Boxcar Bertha (1972)

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

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

Release Date:

14 June 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

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:

Prostitution | 1930s | Train Robbery | Crucifixion | Nudity

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jerry Cortez	...	Sheriff (uncredited)
Michael Fitzgerald	...	Apple Peeler (uncredited)
Gayne Rescher	...	Brothel Client (uncredited)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Martin Scorsese	...	Brothel Client (uncredited)

Directed by
Martin Scorsese

Writing credits
Ben L. Reitman		(book "Sisters of the Road")
Joyce Hooper Corrington		(screenplay) (as Joyce H. Corrington) &
John William Corrington		(screenplay)

Produced by
Julie Corman	....	associate producer
Roger Corman	....	producer
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	producer (uncredited)
James H. Nicholson	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Gib Guilbeau
Thad Maxwell

Cinematography by
John M. Stephens		(as John Stephens)

Film Editing by
Buzz Feitshans

Production Management
Salvatore Billitteri	....	post-production supervisor
Paul Rapp	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Rapp	....	first assistant director
Russell Vreeland	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Walter Starkey	....	property master

Sound Department
Donald F. Johnson	....	sound mixer (as Don F. Johnson)
Fred J. Brown	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Roger Sword	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Ross Taylor	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
David Nichols	....	visual consultant

Stunts
William H. Burton	....	stunt coordinator (as Bill Burton)
Patricia Watson	....	stunt double
Patricia Watson	....	train jump stunt double: Barbara Hershey
Richard Dunn	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Larry Gilhooly	....	gaffer (as Larry Gillhooley)
John Murray	....	key grip
Paul M. Pollard	....	assistant camera (as Paul Pollard)
Alex Touyarot	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bob Modes	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
George Trirogoff	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Herb Cohen	....	music producer

Other crew
Peter Fain	....	production associate
Harvey Jacobson	....	location coordinator
Julian F. Myers	....	unit publicist
Bobbie Sierks	....	script supervisor
David Sheldon	....	production executive (uncredited)

Production Companies

• American International Pictures (AIP)

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (1972) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Anglo-EMI Film Distributors (1972) (UK) (theatrical)
• MGM-EMI (1972) (UK) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (DVD)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (DVD)
• Orion Pictures Corporation
• Roadshow Home Video
• Vestron Video (video)

Other Companies

• F&B/Cecomobile  location services
• Ryder Sound Services  sound services
• The Golds West Inc.  titles

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:R (re-rating 2005) | UK:X | Australia:R (original rating) | West Germany:18 (cut) | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | 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:

The train sequences were shot first and they took about a week. This was done to get the most complicated element of the production, working with a moving train, out of the way first.

Goofs:

Continuity: Bertha frees Bill Shelley from the prison gang by faking a punctured tire. The wheel with the flat is left at the side of the road. In the following car chase, the wheel is initially missing from the car. Later the tire is clearly seen fixed to the rear of the car. When the car is being destroyed, the spare tire is gone again.

Quotes:

'Big' Bill Shelly: Hey, Bertha!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Making 'Taxi Driver' (1999) (V)

"I don't wanna steal your watch, I just wanna smash your railroad"

Boxcar Bertha is an early Scorcese, made just on the eve of his highly personal breakthrough film Mean Streets. In other words, these were the days before he could call the shots and was merely a jobbing director. It's a cheap exploitation flick, and like most B-pictures it's a cash-in knock-off of a recent hit movie – in this case Bonnie and Clyde. It crams in all the essential ingredients for the genre – hold-ups, union men, pinkertons, chain gangs and, of course, boxcars – along with a dash of nudity and gory violence to help it sell.

The story follows the same arc as its peers – likable proles take to a life of crime to escape the depression, have a number of run-ins and adventures, until they eventually meet their downfall. The screenplay is fairly lazy and predictable, although the writers have tried to inject some depth and conflict to the characters. Bill, for example, struggles to reconcile his socialist values with his individualist criminal antics. Rake is ashamed of his cushy city roots and wants desperately to prove himself. Bertha herself is portrayed as a kind of happy-go-lucky individual with no real agenda apart from living the life she enjoys and being with the man she loves. Sadly these ideas are never fully explored, and tend to get lost behind the simplistic b-action setting.

Boxcar Bertha also happens to be surprisingly loaded with religious references, painting Bill as a Jesus-like figure. Most obvious of these is the highly symbolic ending, but there are a number of more subtle hints. A scene somewhere in the middle opens with David Carradine standing before a biblical fresco, and later in the city Barbara Hershey stops to look at a film poster for The Man who Could Work Miracles. The religious angle is something which actually runs through all of Scorcese's work, rarely stated out loud but always under the surface.

Scorcese's technical style is fairly functional and not too flamboyant, but there are some hints towards the methods he would later make his own. He relies very heavily upon the editing process for impact – a dynamic cut emphasises every moment of action. There aren't too many of the lengthy tracking shots that he is known for, and what camera moves there are are shaky and poorly planned, even if he really is trying to make something of them. This is all understandable though – planning elaborate camera moves is very time consuming, and apparently the shoot for this picture was a mere twenty-four days. Besides, snappy editing is a good way to get something out of next to nothing in a fast-paced action flick.

It's an interesting touch to see father and son actors John and David Carradine playing each others nemeses. Both are fine actors, although unfortunately the former was largely relegated to minor supporting parts in A pictures, while the latter was usually lumbered with lead roles in B pictures. Only occasionally did either of them get to shine, and Carradine Senior is particularly good here even if it is another small role. But the real standout here is Barbara Hershey in the title role. She gives Bertha a kind of playful innocence, but allows the character to mature and show more depth of emotion towards the end of the picture.

When all's said and done, Boxcar Bertha is a cut above the average cheapie, but only a small cut. Scorcese has done a fair job with the material, and there is an occasional surprising moment of quality. It's good fun too in many places, particularly the cheeky dialogue given to Bernie Casey (Von), as well as the Laurel and Hardy-like pinkerton agents. But it also has a dull plot, annoying musical score, cheep-and-cheerful production values and is just too short to really take off.