Boxcar Bertha (1972)
Country: US
Technical: DeLuxe 88m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Barry Primus, Bernie Casey, John Carradine
Synopsis:
In thirties Arkansas the daughter of a cropduster is orphaned and begins an itinerant life catching rides on trains, taking up with a socialist idealist and a card sharp. Abortive attempts to earn a semi-honest buck soon lead to a doomed mission to rob the railroad dry.
Review:
Genuine blues harmonica replaces Bonnie and Clyde's pastiche country style, but it is hard to miss the influence of the earlier movie; hard also to see where this one's heart is: the central male character's political motives, apparently taken seriously, are discredited early on when he incites and then flees a workers' riot. Bertha is just a tart with a heart. The robberies, all of which are non-violent and borne with reasonable compliance, culminate in a very brutal backlash. Scorsese directs with some flair and Hershey shows all the promise of a career to come, but frankly it's a bit of a mess.
Country: US
Technical: DeLuxe 88m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Barry Primus, Bernie Casey, John Carradine
Synopsis:
In thirties Arkansas the daughter of a cropduster is orphaned and begins an itinerant life catching rides on trains, taking up with a socialist idealist and a card sharp. Abortive attempts to earn a semi-honest buck soon lead to a doomed mission to rob the railroad dry.
Review:
Genuine blues harmonica replaces Bonnie and Clyde's pastiche country style, but it is hard to miss the influence of the earlier movie; hard also to see where this one's heart is: the central male character's political motives, apparently taken seriously, are discredited early on when he incites and then flees a workers' riot. Bertha is just a tart with a heart. The robberies, all of which are non-violent and borne with reasonable compliance, culminate in a very brutal backlash. Scorsese directs with some flair and Hershey shows all the promise of a career to come, but frankly it's a bit of a mess.
Country: US
Technical: DeLuxe 88m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Barry Primus, Bernie Casey, John Carradine
Synopsis:
In thirties Arkansas the daughter of a cropduster is orphaned and begins an itinerant life catching rides on trains, taking up with a socialist idealist and a card sharp. Abortive attempts to earn a semi-honest buck soon lead to a doomed mission to rob the railroad dry.
Review:
Genuine blues harmonica replaces Bonnie and Clyde's pastiche country style, but it is hard to miss the influence of the earlier movie; hard also to see where this one's heart is: the central male character's political motives, apparently taken seriously, are discredited early on when he incites and then flees a workers' riot. Bertha is just a tart with a heart. The robberies, all of which are non-violent and borne with reasonable compliance, culminate in a very brutal backlash. Scorsese directs with some flair and Hershey shows all the promise of a career to come, but frankly it's a bit of a mess.