Customer Reviews

Boxcar Bertha

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the cut and censoured version of that movie. Wait for the unrated version.

Like many talented young U.S. directors of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, Martin Scorsese got a big break from American International Pictures studios. This was in the days of drive-in movies and so-called "B" pictures, meaning that something like Boxcar Bertha would be secondary to whatever feature attraction was playing. AIP directors worked on a strict schedule, small budget, and were required to goose things along with softcore sex and bright red violence. No surprise, Scorsese delivered, and found ways to punch it up with his trademark kinetic editing style. He also knew how to get solid performances, even back then. Barry Primus, Bernie Casey, and John Carradine shine here; Barbara Hershey and David Carradine aren't so great or convincing. The movie, like Bonnie And Clyde six years earlier, is about contemporary rather than past times, even though it's set in the 30s. Hershey and Carradine are early 70s free lovers and free spirits, not really nice folks but much more moral than their foes in banking and legal institutions. The film is uneven, but just when you find your attention drifting, Scorsese makes his presence felt with imaginative, original, playful images and sequences. For example, pay close attention to the scene in which Carradine goes to his union office with stolen money, and see how much effort Scorsese puts into images that other directors would blow off. The DVD looks great, a huge improvement over cruddy, pan and scan VHS. No extras except for the original trailer, which is a treat: lots of it is shot through bright colored tinted lenses, taking you back to 70s schlock at its finest. Based on a true story, this is pulp NON fiction; takes its place alongside After Hours, King of Comedy, Kundun, Age of Innocence, and Bringing out the Dead as an uneven, underappreciated Scorsese gem--not as consistently great as his big movies, but plenty of interesting moments and a chance to see the master in training before he moved up to self-consciously artful films.

Produced by Roger Corman and directed by Martin Scorsese, BOXCAR BERTHA is a romp through the deep south of the great depression. Bertha (Barbara Hershey) is young, beautiful, and not at all afraid of taking her clothes off! This is good, since she's naked a lot in this movie! Plot?? Well, Bertha's dad is killed in an airplane accident, sending Bertha on an adventure of boxcar jumping, bankrobbing, murder, prison escapes, trainrobbing, prostitution, and lots of laughs. Bertha is accompanied by Big Bill Shelly (David Carradine) and two other cohorts played by Barry Primus and Bernie Casey. Did I mention Bertha's lack of clothing? It just keeps flying off for some reason! Anyway, Bertha and her gang decide to take down an evil railroad baron (played nastily by John Carradine), not realizing just how evil he really is. This leads to the gang's downfall. The finale is pure savage mayhem and revenge! Worth a peek. Oh, and Bertha spends a great deal of time in her birthday suit too...

This early effort by Martin Scorsese for low-budget legend Roger Corman manages to sustain interest, but it's only a glimmer of the genius to come. Bertha (Barbara Hershey) hooks up with labor agitator Big Bill Shelley (David Carradine); with their gang (Bernie Casey and Barry Primus) they pull off a number of robberies and find themselves on the run right up until the suitably bloody climax. This will be of interest to Scorsese completists and lovers of exploitative B-movies; others need not bother.

This is a very early Scorsese effort, so definitely worth a viewing. Indeed, it is a funny disjointed story with the young Barbara Hershey - a flower child from acting royalty - and David Carradine in his prime. Orphaned, she wanders around via train hopping and has a series of misadventures, finding love with a union activist and blithely blundering into crime and prostitution as if it were a game. Hershey kind of acts like a stoned out 60s bimbo, though in fact the aimlessness and subtle despair of her character signals the debut of a very talented actress. She is also at the height of her beauty, truly stunning. The depression era of poverty, chaos, and racism is evoked well, including railroad goon squads, chain gangs, and obscure union halls full of "reds".

Unfortunately, the film is choppy, clearly a low-budget affair in spite of some notable scenes. I remember seeing pix from it in Playboy when it came out, touting the real-life romance that started between Carradine and Hershey. I would not recommend buying this for casual viewers, but rather renting it - you won't want to review it often but it is fun to have if you are collector.

