miss?
If Only We Could Get
The Engine To Work.
Shouldn't Be Too Hard.
It's Not So Long
Since It Was Running.
First,
Clear The Shaft Head.
Come On, Get It Up.
Right, Bert!
Here You Are, Then.
Yay!
Ha Ha!
Yay!
Yay!
Yay!
We Did It!
Yay!
Yay!
Yay!
I Should Run It
Up And Down A Few Times
To Work The Grease In.
But Not For Too Long --
Someone Will Hear It.
[Chuckles]
Well, I Must Be Off
To The Stables.
You'll Not Tell Luke,
Will You?
Me?
I'll Not Tell Anyone.
Now, Mind, I've Never
Seen You Here,
And I Don't Know
What You're Doing.
[Laughs]
[Laughs]
I'll Go Down Tomorrow
And Try To Find A Way
Through The Present Workings.
And The Stables?
Aye.
If You Go Down To
Old Workings By Yourself,
You'll Get Lost.
No, I Won't.
Yes, You Will!
Oh, Give Over!
You Will Get Lost!
Miss Coutts, I Think I Would
Like To Learn To Crochet.
Really, Dear?
I Think I Have A Spare
Ball Of Thread Here.
Ta.
All Right.
Good Luck, Dave.
Aye, Good Luck.
All Right, Tommy.
My Dad Died Down The Pits.
Was It An Explosion?
I've Heard My Father
Talk About Firedamp.
That's A Sort Of Gas,
Isn't It?
Aye.
It Builds Up.
And Then You Get A Spark
And It Goes Up.
You Never Know
When It'll Happen.
[Pony Neighs]
[Rumbling]
Come On, Flash.
Come On, Lad.
Come On, Flash.
What's The Matter With You?
Go On, Lad.
That's It, That's It.
How Far
Will He Have To Go
To Get Through To
The Present Workings?
Hard To Say.
Them Levels Run For Miles.
Most Likely,
He'll Get Lost.
Tommy!
His Candle Will Burn Out,
And He Will Wonder About
In The Darkness
Until He Falls Exhausted,
And Lies There Until
He's Clemmed To Death --
Nothing Left
But A "Skelington".
Mrs. Sandman: Alice...
Alice?
Miss Coutts,
Where's Alice?
Well, She--
I'm Afraid Alice
Has Been Given
Rather Too Much Liberty,
Mrs. Sandman.
But I Thought
She Was In Here With You.
Well, Um...
I Went For My Little Nap
After Lunch, As Usual,
Leaving Her Here
With Her Crocheting.
Clara Tells Me
She Went Out For A Walk.
But Where Is She Now?
[Faint Rustling]
Tommy...
Aye.
I...
I'm Going Down.
You Mustn't!
I'm Going To!
I'm Sure He's Lost.
You Haven't
Got A Candle.
You'll Get Lost As Well.
[Panting]
[Bell Dings]
It's Him!
Go!
I Knew You Could Do It!
Dave, Did You Get Through?
What Did You Find?
Did You Get Lost, Dave?
Of Course Not.
We Can Get Right Through
To The Coalface
Where They're Working Now.
I Saw Old Flash.
Hooray!
Hooray!
Dave: We Could
Bring Them Here.
Alice: Don't People
Work Here Anymore?
Only A Shepherd In Winter
With His Sheep.
The Lead Miners
Used To Work Here,
But Their Pit's
Been Closed For Years.
Huh? Yes, This Will Be
The Best Place
To Keep The Ponies.
No One Will Ever See In.
Now, Then, There's Some Fodder
In The Barn Behind The Pithead.
We Can Get It Up Here,
And Then --
Then We Can Keep
The Ponies Safe Forever.
Aye!
I'll Shut The Door.
Dave...
Huh?
I'm Sorry About Your Father.
Bert Says
The Pit Belongs To Him...
And To All Them
That Died There.
Miss Coutts: Alice!
Alice!
Quick, Run!
Alice!
Alice, What Are You Doing
Out Here?
Who Was That
I Saw With You?
Uh...Just Some Boys.
Their...Their Father
Owns The Mine.
Really?
Yes.
You Must Invite Them Home
To Tea One Day.
Oh, They Wouldn't Come.
You Mean Because Your Father
Is Only The Manager Of The Mine?
Alice, Dear, You Must Remember
That To The True Aristocrat,
All Men Are Equal.
Yes, Miss Coutts.
[Indistinct Chatter]
Violet: Come On, Love.
You'll Be Late.
Where's My Bait,
Then?
It's Ready.
Dave...
They're Connecting Up
The Machinery Today,
And Tomorrow The Ponies
Will Be Brought Up
And Sent To Barnsley.
This'll Be
Their Last Day In Pit.
If You Want To Go Down
And See Them,
I'll Make It All Right
With Sam Carter.
No, Thanks.
I'm Not Bothered.
Don't You Want To Say
Goodbye To Them, Dave?
Not Even Old Flash?
They're Only Ponies.
Poor Beasts--
They Don't Know
They're Hauling That
To Their Death.
Aye.
Well, What Do You Do, Bert,
After The Ponies Have Gone?
I've Not Thought.
Yeah, There'll Be No Place
For Me At Emsdale Then.
I'll Have To Trudge
And Look For A Job.
Aye, And Some Others, Too,
I Shouldn't Wonder.
Aye.
Sam, Any Work For Me
And My Mate Tomorrow?
Might Be, Luke.
Depends
How Them Engineers Get On.
You Best
Turn Up And See.
Are They Bringing In Machinery
To Cut Coal, Sam?
[Sighs]
How Many Of Us
Will Be Put Out Of Work?
None, I Hope.
Look, The Manager Says--
What Was That?
Have They Just Started Up
Machinery Down Below?
Aye.
But I Thought That Came
From Over The Hill.
Go On, Tommy, More Coal.
Isn't Alice Coming?
She Should Be Here.
Aye. She Should.
Has Alice
Gone To Bed Already?
She's Not Ill, Is She?
I Don't Think So.
She Just Seems To Be
Very Sleepy Tonight.
Oh, Well, I'll Just
Say Good Night.
[Clanking Noise]
Dave!
Sorry I'm Late.
That's All Right.
Here,
You Carry On Stoking.
I'm Gonna See
To The Engine.
Them Engineers
Haven't Got Their Machines
Working Up There,
Have They?
Nah. Up At Face. It Sounds
Further Away Than That.
That's A Winding Engine.
Bert: Aye,
It's A Winding Engine.
I Shouldn't Wonder.
I've Heard It Before.
It Comes From
The Old Workings.
And Yet,
It's Been Blocked Off
Since Five Men
Were Killed There.
Aye, That's True.
Nay, I'd Not Go
Near That For 100.
I'd Be Afraid
Of Hobgoblins Draggin' Me Down
Into Old Workings.
You're An Old Woman,
Bert.
Hobgoblins, Indeed.
Come On, Lads.
Come On.
Off You Go, Flash.
He Always Knows
When His Shift Is Over.
It's Over This Time
With A Vengeance.
That's The End
Of The Ponies.
[Neighs]
Whoa, Flash!
Dave, Don't Lose Him!
Whoa, Flash! Whoa!
Whoa, Flash!
[Neighs]
[Snorts]
They've Never Been
As Late As This Before.
You Don't Think
They've Run Away, Do You?
Now, Why Should They
Do That?
You Know Why.
I'm Going To Look
For Them.
That's The Last.
[Knickers, Neighs]
Come On, Tom.
Let's Get Them
Into The Cage.
We'll Never Get Them
Into The Cage.
They're Not Used To It.
Yes, We Will.
Come On, Flash.
Come On.
Come On. Good Lad.
Come On, Flash.
Good Boy.
Good Boy.
[Flash Neighs]
Ring The Bell, Tom.
[Bell Dings]
[Ding]
[Ding]
[Ding]
[Knicker]
Ring The Bell Again,
Tommy.
[Dinging]
Oh, What's The Matter
With Her?!
Supposing
She Can't Work It--
We'll Be Stuck Down Here,
Won't We?
We'll Be Stuck Down Here
With The Ponies
Until There's Nothing Left Of Us
But "Skelingtons."
Want Some Help, Then?
Oh, Bert!
[Rumbling]
Dave: There, Flash.
You're Gonna Like This.
Come On, Lad.
Come On.
Flash!
Come On.
Come On, Flash.
Come On.
Come On.
Flash!
What's The Matter, Flash?!
Bert:
It's All Strange To Him.
He's Not Been
Up Above Ground For 14 Years.
He'll Like It
When He Gets Used To It.
Yes.
You Take Him.
I'll Go Down
And Get The Others.
Come On, Flash.
Go On, Flash.
It's Okay.
It's Okay.
Come On, Flash.
Come On, Flash.
Come On, Boy.
You're All Right, Flash.
Look.
Look Where You're Going.
Don't Be Afraid.
We're Not
Going To Hurt You.
It's All Right, Flash.
It's All Right.
Come On, Flash, This Way.
Mr. Sandman:
Hello, Love.
Hello, Dear.
How Did Your Meeting Go
In Sheffield?
Well, Not Too Bad.
You Look Tired, Dear.
Your Supper's All Ready.
Ah...
Well, I'll Just Look In
On Alice.
Well, Have Your Supper, First.
She's Sound Asleep.
Yes, All Right.
Clara!
Clara:
I Heard You, Mum.
Tommy.
Aye?
Do You Think
You Can Take His Bridle Off?
Of Course I Can.
Come On.
Alice?
Blue Was The Last One.
We've Got Them All Up.
Good.
Tommy: Stand Still, Bluey,
Can't You?
You Better Go And Help Him
With That Harness.
Right.
You'll Have To
Manage Now, I'm Off.
Don't Tell Me
Where You're Gonna Put Them.
I Haven't Seen You.
And If Anyone Asks Me,
I Don't Know Where They Are.
I Should Get Them
Away From Here, If I Were You.
Someone Might Have Heard
The Engine.
Night.
Come On! We Must Get Them
To The Hiding Place--Quickly!
Do You Think They'll Follow Us
Across The Moors?
Yes, Of Course
They Will.
Come On, Flash.
We'll Give The Lead.
Come On, Flash.
What's The Matter With You?
Come On, Flash.
Come On, Pony.
Come On, Now.
Come On, Pony.
Alice: Is Flash
All Right, David?
Dave: Yes,
Of Course He Is.
Keep Up, Tommy,
Can't You?
Come On, Lion, Soldier,
Sandie, Come On.
Bluey!
He Has To Stop.
Come On, Bluey.
Come On, Flash.
Emily!
Emily!
What Is It?
What's Happened?
Alice Isn't--
Miss Coutts!
Mrs. Sandman: Richard!
Miss Coutts!
