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Topic: Boxcar Bertha


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In the News (Fri 27 Nov 09)

  
  Cincinnati CityBeat : 02/09/2005 : Boxcar Marty
Set in 1930s Arkansas, innocent Bertha (Barbara Hershey) partners with union organizer Big Bill Shelly (David Carradine) and a couple of robbers on a crime spree as idealistic as she is: The stolen money is handed out to poor union workers.
The film is a steady follow-up to the landmark period gangster drama Bonnie and Clyde and a rock-solid exploitation flick with a straightforward goal to entertain.
Boxcar Bertha is clearly not Scorsese's masterpiece, but his '70s drive-in movie could be the most relaxed and self-confident film he's ever made.
www.citybeat.com /2005-02-09/film2.shtml   (749 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boxcar Bertha (1972), one of acclaimed director Martin Scorsese's earliest films, is an extremely loose adaptation of "Sister of the Road," the fictionalized autobiography of radical and transient Bertha Thompson as written by physician Dr. Ben L. Reitman (Ben Reitman).
The film tells the story of Bertha Thompson (played by Barbara Hershey) and "Big" Bill Shelley (played by David Carradine), two train robbers and lovers who are caught up in the plight of railroad workers in the American South.
When Bertha is implicated in the murder of a wealthy gambler, the pair become fugitives from justice.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Boxcar_Bertha   (293 words)

  
 .:Movie Views:. Boxcar Bertha - a review by Ryan Cracknell
When her father dies (her mother is also out of the picture), Bertha is forced to grow up but she is still confused and not ready.
And as Bertha takes the women's jewelery and other fashion accessories, she is more concerned with putting them on than she is simply taking the loot and getting away.
Bertha does find a father figure in Bill, but this causes confusion for Bertha in how she grows up because they see each other differently.
www.movie-views.com /films/B/boxcar_bertha.html   (699 words)

  
 The DVD Journal | Quick Reviews: Boxcar Bertha
Boxcar Bertha was an assignment from Roger Corman at AIP, and Scorsese seems to have taken it on as a career move.
Based very loosely on Bertha Thompson's "as told to" book Sister of the Road, the movie was born of a desire to cash in on the Bonnie and Clyde craze and its Southern crime spree mimics, even at the rather late date of 1972.
After Bertha (Barbara Hershey) watches her pilot dad die because his boss made him go up to dust fields in a faulty plane, she hits the road in Depression-era America (the film was shot in Arkansas), where she accrues a sort of fan club.
www.dvdjournal.com /quickreviews/b/boxcarbertha.q.shtml   (536 words)

  
 dOc DVD Review: Boxcar Bertha (1972)
Bertha (Hershey) is yet another variation on the infamous Bonnie Parker, and she takes on the powerful railroad barons (instead of banks) as the local workers struggle to unionize.
Bertha hooks up with union organizer Big Bill Shelly (David Carradine), and the pair lead a series of high-stakes train robberies, accompanied by New York cardshark Rake (Barry Primus) and faithful family friend Von (Bernie Casey).
Boxcar Bertha's claim to fame is that this was Martin Scorsese's first film, and today stands more as a cinematic history lesson than as quality entertainment.
www.digitallyobsessed.com /showreview.php3?ID=3230   (704 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha story
One should suspect Bertha is not real as she manages to meet everyone you’ve ever heard of in union and activism issues of her day.
She records conversations from boxcars, around the campfire, Greenwich Village in New York, hotels and soup kitchens in Chicago, union meetings in Florida and back to Chicago whorehouses.
In 1945 Bertha, her sister, Ena and their mother left the boarding house in Aberdeen and went to Little Rock to a co-operative colony of thirty-five families.
www.theportlandalliance.org /2002/nov/boxcar.html   (584 words)

  
 Amazon.ca: Boxcar Bertha (Widescreen): DVD: Martin Scorsese,Victor Argo,John Carradine,Bernie Casey,Marianne ...   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)
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).
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.
www.amazon.ca /Boxcar-Bertha-Widescreen-Martin-Scorsese/dp/B00005UM2Y   (921 words)

