The Killing Floor Woodard

What he got was a job on the killing floor and a place in history.

The killing floor woodard.

Labor movement through the eyes of a southern black sharecropper who finds work in a chicago slaughterhouse. The killing floor is part of our nation s history a fascinating and bloody episode in the history of the u s. And funded by the national endowment for the humanities american playhouse foundations corporations and dozens of unions the killing floor premiered on american playhouse in 1984. With damien leake alfre woodard moses gunn.

The film was the pilot production for a proposed ten part pbs series on american labor history but financing from public television for the series could not be obtained. The killing floor is a 1984 american award winning made for television drama film directed by bill duke which highlights the plights of workers fighting to build an interracial labor union in the meatpacking industry in the years leading up to the chicago race riot of 1919 the film debuted on pbs via the american playhouse series on april 10 1984 and was produced by public forum productions. Set in the early 1900 s this powerful story retells the often brutal and violent beginnings of the u s. Starring damien leake alfre woodard denis farina clarence felder moses gunn and john mahoney 113 min.

Runs limited engagements the killing floor. Produced by public forum productions ltd. Don t pass up the killing floor on the mistaken notion that the film is a western shoot em up or cop drama. The title refers to that special area in the chicago stockyards where the cattle are.

Damien leake alfre woodard dennis farina and moses gunn star in the film which won the sundance film festival special jury award. Labor movement a powerful personal drama marilyn preston chicago tribune.