[Knocking]
Oh, Mr. Sandman,
I'm Sorry--
Have You Seen
My Daughter?
No, Sir.
It's The Ponies, Sir--
They've Gone.
Come On, Flash.
Come On, Flash,
It's All Right.
[Neighs]
What's The Matter
With Flash?
I Don't Know.
I-It Must Be After Being Below
All Those Years.
Everything's
So Strange To Him.
He'll Like It When He
Gets Used To It, Won't He?
Yes.
We Did It, Didn't We?
We Saved Them.
Aye!
[Bang]
[Neighs]
Father...
[Voice Breaking] You
Won't Take The Ponies Away...
Will You?
Take Her Home,
Miss Coutts.
What's Up?
[Sniffling]
[Sobbing]
Nay, Come On.
Come On, My Little Lad.
Want Something To Eat?
You Best
Get To Bed, Then.
Dave...
Go On...
Go Up To Bed.
[Door Opens, Closes]
They're Ready,
Mr. Carter.
Oh, Right, Joe.
[Horse Whinnying]
Now Then, Get This Straw
Out Of The Way!
Clean The Ramp,
Quick As You Can.
All Right, Lads,
Don't Hang About Here.
Carry On Up To The Pit
And Get Below, Eh.
Now, That New Machinery
Might Take
A Bit Of Getting Used To,
But You Can Work A Full Shift,
And We'll Just See
How We Get On, Right?
Bert, Get Them Ponies
Loaded Up.
Take Old Flash Up First,
Then The Others Will Follow.
Leave Them Ponies
Where They Are!
You What?
Bert, Get Them Ponies Loaded.
I Said Leave Them!
Leave Them Be!
Listen, Lads...
Them Ponies
Have Served Us Well--
Helped Us To Win Coal
And Earn Our Living.
Will You Let Them
Be Taken Off To Be Slaughtered,
Like They Was So Much Raw Meat?
Yes?
Well, What Is It?
[Shouting Overlapping]
Carter: Listen!!
Mr. Sandman:
When I Give An Order,
I Expect It To Be Obeyed!
Get Those Ponies Back
To The Station, Put In The Vans.
Luke: Them Ponies Belong
In The Pit, Same As Us!
Aye!
Aye!
Aye!
Aye!
All Right! Look...
The Ponies Have Been Replaced
By Machinery,
Which Will Enable You
To Earn More Money!
We Didn't Earn More Money
Yesterday
When We Were Laid Off!
[Shouting]
There's Bound To Be
A Bit Of Dislocation At First
When We're Changing Over--
From Men To Machines!
No, Not From--
Not--Not--
That's The Dislocation!
They're Changing Over
From Men To Machines!
And We'll Not Have It!
We Never Asked
For Machines!
We Don't Want Them!
We'll Work With
The Pit Ponies,
Like We Always Have!
If Not For That Machinery,
The Pit Would Probably Be Closed
And You Out On The Streets
And Penniless!
That Machinery Is Here
To Protect Your Livelihood!
And If You Weren't
Such Damned Fools--
[Shouting Starts Again]
We'll Not Be Miscalled
By The Bosses!
That's Right, We Won't.
You Can Work
Your Own Pit, Mister,
With Your Own Machinery,
If You Think It's So Fine!
Hey, Come On!
Carter: Where Do You Think
You're Goin', Lad?!
You Want To Lose
A Day's Pay?!
It's Time And More
You Were All On Shift!
Come On, Lads,
Get Down There!
Let's Have No More Of This!
We're On Strike, Sam!
And If You Put Them Ponies
In That Van,
We'll Never Come Back!
Now, Thanks To You,
I've Got A Strike On My Hands.
Now, I Hope You've Had Time
To Think Over Your Behavior
And Are Thoroughly Ashamed
Of Yourself.
[Clears Throat]
Now, I'm Not
Going To Punish You,
So I Hope It Will Be
Enough Punishment
For You To Know
That I'm Very Angry,
And I'm Disappointed
In You.
And I Hope
Your Future Behavior Will Show
That You Understand
What You've Done
And Are Very Sorry For It.
Well?
What Will Happen
To The Ponies?
[Sighs]
You Better Go To Bed Now.
Will The Union
Give You Their Backing?
They Might.
Then Again,
They Might Not.
If They Don't,
We Don't Get Any Strike Pay.
What Are We
Going To Live On?
Dave, I Don't Know
What You've Got To Grin About.
Haven't You Got Anything Better
To Do With Yourself?
Aren't You Glad They're Not
Going To Kill The Ponies?
Ponies. Ponies!
I'm Sick And Tired Of Ponies!
Ponies Won't Put Food
In Your Belly
Or Clothes On Your Back!
Come On, Love.
And As For You, I --
I'm Not Having You
Under My Feet All Day.
You Can Have
Your Breakfast Tomorrow,
And Then
Get Out Of The House.
If You're Going To Be
On Strike,
You Can Go And Be On Strike
Somewhere Else!
[Bells Jingling]
[Coughs]
When Does The Owner
Get Back, Sir?
In A Week's Time.
They Better Be Back At Work
By Then, Or Else--
[Neighs]
Can't He See At All?
No. They Call It
Anthracitis.
It's Inflammation
Caused By The Coal Dust.
A Lot Of Old Pit Ponies
Get It.
When He Was Down Underground,
He Knew His Way About,
So Nobody Noticed.
Strike?!
But What The Devil Have They
Got To Strike About?
I'm The One That's
Losing The Money. Hmm? Hmm?
They Better Be Careful,
Or I'll Beat Them To It
And Go On Strike Myself First,
And Then They'll Be Sorry,
Won't They? Won't They?
Yes, Milord.
Yes.
[Sighs]
All Right, All Right,
What's The Trouble This Time?
I Suppose They Want
More Money, Hmm?
No, Milord. It's A Question
Of The Machinery.
The Men Feel That In Replacing
The Ponies With --
Machinery?
Are You Saying They're
Refusing To Use The Machinery?
Not Exactly, Milord.
It's More That They
Want Assurances.
Shh! Shh! Shh!
Shh! Shh! Shh!
Sandman, Sanderson,
Please, Please.
Sit Down Somewhere
And Listen Very Carefully
To What I Have To Say.
Now, Will You Do That?
Yes, Milord.
[Laughs]
You See, I Just Simply
Don't Care What They Want.
They're Here To Work,
And You're Here To See
That They Do Work.
Now, You Told Me
That This Machinery Would,
In Time,
Or Should, In Time,
Make The Colliery
Begin To Pay.
Good. Very Well.
All Right.
But, If That Doesn't Happen,
[Chuckling] Then
I'll Have No Alternative
But Simply To Close
The Pit Altogether
And Use The Land
For Something Else.
Hmm?
Shooting. Anything.
I Don't Care.
Not A Bit.
But If That Happens,
Not A Single Man Jack Of Them
Will Have A Job...
Or Even Anywhere To Live
For That Matter.
But If I Could Just Go Back
To The Men, Milord, And--
Please, Please, Sandman.
[Laughing]
I'm Sorry, But There's
Just Nothing More To Be Said.
Nothing At All.
[Barking]
[Crowd Cheering]
We Won!
So, It's Tuppence
You'll Owe Me, All Right?
All Right, My Beauties.
[Indistinct Chatter]
Quickly, Alice,
Come Away.
Those Dreadful Miners.
There They Are On Strike,
And They Have The Impudence
To Be Seen Out Here
Playing With Their Dogs.
You Have To Keep
A Whippet Exercised.
Besides, They Have
Nothing Else To Do.
Amos: Hey!
We've Won!
Hey, We've Won!
Sam Carter's
Just Put A Notice Up!
The Manager's
Called A Meeting At The Pit!
Quick, Come On Then--
We've Won!
We've Won!
Come On!
Either You
Come Back To Work Tomorrow,
Or The Pit Closes.
For Good!
No, I Mean What I Say!
The Emsdale Colliery
Is Making A Loss!
There's Only One Way
For It To Make A Profit,
And That's By Using Machinery
To Fetch The Coal Out
In Greater Quantities
And So, More Cheaply!
I've Obtained An Offer
From The Owners Of A Steelworks
To Take All Of Our Coal
For The Whole Year On Contract!
But It Must Be Cheap!
Then We'd Be Assured Of Work
For A Full Year?
Exactly!
[Murmuring]
What About The Ponies?!
There's No Place For Ponies
In This Pit!
[Murmuring]
Come On, Amos,
That's An Ultimatum.
We Can't Take
An Ultimatum!
At Least Make Terms!
Well, We Struck For Ponies,
But It Weren't Just That!
We Struck For A Bit Of Respect
For Us And The Work!
But If They Can Turn Ponies Out
Without A Thought Or A Word,
They Can Turn Men Out, Too!
If We Go Back On His Say-So
Without Making Terms--
How Can We Make Terms?!
It's A Colliery Village,
And We Live In Colliery Houses.
Aye. If The Pit Closes,
We're Out On The Street --
All Of Us--
And Our Wives And Bairns.
We'll Have No Money,
Nowhere To Live,
No Food, And No Work.
Aye!
Nowhere To Find None,
Neither.
There's Not A Pit In Yorkshire
That Hasn't Got Some Men Idle.
Nay, Luke...
If Colliery Closs
We're Done For,
So Think On.
I Say We Give It A Chance.
It's Agreed, Then--
We Go Back.
We Should Have A Vote!
Let's Vote!
Them Who Wants To Go Back,
And Them Who Wants
To Hold Out For Terms!
All Right, Then,
We'll Have A Show Of Hands!
Them Who Wants To Go Back
To Work Tomorrow!
Them Who's Against!
[Whistle Blares]
[Bell Dings]
Morning.
Morning, Violet.
Alice, Father's Just Going
To The Colliery.
Aren't You Going To
Kiss Him Good-Bye?
I Shall Never
Kiss Him Again
As Long As I Live.
[Neighing]
Get In!
Come On!
Carter: Get Those Ponies Loaded!
Come On!
What's Going On There?
Come On, Bert,
Get Them Ponies Up, Don't Ya?
Take Old Flash Up,
Then He'll Give A Lead.
Come On, Get A Move On!
Come On! Come On!
By Next Week, We Should
Be Able To Drive South
From The Forward Heading.
Aye.
It's A Pity We Couldn't Have
Found The Ponies A Home, Sir.
Well, It Would Have
Made It Easier
For The Men To Go Back
With A Good Heart.
They Would Only Have Seen It
As A Sign Of Weakness.
[Explosion]
[Horse Neighing]
[Whistle Blaring]
Man: Out Of The Way There.
Martin--
One Of The Engineers!
Well?
There's Been
An Explosion, Milord,
And A Fall
In The Drift Heading.
We Don't Know Yet
What Caused It...
And, Uh, Eight Men Cut Off
In The Forward Heading.
