Boxcar Bertha isn't amazing but I'm letting that slide since it was his first feature and he made it for Corman so he had no money. In 1976, again under Mr. Corman’s auspices, "Frank Arthur Wilson" was hired to spruce up the earlier film with new footage. Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Boxcar Bertha ; Produced by Roger Corman, BOXCAR BERTHA is a film directed by Martin Scorsese in 1972. Love made her an outlaw. Scorsese makes a cameo in the film as one of Bertha's clients during the brothel montage. Boxcar Bertha takes on additional layers of meaning thanks to its youthful director, the just-then-emerging Martin Scorsese. Taglines Boxcar Bertha follows in the oft-interrupted tradition, begun at Warners in the thirties, of being both a popular film and one which takes seriously the struggles of unions in America. Although his directorial debut was technically Who’s That Knocking at My Door, which he followed up with Boxcar Bertha, the first Martin Scorsese film that really feels like a Martin Scorsese film is the 1973 crime drama Mean Streets.Set on the streets of New York, Mean Streets is still ranked among the greatest movies ever made. [2] It was Scorsese's second feature film. It merely depresses. Martin Scorsese's second feature loosely adapts the autobiography of Bertha Thompson, portraying the adventures of the Depression-era criminal following the death of her father. [4], Hershey later called the film "a lot of fun even though it's terribly crippled by Roger Corman and the violence and sex. Thomas, Kevin (June 21, 1972). Hershey stars as the titular character, with her off screen partner at the time David Carradine as her lover and soul mate Shelly. Siskel, Gene (July 20, 1972). "Film Reviews: Boxcar Bertha". Despite their different motivations in life, the four become fiercely loyal to each other, especially Bertha and Bill, both who consider the other to be the love of their life. "[5], Boxcar Bertha received mixed reviews from critics. Joining up with controversial union leader Big Bill Shelley, Bertha is forced into a life on the run when a group of conservative witch hunters targets Shelley as a Communist. The engine is currently at the Blacklands Railroad yard in Sulphur Springs, Texas, awaiting restoration. Be the first to contribute! "[9], Arthur D. Murphy of Variety gave the film a negative review, writing, "Whatever its intentions, Boxcar Bertha is not much more than an excuse to slaughter a lot of people [...] The final cut has stripped away whatever mood and motivation may have been in the script, leaving little more than fights, shotgun blasts, beatings and aimless movement. But between the actors and Marty Scorsese the director, we had a lot of fun. Besides Rake's need to cheat to make a living, none of the four is predisposed to criminal behavior, but they end up living a life of crime out of circumstance, which included a card game gone wrong. A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent, Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women, Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boxcar_Bertha&oldid=1000228148, Biographical films about Depression-era gangsters, Industrial Workers of the World in fiction, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 January 2021, at 05:53. Boxcar Bertha - Movie Review. | Boxcar Bertha Thompson Book Author Buzz Feitshans Editor David Nichols Production Designer Don F. Johnson Sound/Sound Designer Gib Guilbeau Composer (Music Score) John M. Stephens Cinematographer John William Corrington Screenwriter Joyce Hooper Corrington Screenwriter Julie Corman Producer Paul Rapp First Assistant Director Roger Corman Producer Later, they bone. "[11] Tom Milne of The Monthly Film Bulletin declared: "Abrasively scripted, stunningly shot, and beautifully acted by David Carradine, Barbara Hershey and Barry Primus in particular, Boxcar Bertha is much more than the exploitation picture it has been written off as (by Variety, for instance) and makes a worthy companion piece to both Bloody Mama and Bonnie and Clyde."[12]. [3] The Reader Railroad was used for the train scenes. The film tells the story of Boxcar Bertha Thompson and "Big" Bill Shelly, two train robbers and lovers who are caught up in the plight of railroad workers in the American South. Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? 'Boxcar' Bertha Thompson, a transient woman in Arkansas during the violence-filled Depression of the early '30s, meets up with rabble-rousing union man 'Big' Bill Shelly and the two team up to fight the corrupt railroad establishment. "[8] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "What is most impressive about Boxcar Bertha [...] is how 28-year old director Martin Scorsese, in his first Hollywood venture, has managed to shape such familiar material into a viable film. When Bertha is implicated in the murder of a wealthy gambler, the pair become fugitives. The locomotive in those scenes was 1920 Baldwin 2-6-2 #108, who later saw service on the Conway Scenic Railroad in the late 1970s. A would-be Roger Corman/AIP exploitation film, Boxcar Bertha (1972) takes on additional layers of meaning thanks to its youthful director, the just-then-emerging Martin Scorsese. While Boxcar Bertha is nowhere near the quality of Scorsese's later efforts, you can tell there was talent there, just waiting to be exploited. The movie is set in a murky Southern territory of sweat and violence, and gives us Bertha as a forthright young girl who a gets involved in violence almost by accident. It looks like we don't have a Synopsis for this title yet. We get the feeling we're inhabiting the dark night of a soul. I guess hindsight is the only way to know when someone should have gracefully retired. By chance, she meets Bic Bill Shelly, a socialist syndicalist, and makes love with him. "[7] The New York Times' Howard Thompson found the film to be an "interesting surprise," praising Carradine's "excellent" performance and the "beautiful" direction by Scorsese, "who really comes into his own here. Synopsis / Plot "Boxcar" Bertha Thompson is a Depression-era woman who loses her father in an airplane accident. Transfer Quality Video The video transfer for Boxcar Bertha is very nice, with little at all to complain about. According to Ephraim Katz in The Film Encyclopedia, Boxcar Bertha "gave the young director the opportunity to work within the Hollywood system and paved the way to his phenomenal [extraordinary] rise in the coming years." The prologue from Martin Scorsese's Roger Corman quickie, Barbara Hershey (title character) gazing skyward at her crop-dusting dad, with mechanic Von (Bernie Casey), Big Bill (David Carradine) working nearby, opening Boxcar Bertha, 1972. