Boxcar Bertha [Blu-ray]

Director: Martin Scorsese Martin Scorsese

Overview

Produced by Roger Corman and directed by Martin Scorsese, Boxcar Bertha is a Bonnie and Clyde-like yarn set during the Depression. The title character, played by Barbara Hershey, links up with union organizer David Carradine (Hershey's real-life lover at the time) after the death of her father. Running afoul of anti-union forces, Bertha and Carradine are forced into a life of crime. Whereas Bonnie and Clyde robbed banks, Boxcar Bertha's specialty is trains. A story of this nature can only end in tragedy, and wait until you see Carradine's symbolic demise! For the record, there really was a Boxcar Bertha Thompson, and it is her autobiography, Sister of the Road, that serves as the basis for Joyce and John Corrington's screenplay.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/13/2022
UPC:	0850035985274
Original Release:	1972
Rating:	R
Source:	Sandpiper Pictures
Language:	English
Time:	1:28:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Barbara Hershey	Boxcar Bertha
David Carradine	Big Bill Shelly,H. Buckram Sartoris
Barry Primus	Rake Brown
Bernie Casey	Von Morton
Chicken Holleman	Michael Powell
Grahame Pratt	Emeric Pressburger
Harry Northrup	Harvey Hall
Ann Morell	Tillie
Marianne Dole	Mrs. Mailer
Joe Reynolds	Joe Dreft
David Osterhout	The McIver
Victor Argo	The McIver
David R. Osterhout	Mclver Brother
Gayne Rescher	Brothel Client [uncredited]
Martin Scorsese	Brothel Client
Gib Guilbeau	Composer
Thad Maxwell	Composer

Technical Credits

Joyce Corrington

Martin Scorsese	Director
Joyce Corrington	Screenwriter,Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Roger Corman	Producer,Producer
Don F. Johnson	Sound/Sound Designer
Ryder Sound Services Inc.	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Hooking up with legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman as an avenue into the movie business, Martin Scorsese directed his second feature, and earned his Director's Guild card, with Boxcar Bertha (1972). One of a slew of late-'60s-early-'70s Bonnie and Clyde (1967) rip-offs, complete with a car chase and bloody climax, Boxcar Bertha manages to be a bit better than the usual exploitation movie while following the Corman edict to include nudity and violence at regular intervals without that much regard for story coherence. Though the central players were still finding their way as actors, Boxcar Bertha contains flashes of Scorsese's burgeoning directorial talent, from the jump-cut final shootout and expressive dolly shots, to the disturbing close-ups that signal a crucifixion. Though Boxcar Bertha did not exactly advance Scorsese's career at the box office, it did provoke John Cassavetes to admonish the young filmmaker to make movies that meant something; Scorsese responded by making his superb, highly personal Little Italy chronicle Mean Streets (1973).

All Movie Guide - Lucia Bozzola