Who?!
Who Are They?
Who's That?
Mrs. Armstrong, Sir.
I'm Sorry, Mrs. Armstrong.
I'm Afraid That Your Husband
Is One Of Them.
Amos, Go On.
Bless You, Brother.
[Coughing]
Luke: Nought.
How's The Leg, Amos?
Oh, Hey, Hey,
Don't Touch It, Lad.
All Right, Lad,
All Right.
If There's A Buildup
Of Afterdamp Beyond The Fall,
It Could Be Days
Before They Get Through.
Aye. Cheer Us Up,
Why Don't You?
I'm Gonna Try
The Other Heading--
See If
I Can Hear Anyone.
Alf?
Mind How You Go, Alf.
One Spark From Your Boots
Might Be Enough
To Set It All Off.
Mr. Sandman: We Think
They're There, Milord.
I See.
And There's No Way
Of Getting Through To Them?
Well, It's Not A Very Big Fall,
As Far As We Can Judge,
But, Um, It's Knocked Out
The Main Ventilation Shaft.
And, Uh, The Afterdamp
Is Very Bad.
Afterdamp--That's
The Suffocating Gas?
That's Right, Milord.
And When There's Firedamp
And Afterdamp Together--
I Know, I Know--It Ignites.
It Can Do.
And There's No Other
Possible Way Of Reaching Them?
No, Milord, And
It May Be As Much As,
Oh, 48 Hours Before
We Can Get The Ventilation --
We'll Get Through
To Them Somehow.
Come On,
Let's Get Going!
I Tell You,
You'll Be Suffocated
10 Minutes After You Left
The Shaft Bottom!
We Could Get In
Through The Old Workings,
Like We Did With The Ponies!
They Got The Old Winding
Engine Working Again And All.
Well, I'm Prepared
To Try It.
You'll Never Find
Your Way Through, Sir.
And We Can't Take
The Lad Down.
You'll Not Be Able To Use
Anything But Safety Lamps,
Because Of The Danger Of
Firedamp After The Explosion,
And There's Not
Much Light From Them.
In Effect, You'll Be
Traveling In The Dark
Through A Pit
You Don't Know.
Flash
Doesn't Need Lights!
He Knows The Way!
Alice!
Where Are You Going?
To The Old Workings, Mother.
Father's Going Down Again.
Come Now, Then.
Mrs. Sandman,
You're Not Going To --
[Gasps] With All Those
Miners' Wives.
[Indistinct Shouting]
Mr. Sandman:
Is The Pony Ready?!
Aye, Sir.
Well, Bring It Up Then!
Let Me Go Down
With Flash.
No.
No, It's Out
Of The Question.
Please, Sir.
I'm Afraid I Can't
Allow It, My Boy.
You Stay And Look
After Your Mother.
We'll Get Your Father Out
If We Can.
Don't Worry.
I'll Take Flash Down.
I'm His Driver.
Come On, Flash.
Come On!
Come On.
You Stay There, Son.
Come On, Flash.
Good Boy.
What's The Matter
With Him?
Get Him In -- Quickly!
Oh, He'll Be All Right.
Come On, Flash.
Come On.
That's A Good Pony.
He'll Be All Right.
Back Him In.
Back Him In.
Keep The Canary
Up At The Front, Sir.
If There's Gas About,
He'll Give You Warning
Before Anything Else.
Right, Harry!
Right!
Right. Come On, Then.
Watch Your Lamps.
Now, Which Way?
Well, See If Old Flash
Knows The Way.
Go On, Flash.
Go To The Face.
Go On, Lad.
Is That Better?
I Can Walk
20 Mile On It Now.
Aye. I Wouldn't Try It
If I Were You.
[Metal Bang]
Is That You, Alf?!
[Coughing]
Aye. My God,
It's Bad Up There.
Did You Hear Anything
From Beyond The Fall?
Not A Sound.
I Reckon It'll Take
Two Or Three Days
Before The Gas Clears Enough
To Let Them Through.
They Probably Think
We're Dead, Anyway.
Won't Be Long
Before They're Right.
[Chuckling] Hey, Jake,
You're A Real Tonic.
Just A Minute--Stop.
I'm Just Going To Test
For Firedamp.
Yes, There's A Show Here.
Great Heavens.
It's Very Heavy.
Is It That Bad, Sir?
Why, It's
Up To The Limit.
We Don't Have Much Time.
Carter: Yes, Milord,
Straight Away.
Lord Harrogate: Tell Her
She'd Be Most Welcome.
Uh, Mrs. Sandman,
Lord Harrogate Was Wondering
Whether You'd Like
To Go And Sit In The Car.
Oh...
Would You Thank
His Lordship,
But Say
I Prefer To Wait Here.
Right You Are.
Give That
To Mrs. Sandman.
My Mum Wondered
If You Want A Blanket.
Well, Thank You, Dear.
Thank You Very Much.
Thanks, Luke.
You All Right, George?
I'm All Right, Lad.
How Is He?
He's Poorly.
He's Real Poorly.
[Neighs]
What Is It, Flash?
What Is It?
It's Blocked.
He Brought Us
To A Dead End.
[Flash Snorts]
[Dirt Falling]
[Muffled Tapping]
What's That?
[Tapping Continues]
[Muffled Tapping]
It's Them!
He's Done It!
Good Old Flash!
They Found Them!
[Crowd Murmurs]
Doctor! Doctor,
They Need You Down Below!
Man: Lads, Follow Me!
Steady.
Mind His Legs.
[Groans]
You're All Right, Lad.
Mr. Sandman:
Right, Ginger.
Doctor: Come On, Lad.
Man: Thank You, Sir.
Good Work.
Ramsden, You All Right?
Aye, Sir.
Let's See
The Other Lads, Sir.
Keep Going Out.
Carter: There's Three Lads
Coming Up Now!
Alf Ramsden!
George Snape!
Man: George Snape?
Snape's In There.
Peter Holroyd!
[Crowd Murmuring]
Right, Harry!
Look Out, One Spark
Might Send The Whole Place Up.
Quick As You Can,
Doctor.
Right.
It's Good
To See You, George.
Ah, Ken.
How's Things Down There?
How Is It, George?
Oh, Like A Powder Keg.
I Only Hope
We Can Get Them All Out
Before It Goes Up.
Come On, Ginger!
Up You Go.
You Done Well, Lad.
Right,
There's No One Else.
Well, Then For God's Sake, Sir,
Let's Get Out While We Can.
Carter: Roy Laycock!
[Murmuring]
Amos Burley!
Jake Arbuthnot!
[Crowd Murmuring]
Ginger Truman!
Luke Armstrong!
Carter: Anybody Else
Below, Luke?
No, Nobody.
Only Bill And The Manager,
And They're On Their Way Up.
[Snorts]
Mr. Sandman!
[Cheering]
Richard!
[Crying]
Richard.
[Crowd Murmuring]
Father, I'm Sorry.
Well Done, Sandman, My Boy.
Well Done, Indeed.
Excellent! Well Done--
Every Single Man Of You.
Thank You!
Thank You, Everybody!
Where's--
Where's Flash?
I Unhitched Him From His Sledge.
I Thought He Would--
I Reckon He Thought
His Shift Were Over,
So He Headed Back
For The Stables.
I'll Go Down And Fetch Him.
No, Luke! No!
He'll Have Gone Through
The Ventilation Doors.
You'll Never Find Him.
Don't Do It, Luke.
Flash Saved Our Lives!
No!
I'm Not Going To
Leave Him Down There.
No, Luke, Don't Go!
Don't Go, Luke!
[Explosion]
[Crying]
There, Lad.
Good Night.
[Crying]
Good Night, Milord.
Well, Sandman, My Goodness--
A Truly Miraculous Escape.
Thank God
All Is Well, Hmm?
That's Right, Milord.
Tell Me, Sandman,
Why Are The Children Crying?
One Of The Ponies
Got Left Behind, Milord.
A Pony? [Laughs]
But Surely--Surely They Know
All The Men Have Been Saved.
Yes, Milord, That May
Make Sense To...Outsiders.
But Those Ponies
Mean A Lot To Them.
Ah, Yes, But--
Good Night, Milord.
[Up-Tempo March Plays]
[Indistinct Chatter]
[Applause]
My--My Few Words
Are Simply This--
Welcome, Everybody,
To The Miners'--
Miners' Picnic.
Ah, Mrs. Ramsbottom,
As You See,
Has Prepared
This Excellent Tea For You.
[Laughs]
Thank You.
Now, After You
Have Enjoyed Your Tea,
We Have A Little Ceremony
To Perform,
But No More Of That Now.
To Tea, Everybody.
Enjoy Your Tea.
[Mid-Tempo Music Plays]
[Indistinct Chatter]
Aye, But The Best Of Them All
Were Flash.
Seems It's Always
The Best That Go.
Your Father Was
The Best Friend I Ever Had.
I Reckon I'll Miss Him
To My Dying Day.
I Wish It Could Have Been Flash
Out Here In The Sunshine.
No.
No.
When He Was Above Ground...
Flash Knew
That He Was Blind.
Are You Gonna Stand There
All Day Looking At Horses,
Or Are You
Gonna Come And Have Some Tea?
Ladies And Gentlemen,
In Honor Of Flash,
I Have Very Great Pleasure
In Donating This Field
In Which All His Friends--
The Other Pit Ponies--
Will Live Out
The Rest Of Their Lives
In Comfort And Freedom.
[Applause]
So...
I Now Call Upon
Miss Alice Sandman.
Are You Ready?
Very Well, Then--
Cut That Ribbon.
[Cymbal Crashes, Cheering]
[Up-Tempo Music Plays]
Come On!
Old Flash Was The Best
Of The Ponies
In The Emsdale Colliery
Never Saw The Light
From Morn Till Night
But A Grand Little Pony
Was He
He Knew Every Inch
Of The Coalface
In The Emsdale Colliery
And He Knew That
Once His Shift Was Done
He Could Rest
Till The Morning Free
[Happy Music]
[Bell Dings]
[Indistinct Chatter]
[Indistinct Yelling]
Luke, Quick --
Come Out Of There.
It'll Like Come Down On Us
As It Will On Thee.
All Right, Then.
Pitch In Some More Pit Props
And We'll Shore It Up.
Whoa!
Get!
Hey, You, Flash.
What Are You Doing
With My Baitbox, Eh?
Do You Think There's
Something There For You?
Go On With You.
It's All Right.
Here Now.
Ahh...
Go On.
Go On With Ya.
Come On.
Come Here, Flash.
Beg Your Pardon, Sir.
Well, They Can't Pull More
Than Two Tubs At A Time.
Nay, Sir, Each One Of Them
Things Weighs Nearly Half A Ton.
Come Here, Flash.
Come On.
Come Here.
