Emperor of the North Pole (1973)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writer:

Christopher Knopf (writer)

Release Date:

23 May 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Action | Thriller

Tagline:

Lee Marvin & Ernest Borgnine meet in the fight of the century.

Plot:

It is during the great depression in the US, and the land is full of people who are now homeless. Those people...

Plot Keywords:

Train | Hobo | Great Depression | Railway | Sadist

Cast

Lee Marvin	...	A No. 1
Ernest Borgnine	...	Shack
Keith Carradine	...	Cigaret
Charles Tyner	...	Cracker
Malcolm Atterbury	...	Hogger
Simon Oakland	...	Policeman
Harry Caesar	...	Coaly
Hal Baylor	...	Yardman's Helper
Matt Clark	...	Yardlet
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Gray Cat (as Elisha Cook)
Joe Di Reda	...	Dinger (as Joe di Reda)
Liam Dunn	...	Smile
Diane Dye	...	Girl in Water
Robert Foulk	...	Conductor
James Goodwin	...	Fakir

Also Known As:

Emperor of the North (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

118 min | 116 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) (1973) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1987) | USA:TV-PG | West Germany:16 (f) | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1973) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Cottage Grove, Oregon, USA

Company:

Inter Hemisphere

Trivia:

Final film of Malcolm Atterbury.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: There are several parts of the movie where you hear crossing gate bells. In one scene, the train is passing a field of wheat or dead grass. You hear the bells ringing, but there is no RR crossing, street, or crossing gate and bell to be seen.

Quotes:

Hobo: Guess who, Shack? It's the big bad 'bo, Shack. And he's gonna bite your big bad ass!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Life on Mars: Home Is Where You Hang Your Holster (#1.11)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

A Man and a Train

One of the Best Photographed Movies Ever

This has to be one of the finest photographed movies ever made. When you view this movie, you feel as though you are right there taking part in it. I have never felt this way about any other movie. Joseph Biroc was the best! The action in this movie is very real. Not like todays "special effects" that viewers crave. What happens here seems very real and un staged. When you have a good story to tell, you don't need gimmicks and "special effects". Of course having Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine as the 2 main stars helps. What actors alive today could match those two legends? They didn't need stunt doubles and stand ins! These were "real men".