Boxcar Bertha, based on the true story of "Boxcar" Bertha Thompson, features a dynamic young cast. Set in the Great Depression, this move shows, if somewhat romanticized, life of the southern railroad unionizer and an young orphan girl who fall in love. And how the unionizer and the girl, along with two other cronies turn to petty crime to survive. The climatic ending must be seen to be believed. Also if you are interested in steam era railroading, there are plenty of steam locomotive and train scenes to satisfy you. Not to mention the 24 year old Barbara Hershey is hot.

Boxcar Bertha was based on the life of times of Bertha Thompson, during the depression era in the 1930s. After her pilot father is killed right before her eyes in a plane-crash, Bertha leaves the family farm, unable to support herself alone. Bertha takes to the road, and soon meets-up with Big Bill Shelly. Bill is a union organizer, who's determined to exact justice from corrupt railroad barons. Bertha and Bill fall in love, and travel together via hopping trains across the south. The two turn to criminal activities, to survive.

Barbara Hershey gives a light-hearted, yet also poignant performance as Bertha. David Carradine conveys the conviction and passion, evident in Big Bill Shelly. His on-screen chemistry with Barbara Hershey, is palpable. Bernie Casey gives a strong, if understated performance as Bill's partner-in-crime, Von Morton. The morality angle of this film, like many made in the 70s, is ambiguous. The viewer knows that the characters clearly commit criminal acts. Yet there's also a sense of righteousness in their lawlessness, due to their quest to overthrow the cruel railroad men.

This is one of the more interesting 70s nostalgia films, and one of the very few to revolve around a strong female character. It is a bit too slow in spots, and could've used more exciting get-a-way scenes. But it makes-up for these minor flaws, by having characters with more emotional depth, than the usual crime drama. Boxcar Bertha is a fine film, that works very well overall.

This is an unusual film, at least for today. It is in the Bonny&Clde tradition and follows the same premise back then. Due to the hard times, a small band of 'have-nots' go on a minor crime spree including railroad trains. Unlike the over-the-top violence of Bonny and Clyde, the drama in this film is socio-economic. Barbara Hersey plays a sultry brunette who helps herself to the baubles of the wealth(ier) people that they hold up. The film makes great play of the 'transfer' of wealth, during the hold-up, of said jewels from someone who doesn't need them to Barbara Hersey, someone who has no idea how to wear them. Nonetheless, it is strangely captivating.

The 'two sides' are illustrated here; the small band of outlaws and robbers (with the Barbara Hersey character and her boyfriend) versus the law. The railroad had security forces that also dealt with them, in a rather brutal way.

If you saw this movie on TV, they cut all the sex scenes out. Playboy at the time did a feature, but those scenes were never filmed. The actual film release has some mild scenes which don't mar or interrupt the flow of the film. This is not a particularly racy film, more an historical drama...

Great Martin Scorsese movie. Great cinematography, story about 2 lovers fighting for freedom and a railroad boss determined to stop them. A must see for Scorsese fans. David Carradine and Barbara Hershey are excellent.

Boxcar Bertha, director Martin Scorsese's second film, is an appalling mess. The acting is terrible, the editing sloppy, the story uninspired and dull, and the directing, dare I say it, is unsure and incompetent. Thank goodness Scorsese was able to learn from his mistakes and move on to the artistic brilliance he showed in his later work.

The entire film really suffers from the Roger Corman production, who often gave his directors only 7 or 8 days to shoot a film, and the editing really needs the sure hand of his future editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who is one of the secrets behinds Scorsese's success as a director. I still think Scorsese is one of the most brilliant directors in the history of film, but sadly, with this dog of a film, he was saddled with a dull story, poor production, and stiff acting. Only recommended if you are a die-hard Scorsese fan and want to watch his entire body of work.