Come On.
Have You Ever Seen
A Mane And Tail Hauler?
No, Sir, I Never Have.
I've Heard Of Them,
But I've Not Seen One.
It's A Machine
That Can Handle,
Oh, Up To
100 Tubs At A Time.
Brings The Empty Ones In
And Takes The Full Ones Out.
Oh, Aye.
Why Are Those Men Idle?
Oh, They're Just Waiting
For Empty Tubs To Arrive, Sir.
They've Got A New Pony.
He's A Bit Slow.
Not Like Old Flash Here.
You Won't Find His Kept Waiting.
He's Making You Sweat,
Ginger.
Mind Your Leg,
Mr. Amiss.
You'll Have My Leg Off
One Of These Days.
Good Boy.
Come On. Come On.
Come On.
There.
Easy, Flash.
Come On.
[Neighs]
[Mumbles]
Come On. Come On.
Why, You Obstinate,
Mule-Headed --
Hey, Ginger,
None Of That!
He Tried To Kick Me!
Aye, And So He Will
If You Try To Turn Him Around.
It's The End Of His Shift.
I Thought I'd Get Some Empty
Tubs Up For The Morning.
Not With Old Flash,
You Won't.
You May As Well
Turn Him Loose.
He Knows When His Shift's Over,
And He Knows Where He's Going.
Nosey.
[Neighs]
Here Comes Flash.
[Knickers]
Hello, Flash.
Look What I've Brought Ya.
There...
Eh, Flash,
You're A Beauty.
The Best Of All,
You Are.
He's No Better Than Lion,
Is He Bert?
Nay, Lion's A Good 'Un,
But He's Only A Young 'Un.
He's Not As Knowing
As Flash Is,
But He'll Learn.
Tommy...
Dave...
Don't Be Too Long.
Your Mother Will Have
Your Tea Ready.
Bert.
Aye?
Best Get The Boys
Out Of Sight--
The Gaffer's Coming.
Oh.
Dave:
Who's The Gaffer?
The New Manager.
Hey, Now, Come On,
Let's Have You Out Of Here.
Get In Behind This Board.
Do As Your Father Says.
He's Not Our Father.
Your Stepfather, Then.
He's Not Our Father.
Get Behind There
And Argue After.
Go On, Now.
Keep Yourself Hidden
Down There.
Man: Bert!
Aye.
Just A Minute.
Coming, Sir.
Now Then, Sir,
This Is Bert Cawsden.
He Looks After The Ponies.
Bert, Mr. Sandman.
Afternoon, Cawsden.
Afternoon, Sir.
Ah, Yes...
How Long's This One
Been Down Here?
14 Years, Sir.
Mm-Hmm.
And He'd Be, What,
3 Or 4 Years Old
When He Came Down?
Aye.
Must Be Past
His Best Now, Then.
Flash?
He's The Best Worker
Of Them All.
Mm-Hmm.
All Right.
Thank You.
All Right, Mr. Carter.
Carry On, Bert.
Time's Money.
Right, Sir.
Mr. Sandman:
Which Way Now, Carter?
Carter:
We're Going West.
Flash--
Past His Time?
He's No But A London Fella.
He Doesn't Know Much.
I'll, Uh,
I'll Just Get Some Tobacco.
Right.
Cheerio, Amos.
See You Tomorrow.
Hello, Love.
Hello, Lass.
Have You Seen The Boys?
Aye, They're Just Giving Bert
A Hand With The Ponies.
Oh, No, Not Again.
Will They Be Home
For Their Tea?
How Should I Know?
They Never Speak To Me.
One For You...
And One For You.
Go On, Lads,
Off With You.
Thanks, Bert.
Thanks, Bert.
Carter!
Sir?
Who Were Those Boys?
Boys, Sir?
Yes, There Were Two Boys.
They Came Out Of The Pit.
Oh, Them Boys.
It's Dave
And Tommy Sadler.
They Help The Horsekeeper
With The Ponies.
They're Too Young
To Be On The Payroll.
Well, They Just...
Bert Gives Them A Penny
Now And Then.
They Like To Do It.
Apart From Anything Else,
There's Safety Regulations
To Be Considered.
They Have No Business
To Be Going Down.
No Business?
Their Father
Died Down There.
Dave!
That's Good Food
You've Got There.
Be Thankful For It,
And Don't Gobble It Up
As If It Was Nothing.
And Where Do You Think
You're Going?
I'm Gonna Take Danny
Out For A Run.
A Bit Late,
Isn't It?
We Always Used To Take
Danny Out Last Thing.
Yes, But Your --
Not Alone.
Can We Go?
Oh, Go!
Go, Why Don't Ya?!
Come On, Tom.
Danny, Come On.
I'll Have Some More Tea.
He's Back!
He's Back!
Is He, Dear?
That's Nice.
Man: Hello, My Dear.
Oh, Father, I Thought
You'd Never Get Back.
[Chuckling]
Clara And I Have Unpacked
All The Pictures.
We've Done Well,
Haven't We?
Very Well. I See
You Put The Curtains Up.
Mother And Clara
Did That.
Oh, Well Done, Clara.
Thank You, Sir.
Mother's Putting
The Best China Away.
She Wouldn't Let Me Help.
She Said I Might Drop It.
Did She?
Hello, Dear.
Hello.
You're Back.
Yes.
Clara, You Can
Serve Dinner Now.
The Master's Home.
All Right, Mum.
That Girl...
I Wish She'd Call Me "Madam."
"Mum" Is So Vulgar.
Well, I've Been Brought Here
By Lord Harrogate
To Make His Colliery Pay,
And I'm Going To Do It.
And If I Don't,
He'll Close Down The Pit,
And Then I Shall Lose
My Job...
As Well As
The Miners' Livelihood.
What Exactly
Is The Problem, Dear?
Alice, Do Drink
Your Soup Quietly.
The Real Problem Is That
We Can't Get The Coal Out
In Sufficient Quantities.
And Therefore,
It's Too Expensive.
At That Price,
We Can't Sell It.
That's Why They Had To Stop
The Night Shift.
What Will You
Have To Do, Father?
Well, For A Start,
I Shall Try And Get Rid
Of Those Pit Ponies.
[Steam Whistle Blows]
[Barking]
Come On, Tom,
I'll Race You To The Top!
That's Not Fair --
You Started Off First!
Don't Worry--
I'll Wait For You
When I Get There.
Oh, No, You Won't!
I'll Beat You Yet!
See If I Don't.
Bye, Daddy.
Goodbye, My Dear.
Have A Nice Day.
Alice!
Alice,
Where Are You Going?
Just Going To
Fly My Kite, Mother!
Don't Go Too Far.
I Don't Like Her
Going Up In The Moors Alone.
Well, It's A Bit Lonely
For Her Here.
I Don't Want Her Playing
With Any Of Those
Rough Miners' Children.
I Shall Be Glad
When The Governess Arrives
To Keep Her
Out Of Mischief.
Well, Goodbye, Dear.
Hmm.
I Do Hope His Lordship
Is Agreeable.
Yes, So Do I.
Uh, Mr. Sandman
To See Lord Harrogate.
His Lordship
Is Expecting You, Sir.
Now, Then, Sandman,
What Do You Propose To Do
About This Colliery
Of Mine?
Well, Lord, One
Of The Problems Is That--
Uh, No, Thank You--
Is That Emsdale
Is A Small Colliery,
And The Seam Is A Long Way
From The Surface.
Yes, Yes.
I Know All About That.
But The Point Is That
It Doesn't Make A Profit.
Now, Kirkdale's Colliery
Makes A Profit,
But My Colliery
Does Not Make A Profit.
In Fact, My Colliery
Keeps Losing Money.
Now You, As My New
Manager, Tell Me,
What Do You Propose
To Do About That?
I'd Like To Explore
The Possibility
Of Using Machinery
In The Pit, Milord.
Machinery?
[Laughing]
Are You Suggesting
We Might Use Machinery
Instead Of Miners,
Perhaps?
Um, Well, No, Milord.
But It Might Be Possible
To Bring The Coal
From The Face To The Shaft
By Means Of Machinery
Instead Of Ponies.
Hmm?
Well, Yes, Yes,
At Least I'm --
I'm Prepared
To Explore That Idea.
Hmm? Look Into That For Me,
Will You, Sandman?
And Find Out
All About The Costs,
And Show Me Things,
Like Plans And So On.
You Know,
That Sort Of Thing.
I Will, Milord.
My Goodness,
Just Look At Those Rabbits
All Over The Lawn
Simply Ruining It.
[Barking]
Alice: Go Away!
Go Away, You Horrible Dog!
Go Home!
It's A Girl Up A Tree.
Aye.
Come On.
Go Away,
You Horrible Dog!
What Are You Doing
Up There?
Go Away!
Can You Get Down?
Yes!
Of Course I Can.
[Gasps]
No!
Come On.
I Want My Kite.
You Don't Want Much,
Do You?
You Best Get
Yourself Down First.
Come On--
That's The Way.
Go On--
Down A Bit More.
[Gasps]
Be Careful!
Why Did You Put
Your Kite In A Tree?
I Didn't Do It
On Purpose.
I Can't Run Fast Enough
To Get It Up In The Air
Properly.
Dave Could.
Pull, Dave, Pull.
It's Nearly There.
Run Faster, Dave.
Dave: There It Goes --
I Can Feel The Wind Take It.
Come On, Kite.
Come On!
Oh, Dave, It's Flying!
You've Done It!
Oh, Well Done.
Oh, Let Me Have A Go,
Please.
Here You Are.
Thank You.
Why Aren't You
In School?
Why Do You Think?
Summer Holidays.
You're Lucky--
I've Got A Horrible
Governess Coming,
And She'll Want To Stay
Indoors All Day Doing Lessons.
What's A Governess?
She's A Sort Of Teacher,
Ain't She?
Why Don't You
Go To School Like Us?
Because It's A Colliery School,
And She's A Lady.
I'm Not A Lady!
Oh, Yes, You Are.
I'm Not A Lady!
I'm Not!
I Only Said
You Were A Lady.
How Dare You Call Me That?
Take That Back!
Nothing Wrong With That.
Yes, There Is--
The Way You Said It.
Watch What You're Doing.
You'll Tear Your Dress.
I Don't Care!
I'm Not A Lady!
Take That Back!
Stop It!
That's Enough!
What?
Ladies Don't Fight.
Alice: I Wonder What
It's Like Down The Pit.
Haven't You Ever
Been Down?
We Go Down All The Time.
You Can't.
You're Too Young.
Boys Aren't Allowed
To Work Down The Mines
Until They're 14.
We Don't Work, Exactly.
We Help Bert
With The Ponies.
The Ponies?!
You Help With The Pit Ponies?!
Yes. We Go To The Stables
Near Every Day.
