Boxcar Bertha (1972)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

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

Release Date:

14 June 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Life made her an outcast. Love made her an outlaw.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Arkansas | Boxcar | Fight | Radical | Race Relations

Cast

Barbara Hershey	...	'Boxcar' Bertha Thompson
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
'Chicken' Holleman	...	M. Powell
Harry Northup	...	Deputy Sheriff Harvey Hall (as Harry Northrup)
Ann Morell	...	Tillie Parr
Marianne Dole	...	Mrs. Mailler
Joe Reynolds	...	Joe Cox

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:R | UK:X | South Korea:18 | West Germany:18 (cut) | UK:18 (video rating) | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 (re-release) | Sweden:15 | USA:R | France:-16 | Norway:18 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Camden, Arkansas, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

In 1972, American International Pictures distributed this film on a double bill with Killers Three (1968) starring 'Robert Walker Jr'.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The boxcars rolling behind the characters in the 1930s, have dates stenciled on them indicating that they have been tested and repaired in the 1970s.

Quotes:

'Big' Bill Shelly: Hey, Bertha!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

Marty's arty party

Scorsese refers to this 1972 Roger Corman quickie--he shot it in the deep South in twenty-one days--as his "exploitation picture." Funny, that--if it came out today, it'd be the height of the Arty Independent Film. Barbara Hershey and David Carradine are this movie's knockoff of Bonnie and Clyde; the script ain't much, but Scorsese storyboarded every shot and hoo doggie! This guy was the greatest shotmaker ever, even when he was on Skid Row. Rent it for Hershey's lyrical style and the chance to discern the fetus of a genius.