Coming Through (1925)

Shot mostly in the Jefferson County mining town of Brookside, as well as at mining camps located in New Castle and on Oxmoor Road near Birmingham, this 1925 silent film was produced by the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation out of New York City and was based on a 1924 novel by local writer and journalist Jack Bethea titled Bed Rock. As one of several books Bethea wrote about the mining business here in Jefferson County at the time, it’s plot is a mixture of love story, striking labor movements, and rough and tumble mining characters, all coming together in a unique Alabama setting. Although the film was largely panned upon its debut at the Rialto Theatre in New York City, it nonetheless offers a fascinating glimpse into one of Jefferson County’s biggest industries at the time, along with spaces, places and people that no longer exist except in historical photos.

FUN FACT: Actor Wallace Beery nearly died on set during one of the film’s climactic scenes when, after a night of hard drinking at a local saloon, he stumbled and almost dropped into a coal tipple (which loaded iron ore into railroad cars for transport), which could have resulted in serious injury or worse. Luckily he survived to film another day.

Info Link: https://birminghamhistorycenter.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/mines-mills-and-moonshine-silent-filmmaking-in-the-birmingham-area-part-ii/

New York Times Review: https://www.nytimes.com/1925/02/18/archives/the-screen-a-monotonous-hero.html