We Help Look After Them.
You'll Miss Them
When They're Gone, Won't You?
Gone?
The Ponies!
Mum, The Ponies!
Now,
Where Have You Been?
The Ponies!
What About The Ponies?
They're Gonna
Get Rid Of Them.
They're Putting
Machinery In Instead.
What'll Become
Of The Ponies?!
What Will They Do
With Them?!
What Can They Do
With Them?
Nobody's Going To Pay
For Their Keep
If They Can't Work.
Come On, Sit Down
And Have Your Tea.
What Will Happen To Them?
How Should I Know?
Be Thankful It's Only The Ponies
They're Getting Rid Of
And Not The Men.
Of Course,
You Wouldn't Care!
You're The One That Left
My Father In The Pit!
You Got Out Yourself
And Left Him To Die!
Luke!
Dave...
...How Could You Say
Such A Thing To Him?
I Don't Care.
He Has No Right
To Be Here In Our House.
It's His House Now.
He Works All Day
Down That Pit
To Keep Us In Food
And Clothes, And You--
I Don't Want Him Here.
Nor Do I.
What Does It Matter
What You Want?!
Go To Bed, Both Of You!
You Can Go Without Your Tea!
Perhaps That Will Teach You To
Remember Who Earns It For You.
I Brought You
Some Bread And Milk.
Come On.
Ta.
If He's Asleep,
You Eat It All.
Shove Over A Bit.
Dave, You Know
Luke Didn't Leave Your Father.
Yes, He Did.
No, He Didn't.
Luke Was Injured
In The Fall,
And Your Father Went In
To Rescue Him.
Then The Second
Explosion Came.
I Know...
But Luke Could've Done
Something To Help Him.
He Was Brought Out
Unconscious.
What Could He Do?
God Bless.
Well, That's The Lot.
The Rest Of My Men
Will Be Here On Saturday.
Right.
I Wish I Could Go Down And
See The Ponies Before They Go.
Girls Aren't Allowed
Down The Pit.
Nor Are Boys.
But You Get Down,
And I'm Bigger Than You Are.
But Not Much.
Alice!
No, Alice, You Can't.
Morning, Bert.
Morning, Boys.
Hi, Bill.
Got Some Spares?
There You Are.
Thanks.
Sir?
If I See Those Boys
Going Down Again,
You'll Be Dismissed.
Watch It.
[Pony Neighing]
And Jester
And Bertie And Bluey.
And You Know
Which One This Is?
No.
This Is Flash.
Flash? Flash!
Watch It!
He's Not Used To Strangers.
He Might Lash Out.
Oh, Flash, You Wouldn't
Hurt Me, Would You?
Seen The Machinery On Top?
Machinery?
Them Big Crates With
The Engineers From Sheffield.
Poor Beasts--They Won't
Be Here Much Longer.
That's Wonderful.
Wonderful?!
What Do You Mean, "Wonderful"?!
If They've No More Work
For Them,
They'll Be Brought
Up Out Of The Mine
And Let Out
Into The Fields.
We Can Go Visit Them
Every Day
And Feed Them
And Look After Them.
Flash, And Jester,
And Bluey, And All Of Them.
They'll Be Able
To Run About In The Sunshine
And Be Happy And Safe.
That's What You Think,
Is It?
[Pony Neighs]
Ask Thee Father.
Ask Thee Father What Will
Become Of The Pit Ponies.
Father!
Mother,
Do You Know Fa--
Mrs. Sandman: Alice...
Alice...
This Is Miss Coutts.
She Has Come To Be
Your Governess.
Had You Forgotten
She Was Arriving Today?
How Do You Do, Alice?
Dear Me, We Are
Miss Grubby Paws, Aren't We?
I'm Afraid We Have Rather
Let Her Run Wild.
Never Mind, Mrs. Sandman.
I'm Sure We Shall Soon Get Alice
Back Into Ladylike Ways Again.
When Will Father Be Home?
I Wanted To Ask Him--
Alice!
Where Are Your Manners?
Miss Coutts
Was Just Going Upstairs.
Would You Like To Go With Her
And Show Her The Schoolroom?
Will They Really
Put Them In The Field
And Let Them Run About?
Yes, Of Course They Will.
They'll Like That,
Won't They?
Aye, That They Will.
Good Night, Tommy.
Night, Dave.
Dave: There, Flash,
What Do You Think Of That?
See The Sunshine, Flash?
Look--
There's Grass And Trees.
Alice: Bluey, Oh, Bluey.
[Indistinct Murmurs]
You'll Like It Here.
They All Like It.
Come On, Flash, Sandie,
Jewel, Jester, Soldier.
Come, Star--
Flash Will Show You The Way.
[Indistinct Conversation]
...And No Tubs To Pull,
Neither.
They're Free,
Aren't They?
They're Free.
Flash, You're A Beauty.
And You Can Run About
As Long As You Want...
Clara:
I Showed My Love A Chicken
That Had No Bone
I Told My Love A Story
That Had No--
Morning, Clara.
Morning, Love.
I Showed My Love A Baby...
Mother, I Must See Father.
Do You Know
If He'll Be Home For Lunch?
Alice, Dear,
You Mustn't Bother Him.
He Has A Lot
On His Mind.
And, You Know,
Little Girls
Should Be Seen
And Not Heard.
But I Must
Ask Him Something!
Well, Alice, Perhaps I Can Tell
You What You Want To Know.
It's About The Ponies.
Ponies?
The Pit Ponies.
Father's Bringing Machinery
Into The Mine
To Do The Work
The Ponies Used To Do,
And I Want To Know
What Will Happen To Them.
Well, I Suppose,
If Their Usefulness Is Finished,
They'll Have To Go.
But Go Where?
Mother?
Well, I Suppose--
I Don't Really--
I'm Sure Your Father
Will Have Made Plans For Them.
But What Plans?
What Will Become Of Them?
Well, If There's
No Work For Them To Do,
I Imagine
They'll Be Sent--
Sent Where?
To The Slaughterhouse.
No!
No, Father Wouldn't Do
A Thing Like That!
Alice!
Runner!
Runner!
[Indistinct Shouting]
Well, What's Going On
Here, Then?
Them Engineers Came At Him
With A Big Bale Of Wire
And Frightened Him.
That Wire Cable's
Got To Be Laid.
We Can't Work With Them And
Their Gear All Over The Place.
You'll Have To Go
Home Then, Won't You?
What,
And Lose Our Money?!
Alice?
Come On.
What's Up, Alice?!
We've Had To Stop Work, Sir,
In The Lower Drift Heading.
Oh? Why?
They Can't Work While
That Cable's Being Laid.
Alice,
What Are You Doing Here?
I Wanted
To Ask You Something.
Not Now, Dear,
I'm Busy.
Come On, Carter, Show Me
Exactly Where They've Stopped.
Now, They're Laying
The Cable Here.
Carter:
That's Right, Sir,
And There's
The Lower Drift Heading.
Mr. Sandman:
Yes, I See.
Send The Men Home,
Then, Shall I?
Oh, Yes, Very Well.
Alice, You Run Along.
I've Got A Lot To Do.
Please, Father.
All Right.
What Is It You Want?
It's About The Pit Ponies.
What Will Happen To Them?
Alice,
I Haven't Got--
Please, Father,
I Want To Know.
Well, I Can Hardly
Turn Them Loose On The Moors.
They're Not Used To
Fending For Themselves.
Isn't There
A Field Somewhere,
So They Can Live Happily
And Run About
And Enjoy Themselves?
Who'll Pay
For Their Feed?
The Colliery Owner.
They Work In The Colliery.
You Can Hardly Expect
Lord Harrogate
To Pay For Animals To Do
Nothing, Anymore Than Men.
Well, Then What
Will Become Of Them?
They Won't...
Be Sent To
The Slaughterhouse,
Will They?
[Voice Trembling]
Father...
Run Along Home.
Why Aren't You
With Your Governess?
I've Got Enough On My Mind
Without Being Bothered
About A Lot Of Ponies!
[Crying]
What Is It, Alice?
What's The Matter?
The Ponies...
He's Going To Kill
The Ponies.
[Sobbing]
There's Only
One Thing To Do.
We'll Have To Steal Them.
Steal Them?
You Mean Get Them Out Of
The Mine And Keep Them Safe?
Oh, Yes!
How Will We Do It?
I Don't Know.
Bert Can Help Us.
No. You're Not
To Mention It To Bert.
But You Said --
I Was Wrong.
He Might Tell Luke.
Luke Likes The Ponies.
He'd Be Afraid
Of Losing His Place.
Couldn't We Come In
Along At Night
And Wind Them Up?
No. Someone Would Hear Us.
Besides, There's
Always People About
Doing Maintenance
In There.
Then How
Can We Get To Them?
There Must Be
Another Way In.
There'd Be
Some Old Workings.
Might Be A Way
Of Getting In Through Them.
How Do We Know
Where They Are?
They Always Keep Plans
Of All The Workings.
Where?
In Your Father's Office.
Carter!
What's Going On, Carter?
Carter: You Better Come Over,
Mr. Sandman,
Unless You Want
The Whole Pit Standing Idle.
What's Going On?
Your Man Tells Me I Can't
Take This Stuff Down Pit.
I Warned You
Time And Time Again,
No Naked Flames Down There.
[Indistinct Arguing]
You Given Me Four Weeks
To Finish This Job.
If I Can't Do...
...Any Delay
As Of Yesterday.
Firmly Promised.
[Indistinct Arguing]
It Should Be
Somewhere Here.
Yes, But Where?
Let's Look Up Here.
Look!
Look, I've Found It!
Come On!
Watch Yourself!
[Clattering Echo]
That Could've Been You.
That Should Be
The Old Engine House There.
Let's See.
[Creaking]
Aye, It's A Winding Engine.
You Know, For Winding
The Gauge Up And Down.
Then If We Can Get It Working,
We Can Bring The Ponies Up.
Father, How Does
A Winding Engine Work?
Alice, Dear, That's Hardly
A Suitable Subject
For A Young Lady.
Miss Coutts, I Want My Daughter
To Be A Young Lady
And To Learn French,
And Sewing, And Watercolors--
But I Also Want Her
To Take An Interest
In The Things About Her.
So, Alice, If You'd Like
To Come To My Study,
I'll Show You How
A Winding Engine Works.
Thank You, Father.
This Should Go In There.
No, It Shouldn't.
You're Doing It
All Wrong.
No, I'm Not.
What Do Girls Know
About Machinery?
You Can't Put This
In There.
Any Fool Can See That.
Try Lifting It Up
And Putting It In.
Now All It Needs
Is Some Grease.
Hello, Tommy.
What Do You Want?
It's A Big Engine,
Ain't It, Harry?
Ah, It's A Big Engine.
