AllMovie

John Henry was the hero of a popular ballad sung back during the times of the Industrial Revolution. Danny Glover stars as Henry. The rest of the cast includes Tom Hulce, Lou Rawls, Lynn Whitfield and Barry Corbin. As the story goes, John Henry supposedly crushed more rock than a steam drill. Some believe that this story was factually based on the railroad work that was done during the late 19th century in the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia. In addition to his need to compete with machines, it is felt by many that John Henry also had to struggle against the wealthy white men who were eager to replace workers with their machines.