"Between Rock and a Hard Place" was a documentary film was a film shot around Amonate, VA about the fears, frustrations and hardships of three coal miners in the Appalachia, ulluminating the human side of these resilient, strong and proud men. (Read off the video box) One of these men, John Smith was the husband of my wife's aunt Dlphia Lowe Smith. The film was produced in 1981 and is now out of print. It is available at many libraries or can be made available through intra library loans. To purchase a copy is very expensive. The saying "Between Rock and Hard Place" was coined by coal miners which originated in the days before unions. Coal miners did not get paid for removing rock that was in the way of coal seams at times. They only got paid for the actual coal dug and loaded. That could mean a long time between paydays which always ran out way before the next pay day. A hard place was just that. A "place" was referred to as the location of their work at any given time. So their plight in the worse sense was to end up between a lot of rock and a place that is difficult to work or live. Note: The letter "A" is not inserted Between "A" Rock in this reference as generally used. I won't argue if this reference is the original for that old saying, but I believe it is. Robert Crabtree