It's Got A Lot To Do.
Harry!
Aye?
What Does It Have To Do?
You Know What It Does.
It Rides The Gauge Up And Down
And Pumps The Water Out.
Where Does
The Water Come From?
I Don't Know Where
The Water Comes From.
Everywhere, I Suppose.
If You Didn't Pump
The Pit Out Every Day,
It Would Soon Be Flooded.
Harry!
Aye?
Goodbye, Harry.
Hey, We Best Not Get
Too Mucky,
Or They'll Wonder
Where We've Been.
Dave...
Come And Look.
I Think I've Put Enough On.
[Creaking]
It Must Work!
It Must!
That Valve --
Turn It The Other Way.
I Tried It.
It Doesn't Help!
What's Going On Here, Then?
Trying To Get The Old Engine
To Go, Are You?
Well...
What Are You Going To Do
When You Get It Going?
We're Going To Get
The Ponies Up.
Oh, Tommy...
Up Out Of The Pit,
Are You?
And How Do You Think
You'll Do That?
Through The Old Workings.
You're Gonna Get The Ponies
Up Out Of The Pit?
You, Tommy,
And The Little Miss?
If Only We Could Get
The Engine To Work.
Shouldn't Be Too Hard.
It's Not So Long
Since It Was Running.
First,
Clear The Shaft Head.
Come On, Get It Up.
Right, Bert!
Here You Are, Then.
Yay!
Ha Ha!
Yay!
Yay!
Yay!
We Did It!
Yay!
Yay!
Yay!
I Should Run It
Up And Down A Few Times
To Work The Grease In.
But Not For Too Long --
Someone Will Hear It.
[Chuckles]
Well, I Must Be Off
To The Stables.
You'll Not Tell Luke,
Will You?
Me?
I'll Not Tell Anyone.
Now, Mind, I've Never
Seen You Here,
And I Don't Know
What You're Doing.
[Laughs]
[Laughs]
I'll Go Down Tomorrow
And Try To Find A Way
Through The Present Workings.
And The Stables?
Aye.
If You Go Down To
Old Workings By Yourself,
You'll Get Lost.
No, I Won't.
Yes, You Will!
Oh, Give Over!
You Will Get Lost!
Miss Coutts, I Think I Would
Like To Learn To Crochet.
Really, Dear?
I Think I Have A Spare
Ball Of Thread Here.
Ta.
All Right.
Good Luck, Dave.
Aye, Good Luck.
All Right, Tommy.
My Dad Died Down The Pits.
Was It An Explosion?
I've Heard My Father
Talk About Firedamp.
That's A Sort Of Gas,
Isn't It?
Aye.
It Builds Up.
And Then You Get A Spark
And It Goes Up.
You Never Know
When It'll Happen.
[Pony Neighs]
[Rumbling]
Come On, Flash.
Come On, Lad.
Come On, Flash.
What's The Matter With You?
Go On, Lad.
That's It, That's It.
How Far
Will He Have To Go
To Get Through To
The Present Workings?
Hard To Say.
Them Levels Run For Miles.
Most Likely,
He'll Get Lost.
Tommy!
His Candle Will Burn Out,
And He Will Wonder About
In The Darkness
Until He Falls Exhausted,
And Lies There Until
He's Clemmed To Death --
Nothing Left
But A "Skelington".
Mrs. Sandman: Alice...
Alice?
Miss Coutts,
Where's Alice?
Well, She--
I'm Afraid Alice
Has Been Given
Rather Too Much Liberty,
Mrs. Sandman.
But I Thought
She Was In Here With You.
Well, Um...
I Went For My Little Nap
After Lunch, As Usual,
Leaving Her Here
With Her Crocheting.
Clara Tells Me
She Went Out For A Walk.
But Where Is She Now?
[Faint Rustling]
Tommy...
Aye.
I...
I'm Going Down.
You Mustn't!
I'm Going To!
I'm Sure He's Lost.
You Haven't
Got A Candle.
You'll Get Lost As Well.
[Panting]
[Bell Dings]
It's Him!
Go!
I Knew You Could Do It!
Dave, Did You Get Through?
What Did You Find?
Did You Get Lost, Dave?
Of Course Not.
We Can Get Right Through
To The Coalface
Where They're Working Now.
I Saw Old Flash.
Hooray!
Hooray!
Dave: We Could
Bring Them Here.
Alice: Don't People
Work Here Anymore?
Only A Shepherd In Winter
With His Sheep.
The Lead Miners
Used To Work Here,
But Their Pit's
Been Closed For Years.
Huh? Yes, This Will Be
The Best Place
To Keep The Ponies.
No One Will Ever See In.
Now, Then, There's Some Fodder
In The Barn Behind The Pithead.
We Can Get It Up Here,
And Then --
Then We Can Keep
The Ponies Safe Forever.
Aye!
I'll Shut The Door.
Dave...
Huh?
I'm Sorry About Your Father.
Bert Says
The Pit Belongs To Him...
And To All Them
That Died There.
Miss Coutts: Alice!
Alice!
Quick, Run!
Alice!
Alice, What Are You Doing
Out Here?
Who Was That
I Saw With You?
Uh...Just Some Boys.
Their...Their Father
Owns The Mine.
Really?
Yes.
You Must Invite Them Home
To Tea One Day.
Oh, They Wouldn't Come.
You Mean Because Your Father
Is Only The Manager Of The Mine?
Alice, Dear, You Must Remember
That To The True Aristocrat,
All Men Are Equal.
Yes, Miss Coutts.
[Indistinct Chatter]
Violet: Come On, Love.
You'll Be Late.
Where's My Bait,
Then?
It's Ready.
Dave...
They're Connecting Up
The Machinery Today,
And Tomorrow The Ponies
Will Be Brought Up
And Sent To Barnsley.
This'll Be
Their Last Day In Pit.
If You Want To Go Down
And See Them,
I'll Make It All Right
With Sam Carter.
No, Thanks.
I'm Not Bothered.
Don't You Want To Say
Goodbye To Them, Dave?
Not Even Old Flash?
They're Only Ponies.
Poor Beasts--
They Don't Know
They're Hauling That
To Their Death.
Aye.
Well, What Do You Do, Bert,
After The Ponies Have Gone?
I've Not Thought.
Yeah, There'll Be No Place
For Me At Emsdale Then.
I'll Have To Trudge
And Look For A Job.
Aye, And Some Others, Too,
I Shouldn't Wonder.
Aye.
Sam, Any Work For Me
And My Mate Tomorrow?
Might Be, Luke.
Depends
How Them Engineers Get On.
You Best
Turn Up And See.
Are They Bringing In Machinery
To Cut Coal, Sam?
[Sighs]
How Many Of Us
Will Be Put Out Of Work?
None, I Hope.
Look, The Manager Says--
What Was That?
Have They Just Started Up
Machinery Down Below?
Aye.
But I Thought That Came
From Over The Hill.
Go On, Tommy, More Coal.
Isn't Alice Coming?
She Should Be Here.
Aye. She Should.
Has Alice
Gone To Bed Already?
She's Not Ill, Is She?
I Don't Think So.
She Just Seems To Be
Very Sleepy Tonight.
Oh, Well, I'll Just
Say Good Night.
[Clanking Noise]
Dave!
Sorry I'm Late.
That's All Right.
Here,
You Carry On Stoking.
I'm Gonna See
To The Engine.
Them Engineers
Haven't Got Their Machines
Working Up There,
Have They?
Nah. Up At Face. It Sounds
Further Away Than That.
That's A Winding Engine.
Bert: Aye,
It's A Winding Engine.
I Shouldn't Wonder.
I've Heard It Before.
It Comes From
The Old Workings.
And Yet,
It's Been Blocked Off
Since Five Men
Were Killed There.
Aye, That's True.
Nay, I'd Not Go
Near That For 100.
I'd Be Afraid
Of Hobgoblins Draggin' Me Down
Into Old Workings.
You're An Old Woman,
Bert.
Hobgoblins, Indeed.
Come On, Lads.
Come On.
Off You Go, Flash.
He Always Knows
When His Shift Is Over.
It's Over This Time
With A Vengeance.
That's The End
Of The Ponies.
[Neighs]
Whoa, Flash!
Dave, Don't Lose Him!
Whoa, Flash! Whoa!
Whoa, Flash!
[Neighs]
[Snorts]
They've Never Been
As Late As This Before.
You Don't Think
They've Run Away, Do You?
Now, Why Should They
Do That?
You Know Why.
I'm Going To Look
For Them.
That's The Last.
[Knickers, Neighs]
Come On, Tom.
Let's Get Them
Into The Cage.
We'll Never Get Them
Into The Cage.
They're Not Used To It.
Yes, We Will.
Come On, Flash.
Come On.
Come On. Good Lad.
Come On, Flash.
Good Boy.
Good Boy.
[Flash Neighs]
Ring The Bell, Tom.
[Bell Dings]
[Ding]
[Ding]
[Ding]
[Knicker]
Ring The Bell Again,
Tommy.
[Dinging]
Oh, What's The Matter
With Her?!
Supposing
She Can't Work It--
We'll Be Stuck Down Here,
Won't We?
We'll Be Stuck Down Here
With The Ponies
Until There's Nothing Left Of Us
But "Skelingtons."
Want Some Help, Then?
Oh, Bert!
[Rumbling]
Dave: There, Flash.
You're Gonna Like This.
Come On, Lad.
Come On.
Flash!
Come On.
Come On, Flash.
Come On.
Come On.
Flash!
What's The Matter, Flash?!
Bert:
It's All Strange To Him.
He's Not Been
Up Above Ground For 14 Years.
He'll Like It
When He Gets Used To It.
Yes.
You Take Him.
I'll Go Down
And Get The Others.
Come On, Flash.
Go On, Flash.
It's Okay.
It's Okay.
Come On, Flash.
Come On, Flash.
Come On, Boy.
You're All Right, Flash.
Look.
Look Where You're Going.
Don't Be Afraid.
We're Not
Going To Hurt You.
It's All Right, Flash.
It's All Right.
Come On, Flash, This Way.
Mr. Sandman:
Hello, Love.
Hello, Dear.
How Did Your Meeting Go
In Sheffield?
Well, Not Too Bad.
You Look Tired, Dear.
Your Supper's All Ready.
Ah...
Well, I'll Just Look In
On Alice.
Well, Have Your Supper, First.
She's Sound Asleep.
Yes, All Right.
Clara!
Clara:
I Heard You, Mum.
Tommy.
Aye?
Do You Think
You Can Take His Bridle Off?
Of Course I Can.
Come On.
Alice?
Blue Was The Last One.
We've Got Them All Up.
Good.
Tommy: Stand Still, Bluey,
Can't You?
You Better Go And Help Him
With That Harness.
Right.
