Based on sister of the road, the fictionalized autobiography of radical and transient bertha thompson as written by physician dr. Based on sister of the road by boxcar bertha thomson as told to ben l. Boxcar bertha is a weirdly interesting movie and not really the sleazy exploitation film. Even when bill goes to jail, bertha is not wholly unfaithful to him. It may haver been a prerelease publicity stunt or maybe even a trick played on the cormans by the true owner of the story, author ben l. Scorsese maakte dit gewelddadige vluggertje dat zijn speelfilmdebuut is, voor roger corman voor hij doorbrak met mean streets en kon bewijzen dat hij wel. Boxcar bertha thompson, a transient woman in arkansas during the violencefilled depression of the early 30s, meets up with rabblerousing union man big bill shelly and the two team up to fight the corrupt railroad establishment. With barbara hershey, david carradine, barry primus, bernie casey. The film tells the story of boxcar bertha thompson and. The atmospheric tale depicts their life on the lam, doing whatever is necessary to survive. The movie had the alluring barbara hershey playing boxie, while in the book, boxie says all the men describe her as a truck horse. For the record, there really was a boxcar bertha thompson, and it is her. Bristling with searing energy and the raw, sensual motion picture herald performances of barbara hershey and david carradine, the film delivers a humor and warmth cue thats right on track. Boxcar bertha martin scorsese 1972 really, the only reason that anyone is going to watch boxcar bertha is because its martin scorseses first studio feature.
Based on sister of the road the fictionalized autobiography of radical and. She does take up keep in a brothel, but this is out of need, not love. It finds its inspiration in the exploits of boxcar bertha thompson, an outlaw folk hero who operated in arkansas during the depression. The duo team up to fight the corrupt railroad establishment leading bertha to. Based on sister of the road, the 1937 pseudoautobiography of fictional character bertha thompson, written by anarchist physician dr. Dec 21, 2008 my top ten reasons why boxcar bertha immediately was a favorite the minute it came out, and stayed in the i heart this category. In between his urtext debut, 1967s whos that knocking at my door, and the breakout of 1973s mean streets, martin scorsese made a movie now thought of mostly as a footnote. Based on sister of the road by boxcar bertha thompson as told to ben l. We get the feeling were inhabiting the dark night of a soul. Too derivative of other roger corman crime pictures to stand out, boxcar bertha feels more like a training exercise for a fledgling martin scorsese than a fully. Jul 31, 2016 based on a spellbinding true story, boxcar bertha is a beautifully directed the new york times tale of railroad renegades and runaway romance. Considering its a corman picture, the production values are reasonably high, and as one would expect from its director, the overall tone and style of the movie, including some of the unusual photography, is very well done indeed bertha running along the side of the train at the end is a great sequence.
Martin scorsese has made 25 narrative feature films, and only eight of them have been about people who live a criminal lifestyle. Check out this behind the scenes look at bad boys for life. Boxcar bertha is a low budget 1972 american romantic crime drama film directed by martin scorsese. I am not sure whether she was called boxcar because of the way she was built or because of where she liked to spend her evenings, but i can report.
For the record, there really was a boxcar bertha thompson, and it is her autobiography, carradine, that serves as the basis for joyce and john corringtons screenplay. David carradine and barbara hershey in boxcar bertha 1972 david. You may even end up seeing it several times over a summer of movie going. An orphaned farm girl barbara hershey finds romance and adventure fighting the railroad with union organizer big bill shelley david carradine. For the record, there really was a boxcar bertha thompson, and it is her autobiography, sister of the road, that serves as the basis for joyce and. These films are worth going out of your way to see, or you might rent them, add them to your netflix, blockbuster or tivo. Boxcar bertha sam burgundy suit scott december 18, 2014 3. An insert with an essay by julie kirgo is included as well. Certainly, barbara hersheys performance as the title character is passable, but its hardly the best work that the oftenbrilliant actress has given.
Boxcar bertha 1972 martin scorseses first crime movie and second feature stars barbara hershey as the eponymous young woman in the great depression whose boyfriend big bill david. They get back together, but the movie ends with railroad goons. Boxcar bertha is a weirdly interesting movie and not really the sleazy exploitation film the ads promise. It is a loose adaptation of sister of the road, a pseudoautobiographical account of the fictional character bertha thompson, written by ben l. Martin scorseses crime films ranked, from boxcar bertha to. Twilight time brings boxcar bertha to bluray on a single bd25 disc that comes housed in a keepcase. Find out where boxcar bertha is streaming, if boxcar bertha is on netflix, and get news and updates, on decider. As bertha runs along the tracks while the boxcar carries bills lifeless body away, she begs the train not to take him from her.
