Boxcar Bertha (1972)

During the depression, a union leader and a young woman become criminals to exact revenge on the management of a railroad.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Ben L. Reitman (book), Joyce Hooper Corrington (screenplay),

Stars:

Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Barry Primus

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Hershey	...	Boxcar Bertha
David Carradine	...	Big Bill Shelly
Barry Primus	...	Rake Brown
Bernie Casey	...	Von Morton
John Carradine	...	H. Buckram Sartoris
Victor Argo	...	McIver #1
David Osterhout	...	McIver #2 (as David R. Osterhout)
Grahame Pratt	...	Emeric Pressburger (credit only)
'Chicken' Holleman	...	M. Powell (credit only)
Harry Northup	...	Harvey Hall (as Harry Northrup)
Ann Morell	...	Tillie Parr
Marianne Dole	...	Mrs. Mailler
Joe Reynolds	...	Joe Cox

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

cheating | crop duster | bolshevik | arkansas | jail | 

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Taglines:

America in the 30's was a Free Country. Bertha was jes' a little bit free'er than most.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

A lázadók ökle

Filming Locations:

Camden, Arkansas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song 'Big' Bill Shelley and his guys are singing when Bertha rescues them is an A Capella by Vera Hall, called "Trouble So Hard".

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Goofs

When the gang hijacks the locomotive, it is pulling a tank car and box car. Later shots show only the tank car.

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Quotes

'Big' Bill Shelly: Hey, Bertha!

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Connections

Referenced in Community: Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts (2011)

User Reviews

Scorsese's second

Martin Scorsese got hired by Roger Corman, I presume, to make this "based on true story" movie of a boxcar thief and robber named Bertha whom with some other robbers stole their way into a small piece in history but got into strife towards the end. It isn't one of his best pictures since he really was just the director and the script and the actors did more work than he needed to do on the picture. Like The Color of Money, it's a film that if he didn't direct it it wouldn't of made much of a difference in the outcome.

Still, give credit where credit is due, and those (very few I might think) that heard what Cassavettes said to Scoresese after the movie got released (he told Marty that it was a piece of s*** and to work on something better- which he did with Mean Streets) should disregard it. Overall, Boxcar Bertha is a watchable and good piece of cinema with some decent performances and an overall feel that works in it's "tradition of Bonnie & Clyde" genre. Hershey and Carradine are also good. Just don't expect anything ground-breaking, unlike the next 5 out of 6 movies Scorsese would make in the next eight years after this. B+