You'll Have To
Manage Now, I'm Off.
Don't Tell Me
Where You're Gonna Put Them.
I Haven't Seen You.
And If Anyone Asks Me,
I Don't Know Where They Are.
I Should Get Them
Away From Here, If I Were You.
Someone Might Have Heard
The Engine.
Night.
Come On! We Must Get Them
To The Hiding Place--Quickly!
Do You Think They'll Follow Us
Across The Moors?
Yes, Of Course
They Will.
Come On, Flash.
We'll Give The Lead.
Come On, Flash.
What's The Matter With You?
Come On, Flash.
Come On, Pony.
Come On, Now.
Come On, Pony.
Alice: Is Flash
All Right, David?
Dave: Yes,
Of Course He Is.
Keep Up, Tommy,
Can't You?
Come On, Lion, Soldier,
Sandie, Come On.
Bluey!
He Has To Stop.
Come On, Bluey.
Come On, Flash.
Emily!
Emily!
What Is It?
What's Happened?
Alice Isn't--
Miss Coutts!
Mrs. Sandman: Richard!
Miss Coutts!
[Knocking]
Oh, Mr. Sandman,
I'm Sorry--
Have You Seen
My Daughter?
No, Sir.
It's The Ponies, Sir--
They've Gone.
Come On, Flash.
Come On, Flash,
It's All Right.
[Neighs]
What's The Matter
With Flash?
I Don't Know.
I-It Must Be After Being Below
All Those Years.
Everything's
So Strange To Him.
He'll Like It When He
Gets Used To It, Won't He?
Yes.
We Did It, Didn't We?
We Saved Them.
Aye!
[Bang]
[Neighs]
Father...
[Voice Breaking] You
Won't Take The Ponies Away...
Will You?
Take Her Home,
Miss Coutts.
What's Up?
[Sniffling]
[Sobbing]
Nay, Come On.
Come On, My Little Lad.
Want Something To Eat?
You Best
Get To Bed, Then.
Dave...
Go On...
Go Up To Bed.
[Door Opens, Closes]
They're Ready,
Mr. Carter.
Oh, Right, Joe.
[Horse Whinnying]
Now Then, Get This Straw
Out Of The Way!
Clean The Ramp,
Quick As You Can.
All Right, Lads,
Don't Hang About Here.
Carry On Up To The Pit
And Get Below, Eh.
Now, That New Machinery
Might Take
A Bit Of Getting Used To,
But You Can Work A Full Shift,
And We'll Just See
How We Get On, Right?
Bert, Get Them Ponies
Loaded Up.
Take Old Flash Up First,
Then The Others Will Follow.
Leave Them Ponies
Where They Are!
You What?
Bert, Get Them Ponies Loaded.
I Said Leave Them!
Leave Them Be!
Listen, Lads...
Them Ponies
Have Served Us Well--
Helped Us To Win Coal
And Earn Our Living.
Will You Let Them
Be Taken Off To Be Slaughtered,
Like They Was So Much Raw Meat?
Yes?
Well, What Is It?
[Shouting Overlapping]
Carter: Listen!!
Mr. Sandman:
When I Give An Order,
I Expect It To Be Obeyed!
Get Those Ponies Back
To The Station, Put In The Vans.
Luke: Them Ponies Belong
In The Pit, Same As Us!
Aye!
Aye!
Aye!
Aye!
All Right! Look...
The Ponies Have Been Replaced
By Machinery,
Which Will Enable You
To Earn More Money!
We Didn't Earn More Money
Yesterday
When We Were Laid Off!
[Shouting]
There's Bound To Be
A Bit Of Dislocation At First
When We're Changing Over--
From Men To Machines!
No, Not From--
Not--Not--
That's The Dislocation!
They're Changing Over
From Men To Machines!
And We'll Not Have It!
We Never Asked
For Machines!
We Don't Want Them!
We'll Work With
The Pit Ponies,
Like We Always Have!
If Not For That Machinery,
The Pit Would Probably Be Closed
And You Out On The Streets
And Penniless!
That Machinery Is Here
To Protect Your Livelihood!
And If You Weren't
Such Damned Fools--
[Shouting Starts Again]
We'll Not Be Miscalled
By The Bosses!
That's Right, We Won't.
You Can Work
Your Own Pit, Mister,
With Your Own Machinery,
If You Think It's So Fine!
Hey, Come On!
Carter: Where Do You Think
You're Goin', Lad?!
You Want To Lose
A Day's Pay?!
It's Time And More
You Were All On Shift!
Come On, Lads,
Get Down There!
Let's Have No More Of This!
We're On Strike, Sam!
And If You Put Them Ponies
In That Van,
We'll Never Come Back!
Now, Thanks To You,
I've Got A Strike On My Hands.
Now, I Hope You've Had Time
To Think Over Your Behavior
And Are Thoroughly Ashamed
Of Yourself.
[Clears Throat]
Now, I'm Not
Going To Punish You,
So I Hope It Will Be
Enough Punishment
For You To Know
That I'm Very Angry,
And I'm Disappointed
In You.
And I Hope
Your Future Behavior Will Show
That You Understand
What You've Done
And Are Very Sorry For It.
Well?
What Will Happen
To The Ponies?
[Sighs]
You Better Go To Bed Now.
Will The Union
Give You Their Backing?
They Might.
Then Again,
They Might Not.
If They Don't,
We Don't Get Any Strike Pay.
What Are We
Going To Live On?
Dave, I Don't Know
What You've Got To Grin About.
Haven't You Got Anything Better
To Do With Yourself?
Aren't You Glad They're Not
Going To Kill The Ponies?
Ponies. Ponies!
I'm Sick And Tired Of Ponies!
Ponies Won't Put Food
In Your Belly
Or Clothes On Your Back!
Come On, Love.
And As For You, I --
I'm Not Having You
Under My Feet All Day.
You Can Have
Your Breakfast Tomorrow,
And Then
Get Out Of The House.
If You're Going To Be
On Strike,
You Can Go And Be On Strike
Somewhere Else!
[Bells Jingling]
[Coughs]
When Does The Owner
Get Back, Sir?
In A Week's Time.
They Better Be Back At Work
By Then, Or Else--
[Neighs]
Can't He See At All?
No. They Call It
Anthracitis.
It's Inflammation
Caused By The Coal Dust.
A Lot Of Old Pit Ponies
Get It.
When He Was Down Underground,
He Knew His Way About,
So Nobody Noticed.
Strike?!
But What The Devil Have They
Got To Strike About?
I'm The One That's
Losing The Money. Hmm? Hmm?
They Better Be Careful,
Or I'll Beat Them To It
And Go On Strike Myself First,
And Then They'll Be Sorry,
Won't They? Won't They?
Yes, Milord.
Yes.
[Sighs]
All Right, All Right,
What's The Trouble This Time?
I Suppose They Want
More Money, Hmm?
No, Milord. It's A Question
Of The Machinery.
The Men Feel That In Replacing
The Ponies With --
Machinery?
Are You Saying They're
Refusing To Use The Machinery?
Not Exactly, Milord.
It's More That They
Want Assurances.
Shh! Shh! Shh!
Shh! Shh! Shh!
Sandman, Sanderson,
Please, Please.
Sit Down Somewhere
And Listen Very Carefully
To What I Have To Say.
Now, Will You Do That?
Yes, Milord.
[Laughs]
You See, I Just Simply
Don't Care What They Want.
They're Here To Work,
And You're Here To See
That They Do Work.
Now, You Told Me
That This Machinery Would,
In Time,
Or Should, In Time,
Make The Colliery
Begin To Pay.
Good. Very Well.
All Right.
But, If That Doesn't Happen,
[Chuckling] Then
I'll Have No Alternative
But Simply To Close
The Pit Altogether
And Use The Land
For Something Else.
Hmm?
Shooting. Anything.
I Don't Care.
Not A Bit.
But If That Happens,
Not A Single Man Jack Of Them
Will Have A Job...
Or Even Anywhere To Live
For That Matter.
But If I Could Just Go Back
To The Men, Milord, And--
Please, Please, Sandman.
[Laughing]
I'm Sorry, But There's
Just Nothing More To Be Said.
Nothing At All.
[Barking]
[Crowd Cheering]
We Won!
So, It's Tuppence
You'll Owe Me, All Right?
All Right, My Beauties.
[Indistinct Chatter]
Quickly, Alice,
Come Away.
Those Dreadful Miners.
There They Are On Strike,
And They Have The Impudence
To Be Seen Out Here
Playing With Their Dogs.
You Have To Keep
A Whippet Exercised.
Besides, They Have
Nothing Else To Do.
Amos: Hey!
We've Won!
Hey, We've Won!
Sam Carter's
Just Put A Notice Up!
The Manager's
Called A Meeting At The Pit!
Quick, Come On Then--
We've Won!
We've Won!
Come On!
Either You
Come Back To Work Tomorrow,
Or The Pit Closes.
For Good!
No, I Mean What I Say!
The Emsdale Colliery
Is Making A Loss!
There's Only One Way
For It To Make A Profit,
And That's By Using Machinery
To Fetch The Coal Out
In Greater Quantities
And So, More Cheaply!
I've Obtained An Offer
From The Owners Of A Steelworks
To Take All Of Our Coal
For The Whole Year On Contract!
But It Must Be Cheap!
Then We'd Be Assured Of Work
For A Full Year?
Exactly!
[Murmuring]
What About The Ponies?!
There's No Place For Ponies
In This Pit!
[Murmuring]
Come On, Amos,
That's An Ultimatum.
We Can't Take
An Ultimatum!
At Least Make Terms!
Well, We Struck For Ponies,
But It Weren't Just That!
We Struck For A Bit Of Respect
For Us And The Work!
But If They Can Turn Ponies Out
Without A Thought Or A Word,
They Can Turn Men Out, Too!
If We Go Back On His Say-So
Without Making Terms--
How Can We Make Terms?!
It's A Colliery Village,
And We Live In Colliery Houses.
Aye. If The Pit Closes,
We're Out On The Street --
All Of Us--
And Our Wives And Bairns.
We'll Have No Money,
Nowhere To Live,
No Food, And No Work.
Aye!
Nowhere To Find None,
Neither.
There's Not A Pit In Yorkshire
That Hasn't Got Some Men Idle.
Nay, Luke...
If Colliery Closs
We're Done For,
So Think On.
I Say We Give It A Chance.
It's Agreed, Then--
We Go Back.
We Should Have A Vote!
Let's Vote!
Them Who Wants To Go Back,
And Them Who Wants
To Hold Out For Terms!
All Right, Then,
We'll Have A Show Of Hands!
Them Who Wants To Go Back
To Work Tomorrow!
Them Who's Against!
[Whistle Blares]
[Bell Dings]
Morning.
Morning, Violet.