Funny, thatif it came out today, itd be the height of the arty independent film. A story of this nature can only end in tragedy, and wait until you see carradines symbolic demise. Watch boxcar bertha 1972 full movie free online streaming. Henry, jessie or jess, violet, and benny, who have evidently been orphaned for some time they come to a bakery to buy some bread, and ask to stay the night. The floor for the irishman is 9 nominations, but depending on how the winds blow. Young woman barbara hershey robs trains with depression gang david carradine, barry primus. Boxcar bertha 1972 december 21, 2008 by pat hartman my top ten reasons why boxcar bertha immediately was a favorite the minute it came out, and stayed in the i heart this category. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing boxcar bertha near. The men are caught and the young woman becomes a prostitute. Set in the depression era of the 1930s, a young woman and three men rob trains and plan a kidnapping.
Like all of the companys releases, the disc is a limited edition with a run of 3,000 copies. Boxcar bertha was a perfect flic for that role and my introduction to her tale. Martin scorsese directs this explosive story of america in the 1930s. When he gets involved with a local girl, he decides to get married and settle down, but. They make their living robbing trains and living on the outskirts of the law. Boxcar bertha 1992 martin scorseses second feature loosely adapts the autobiography of bertha thompson, portraying the adventures of the depressionera criminal following the death of her father. Jul 15, 20 for the record, there really was a boxcar bertha thompson, and it is her autobiography, sister of the road, that serves as the basis for joyce and john corringtons screenplay. Boxcar bertha 1972 martin scorseses first crime movie and second feature stars barbara hershey as the eponymous young woman in the. It feels more like a roger corman film than a scorsese one, appropriately as he was just hired on, and so youll get a mix mash of good scenes and boring scenes. Boxcar bertha 911 movie clip captured again 1972 hd. The boxcar children tells the story of four orphaned children. This movie is a depression era movie made by martin scorsese in 1972 for a bmovie producer. When a baker and his wife learn that the children are orphans, baker and his wife plan to take in the three elder children, who are big enough to be useful in the. The film traces the alienation of bertha, a trade unionist she meets, a black friend of his, and a smalltime yankee conman slipping into crime, stealing from the railroad bosses, and sending.
During the great depression, a union leader and a young woman become criminals to exact revenge on the management of a railroad. For the record, there really was a boxcar bertha thompson, and it is her autobiography, sister of the road, that serves as the basis for joyce and john corringtons screenplay. Based on a spellbinding true story, boxcar bertha is a beautifully directed the new york times tale of railroad renegades and runaway romance. Despite garnering some critical attention for his first feature, including a rave from roger ebert, scorsese struggled in the. A wouldbe roger cormanaip exploitation film, boxcar bertha 1972 takes on additional layers of meaning thanks to its youthful director, the justthenemerging martin scorsese. Martin scorseses crime films ranked, from boxcar bertha. Boxcar bertha thompson, a woman labor organizer in arkansas during the violencefilled depression of the early 30s, meets up with rabblerousing union man big bill shelly, played by david carradine. Whereas bonnie and clyde robbed banks, boxcar berthas specialty is trains. Boxcar bertha is an exciting, daring film set amidst a world falling apart at the very seams, a world in which four people come to lose all respect for law, order and others around them before beginning a spree of thieving and disturbing illegality.
Memorable love scene horrible death scene released in what was for me the thick of the sixties symbolizes the sixties very adequately grandpa was a union organizer greatgrandpa was an abolitionist. Whereas bonnie and clyde robbed banks, boxcar bertha s specialty is trains. Boxcar bertha 1972 was the second exploitation film shot in. She meets railroadunion organizer carradine, and the two take up train robbing. Produced by roger corman and directed by martin scorsese, boxcar bertha is a bonnie and clydelike yarn set during the depression. An orphaned farm girl barbara hershey finds romance and adventure. Boxcar bertha trailer directed by martin scorsese and starring david carradine, barry. Boxcar bertha barbara hershey david carradine barry primus 1972 a young woman barbara hershey robs trains with a union man david carradine, a gambler barry primus and a friend in the depression.
Boxcar bertha 1972 movie clip ill bring you a star. Due to the hard times, a small band of havenots go on a crime spree. Barbara hershey and david carradine star as a pair of doomed lovers in the depressionera american south, turning to train robbery and life on the run. Produced by roger corman and directed by martin scorsese, boxcar bertha is a bonnie and clydelike yarn set during. Boxcar bertha 1972 tt0068309 boxcar bertha thompson, a transient woman in arkansas during the violencefilled depression of the early 30s, meets up with rabblerousing union man big bill shelly and the two team up to fight the corrupt railroad establishment.
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