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Synopsis submission guide. Based on "Sister of the Road," the fictionalized autobiography of radical and transient Bertha Thompson as written by physician Dr. Ben L. Reitman, 'Boxcar' Bertha Thompson, a woman labor organizer in Arkansas during the violence-filled Depression of the early '30's meets up with rabble-rousing union man 'Big' Bill Shelly and they team up to fight the corrupt railroad establishment and she is eventually sucked into a life of crime with him. She also has a stint working in a bordello. Mr. Wilson was in fact Allan Arkush and he's here to share the story about making Blast. [1] It is a loose adaptation of Sister of the Road, a pseudo-autobiographical account of the fictional character Bertha Thompson, written by Ben L. Reitman. In Arkansas, during The Great Depression, Bertha Thompson (Barbara Hershey), just barely into adulthood, is forced to leave home after her father dies in a tragic accident. Bertha (Barbara Hershey) joins union organizer "Big" Bill Shelly (David Carradine) in fighting anti-union forces after an unexpected murder drives them to a life of robbing trains. "[6], Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four and called it "a weirdly interesting movie [...] Director Martin Scorsese has gone for mood and atmosphere more than for action, and his violence is always blunt and unpleasant — never liberating and exhilarating, as the New Violence is supposed to be. Plot. During the depression era, a teenager, a syndicalist, a gambler and an harmonica player form a gang specializing in train robberies. Barbara Hershey and David Carradine star as a pair of doomed lovers in the Depression-era American South, turning to train robbery and life on the run. Boxcar Bertha Imdb; Boxcar Bertha Movie Plot; Download Torrent Movie Boxcar Bertha 1972 For Sale; Boxcar Bertha is a low budget 1972 American romantic crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. Locomotive #1702, a USATC S160 2-8-0 built by Baldwin in 1942, was also seen in the film as well. Based on “Sister of the Road,” the 1937 pseudo-autobiography of fictional character Bertha Thompson, written by anarchist physician Dr. Ben L. Reitman. After the success of Bloody Mama, Roger Corman wanted to make another female gangster film. Martin Scorsese was hired to direct on the strength of his first feature. He was given the lead actors, including Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, and Barry Primus, and a shooting schedule of 24 days in Arkansas. Hence, the battle between Sartoris/the McIvers and the foursome becomes a personal one on both sides. Change your configuration. When Bertha is implicated in the murder of a wealthy gambler, the pair become fugitives. Cast. 1930s set crime/love story/bio~pic of 'Boxcar' Bertha Thompson, directed by Martin Scorsese, and produced by Roger Corman. The film tells the story of Boxcar Bertha Thompson and "Big" Bill Shelly, two train robbers and lovers who are caught up in the plight of railroad workers in the American South. The lover Boxcar Bertha is going to meet is a Union man named Big Bill (they have so much in common! [1] Made on a low budget, the film is loose adaptation of Sister of the Road, a pseudo-autobiographical account of the fictional character Bertha Thompson. The locomotive is now operational at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Boxcar Bertha - (Original Trailer) A union leader during the Depression enlists his girlfriend in a plot to get back at the railroad's evil management in Martin Scorsese's Boxcar Bertha(1972). Bill in particular feels uncomfortable with the criminal behavior in and of itself, except for the good he can do for the working class in the crimes. ‘Boxcar’ Bertha Thompson, a transient woman in Arkansas during the violence-filled Depression of the early ‘30s, meets up with rabble-rousing union man ’Big’ Bill Shelly and the two team up to fight the corrupt railroad establishment. Plot Keywords Synopsis Synopsis Martin Scorsese's second feature loosely adapts the autobiography of Bertha Thompson, portraying the adventures of the Depression-era criminal following the death of her father. mpouk Marty always has been more comfortable creating moods than following a plot and this, one of his lesser works, is no exception. ... (Torn Curtain and Topaz) but after that, they make some decent movies (Frenzy and the underrated Family Plot). They become lovers and take to robbing the payroll and when necessary, Bertha even breaks him out of jail. During the Great Depression, a union leader and a young woman become criminals to exact revenge on the management of a railroad. Instead, Scorsese directed Corman's Boxcar Bertha, a 1972 gangster film similar to Bonnie and Clyde. Based on "Sister of the Road," the fictionalized autobiography of radical and transient Bertha Thompson as written by physician Dr. Ben L. Reitman, 'Boxcar' Bertha Thompson, a woman labor organizer in Arkansas during the violence-filled Depression of the early '30's meets up with rabble-rousing union man 'Big' Bill Shelly and they team up to fight the corrupt railroad establishment and she … She falls in love with a certain Big Bill Shelley (David Carradine), who seems loosely modeled on the anarchist organizer Big Bill Haywood. Boxcar Bertha is a 1972 American romantic crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and produced by Roger Corman, from a screenplay by Joyce H. Corrington and John William Corrington. | View the TCMDb entry for Boxcar Bertha (1972) ... Union leader Big Bill Shelly and young runaway woman Bertha form a small group who stand up to the oppression towards workers and plot their revenge on the management of a new railroad. Really, though, Boxcar Bertha is for the completist only: see it once and then you'll probably forget it. She then meets Rake Brown, a cardsharper, and becomes his partner. 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