Alice, Father's Just Going
To The Colliery.
Aren't You Going To
Kiss Him Good-Bye?
I Shall Never
Kiss Him Again
As Long As I Live.
[Neighing]
Get In!
Come On!
Carter: Get Those Ponies Loaded!
Come On!
What's Going On There?
Come On, Bert,
Get Them Ponies Up, Don't Ya?
Take Old Flash Up,
Then He'll Give A Lead.
Come On, Get A Move On!
Come On! Come On!
By Next Week, We Should
Be Able To Drive South
From The Forward Heading.
Aye.
It's A Pity We Couldn't Have
Found The Ponies A Home, Sir.
Well, It Would Have
Made It Easier
For The Men To Go Back
With A Good Heart.
They Would Only Have Seen It
As A Sign Of Weakness.
[Explosion]
[Horse Neighing]
[Whistle Blaring]
Man: Out Of The Way There.
Martin--
One Of The Engineers!
Well?
There's Been
An Explosion, Milord,
And A Fall
In The Drift Heading.
We Don't Know Yet
What Caused It...
And, Uh, Eight Men Cut Off
In The Forward Heading.
Who?!
Who Are They?
Who's That?
Mrs. Armstrong, Sir.
I'm Sorry, Mrs. Armstrong.
I'm Afraid That Your Husband
Is One Of Them.
Amos, Go On.
Bless You, Brother.
[Coughing]
Luke: Nought.
How's The Leg, Amos?
Oh, Hey, Hey,
Don't Touch It, Lad.
All Right, Lad,
All Right.
If There's A Buildup
Of Afterdamp Beyond The Fall,
It Could Be Days
Before They Get Through.
Aye. Cheer Us Up,
Why Don't You?
I'm Gonna Try
The Other Heading--
See If
I Can Hear Anyone.
Alf?
Mind How You Go, Alf.
One Spark From Your Boots
Might Be Enough
To Set It All Off.
Mr. Sandman: We Think
They're There, Milord.
I See.
And There's No Way
Of Getting Through To Them?
Well, It's Not A Very Big Fall,
As Far As We Can Judge,
But, Um, It's Knocked Out
The Main Ventilation Shaft.
And, Uh, The Afterdamp
Is Very Bad.
Afterdamp--That's
The Suffocating Gas?
That's Right, Milord.
And When There's Firedamp
And Afterdamp Together--
I Know, I Know--It Ignites.
It Can Do.
And There's No Other
Possible Way Of Reaching Them?
No, Milord, And
It May Be As Much As,
Oh, 48 Hours Before
We Can Get The Ventilation --
We'll Get Through
To Them Somehow.
Come On,
Let's Get Going!
I Tell You,
You'll Be Suffocated
10 Minutes After You Left
The Shaft Bottom!
We Could Get In
Through The Old Workings,
Like We Did With The Ponies!
They Got The Old Winding
Engine Working Again And All.
Well, I'm Prepared
To Try It.
You'll Never Find
Your Way Through, Sir.
And We Can't Take
The Lad Down.
You'll Not Be Able To Use
Anything But Safety Lamps,
Because Of The Danger Of
Firedamp After The Explosion,
And There's Not
Much Light From Them.
In Effect, You'll Be
Traveling In The Dark
Through A Pit
You Don't Know.
Flash
Doesn't Need Lights!
He Knows The Way!
Alice!
Where Are You Going?
To The Old Workings, Mother.
Father's Going Down Again.
Come Now, Then.
Mrs. Sandman,
You're Not Going To --
[Gasps] With All Those
Miners' Wives.
[Indistinct Shouting]
Mr. Sandman:
Is The Pony Ready?!
Aye, Sir.
Well, Bring It Up Then!
Let Me Go Down
With Flash.
No.
No, It's Out
Of The Question.
Please, Sir.
I'm Afraid I Can't
Allow It, My Boy.
You Stay And Look
After Your Mother.
We'll Get Your Father Out
If We Can.
Don't Worry.
I'll Take Flash Down.
I'm His Driver.
Come On, Flash.
Come On!
Come On.
You Stay There, Son.
Come On, Flash.
Good Boy.
What's The Matter
With Him?
Get Him In -- Quickly!
Oh, He'll Be All Right.
Come On, Flash.
Come On.
That's A Good Pony.
He'll Be All Right.
Back Him In.
Back Him In.
Keep The Canary
Up At The Front, Sir.
If There's Gas About,
He'll Give You Warning
Before Anything Else.
Right, Harry!
Right!
Right. Come On, Then.
Watch Your Lamps.
Now, Which Way?
Well, See If Old Flash
Knows The Way.
Go On, Flash.
Go To The Face.
Go On, Lad.
Is That Better?
I Can Walk
20 Mile On It Now.
Aye. I Wouldn't Try It
If I Were You.
[Metal Bang]
Is That You, Alf?!
[Coughing]
Aye. My God,
It's Bad Up There.
Did You Hear Anything
From Beyond The Fall?
Not A Sound.
I Reckon It'll Take
Two Or Three Days
Before The Gas Clears Enough
To Let Them Through.
They Probably Think
We're Dead, Anyway.
Won't Be Long
Before They're Right.
[Chuckling] Hey, Jake,
You're A Real Tonic.
Just A Minute--Stop.
I'm Just Going To Test
For Firedamp.
Yes, There's A Show Here.
Great Heavens.
It's Very Heavy.
Is It That Bad, Sir?
Why, It's
Up To The Limit.
We Don't Have Much Time.
Carter: Yes, Milord,
Straight Away.
Lord Harrogate: Tell Her
She'd Be Most Welcome.
Uh, Mrs. Sandman,
Lord Harrogate Was Wondering
Whether You'd Like
To Go And Sit In The Car.
Oh...
Would You Thank
His Lordship,
But Say
I Prefer To Wait Here.
Right You Are.
Give That
To Mrs. Sandman.
My Mum Wondered
If You Want A Blanket.
Well, Thank You, Dear.
Thank You Very Much.
Thanks, Luke.
You All Right, George?
I'm All Right, Lad.
How Is He?
He's Poorly.
He's Real Poorly.
[Neighs]
What Is It, Flash?
What Is It?
It's Blocked.
He Brought Us
To A Dead End.
[Flash Snorts]
[Dirt Falling]
[Muffled Tapping]
What's That?
[Tapping Continues]
[Muffled Tapping]
It's Them!
He's Done It!
Good Old Flash!
They Found Them!
[Crowd Murmurs]
Doctor! Doctor,
They Need You Down Below!
Man: Lads, Follow Me!
Steady.
Mind His Legs.
[Groans]
You're All Right, Lad.
Mr. Sandman:
Right, Ginger.
Doctor: Come On, Lad.
Man: Thank You, Sir.
Good Work.
Ramsden, You All Right?
Aye, Sir.
Let's See
The Other Lads, Sir.
Keep Going Out.
Carter: There's Three Lads
Coming Up Now!
Alf Ramsden!
George Snape!
Man: George Snape?
Snape's In There.
Peter Holroyd!
[Crowd Murmuring]
Right, Harry!
Look Out, One Spark
Might Send The Whole Place Up.
Quick As You Can,
Doctor.
Right.
It's Good
To See You, George.
Ah, Ken.
How's Things Down There?
How Is It, George?
Oh, Like A Powder Keg.
I Only Hope
We Can Get Them All Out
Before It Goes Up.
Come On, Ginger!
Up You Go.
You Done Well, Lad.
Right,
There's No One Else.
Well, Then For God's Sake, Sir,
Let's Get Out While We Can.
Carter: Roy Laycock!
[Murmuring]
Amos Burley!
Jake Arbuthnot!
[Crowd Murmuring]
Ginger Truman!
Luke Armstrong!
Carter: Anybody Else
Below, Luke?
No, Nobody.
Only Bill And The Manager,
And They're On Their Way Up.
[Snorts]
Mr. Sandman!
[Cheering]
Richard!
[Crying]
Richard.
[Crowd Murmuring]
Father, I'm Sorry.
Well Done, Sandman, My Boy.
Well Done, Indeed.
Excellent! Well Done--
Every Single Man Of You.
Thank You!
Thank You, Everybody!
Where's--
Where's Flash?
I Unhitched Him From His Sledge.
I Thought He Would--
I Reckon He Thought
His Shift Were Over,
So He Headed Back
For The Stables.
I'll Go Down And Fetch Him.
No, Luke! No!
He'll Have Gone Through
The Ventilation Doors.
You'll Never Find Him.
Don't Do It, Luke.
Flash Saved Our Lives!
No!
I'm Not Going To
Leave Him Down There.
No, Luke, Don't Go!
Don't Go, Luke!
[Explosion]
[Crying]
There, Lad.
Good Night.
[Crying]
Good Night, Milord.
Well, Sandman, My Goodness--
A Truly Miraculous Escape.
Thank God
All Is Well, Hmm?
That's Right, Milord.
Tell Me, Sandman,
Why Are The Children Crying?
One Of The Ponies
Got Left Behind, Milord.
A Pony? [Laughs]
But Surely--Surely They Know
All The Men Have Been Saved.
Yes, Milord, That May
Make Sense To...Outsiders.
But Those Ponies
Mean A Lot To Them.
Ah, Yes, But--
Good Night, Milord.
[Up-Tempo March Plays]
[Indistinct Chatter]
[Applause]
My--My Few Words
Are Simply This--
Welcome, Everybody,
To The Miners'--
Miners' Picnic.
Ah, Mrs. Ramsbottom,
As You See,
Has Prepared
This Excellent Tea For You.
[Laughs]
Thank You.
Now, After You
Have Enjoyed Your Tea,
We Have A Little Ceremony
To Perform,
But No More Of That Now.
To Tea, Everybody.
Enjoy Your Tea.
[Mid-Tempo Music Plays]
[Indistinct Chatter]
Aye, But The Best Of Them All
Were Flash.
Seems It's Always
The Best That Go.
Your Father Was
The Best Friend I Ever Had.
I Reckon I'll Miss Him
To My Dying Day.
I Wish It Could Have Been Flash
Out Here In The Sunshine.
No.
No.
When He Was Above Ground...
Flash Knew
That He Was Blind.
Are You Gonna Stand There
All Day Looking At Horses,
Or Are You
Gonna Come And Have Some Tea?
Ladies And Gentlemen,
In Honor Of Flash,
I Have Very Great Pleasure
In Donating This Field
In Which All His Friends--
The Other Pit Ponies--
Will Live Out
The Rest Of Their Lives
In Comfort And Freedom.
[Applause]
So...
I Now Call Upon
Miss Alice Sandman.
Are You Ready?
Very Well, Then--
Cut That Ribbon.
[Cymbal Crashes, Cheering]
[Up-Tempo Music Plays]
Come On!