  
 DVD Savant Review: Boxcar Bertha
Young Bertha Thompson (Barbara Hershey) watches as her cropduster father is killed while flying an unsafe plane under an employer's threats.
Boxcar Bertha, the story of a jailbait vagrant and her Bonnie Parker-like crime spree, has less to work with but comes out on top anyway.
Bertha is supposed to be a tramp in a stolen ball gown, but the fancy dresses around her have the cheap look of hasty improvisation.
www.dvdtalk.com /dvdsavant/s439bertha.html   (1415 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha
Based on the real-life autobiographical journals of Boxcar Bertha Thompson, the film tells a little bit of the story behind the workers' struggle to unionize against the railroads in the 30's.
There are some camera set-ups in this film that are exceptionally dramatic, especially the final scene, shot down at Bertha from the top of a moving boxcar, watching her run as she tries to keep up with the speeding train, the entire shot framed over the shoulders of a crucified David Carradine.
Tuna says: Boxcar Bertha is one of the better Corman films, in that is has nudity from a future star, interesting characters, great pace, decent plot, and some point.
www.scoopy.com /boxcarbertha.htm   (935 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha Movie -The 70s Rewind «
Bertha turns up and using her feminine charm she distracts the guard and they break out, stealing the officer’s car.
The film is loosely based on ‘Sister of the Road’ the autobiography of Bertha Thompson a radical, hard-living woman who during the Great Depression years robbed the railways with her lover and his gang.
Ultimately ‘Boxcar Bertha’ feels more like a Corman picture than a Scorsese one but is none-the-less a thoroughly a enjoyable film and definitely worth seeing, as it is the first part of Scorsese’s gangster quintet… the others being Mean Streets (1973), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995) and Gangs of New York (2002).
70s.fast-rewind.com /boxcarbertha.htm   (1980 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha Film Review - Time Out Film
Superior formula stuff, injected with a rare degree of life by enthusiastic direction that occasionally tries for virtuosity and succeeds, and by a neat performance from Hershey that avoids the yawning traps in the script (built-in sex sequences, the she-loved-her-man theme in general).
She plays Bertha, the Arkansas farm girl who hits the road, with the right degree of matter-of-factness and a lot of humour.
The film traces the alienation of Bertha, a trade unionist she meets, a fl friend of his, and a small-time Yankee conman - slipping into crime, stealing from the railroad bosses, and sending part of the haul back to the railway union.
www.timeout.com /film/68327.html   (164 words)

  
 boxcarbertha
Boxcar Bertha, Martin Scorsese's first studio film for Hollywood, shot on the limited budget of $600,000, is slightly better than its formulaic offering.
This impersonal Scorsese project, based on the memoirs of the real Boxcar Bertha Thompson, shuns anything heavy or smacking of politics, and instead concentrates on the farcical nature of the work.
Small-town Arkansas farm girl Bertha (Hershey) rides the railroad boxcars and hooks up with trade union activist Big Bill Shelly (David Carradine), after the accidental death of her father while piloting his crop duster.
www.sover.net /~ozus/boxcarbertha.htm   (472 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha, a one-woman play with musical backdrop based on the legendary depression era hobo, feminist, and ...
BOXCAR BERTHA is Christina's first professional playwrighting credit and she would like to thank both Kerry and John for being her collaborators on this very exciting and inspirational project.
BOXCAR began with in a first draft reading at DIVAfest 2003 and continues it's journey here at DIVAfest 2004 and then again as part of Laborfest at the EXIT Café July 8,9,10th and then on to the Winnipeg Fringe Festival July 12-26.
On attending an early reading Boxcar Bertha, Applejack became enthused with the concept of shaping a simpatico musical backdrop to resonate with Bertha's alternate universe of boxcars, soapboxes, and bordellos, and successfully auditioned for the role of supporting guitarist (Hope that you enjoy the results!).
www.sffringe.org /bertha.html   (1412 words)

  
 GreenCine | product main - Boxcar Bertha (1972)
Produced by Roger Corman and directed by Martin Scorsese, Boxcar Bertha is a Bonnie and Clyde-like yarn set during the Depression.
Running afoul of anti-union forces, Bertha and Carradine are forced into a life of crime.
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.
www.greencine.com /webCatalog?id=323   (504 words)

  
 Boxcar (disambiguation) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A boxcar, an enclosed railroad car for carrying general freight.
Boxcar Bertha, a 1972 film by Martin Scorsese.
Boxcar Willie (1931-1999), an American country music singer (born Lecil Travis Martin).
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Boxcar_(disambiguation)   (140 words)

  
 MovieMartyr.com - Boxcar Bertha
Set during the Great Depression, Boxcar Bertha follows Bertha as she and her small gang of male acquaintances turn to a life of crime, supposedly with the intention of overthrowing the tyrannous railroad empire.
Hershey looks appropriately young in the titular part, and she manages to be somewhat likable and awkward, even as she’s sticking a gun in someone’s face.
His trademark religious symbolism is as obvious here as a brick to the face, but his usual intelligence is nowhere to be found, outside of a duo of supporting characters that are named Powell and Pressburger.
www.moviemartyr.com /1972/boxcarbertha.htm   (489 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha - Synopsis - Moviefone
Produced by Roger Corman and directed by Martin Scorsese, Boxcar Bertha is a Bonnie and Clyde-like yarn set during the Depression.
Running afoul of anti-union forces, Bertha and Carradine are forced into a life of crime.
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.
movies.aol.com /movie/boxcar-bertha/5802/synopsis   (141 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha - Widescreen Dubbed Subtitle Dolby - DVD
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).
www.bestbuy.com /site/olspage.jsp?skuId=4490697&productCategoryId=cat02975&type=product&tab=3&id=41768   (270 words)

  
 Audience Review of Boxcar Bertha on CBC website   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)
For those of us who are political "junkies", Boxcar Bertha takes us back to the "Dirty '30s" through the original music of Jack "Applejack" Walroth and Christina Angello's portrayal of the real Boxcar Bertha based on the her autobiography by Dr. Ben Reitman.
On the other hand, she is a hobo, a prostitute and a thief - and all these charcters intertwine to make her who she is. It is this interplay between the personal and the political that makes this play so engrossing.
Not only is Bertha a political activist, but she is poor, feels she has to steal, and rides the rails.
www.sffringe.org /media/boxcar5.html   (251 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha (1972)
Hershey is "Boxcar" Bertha Thompson, a Depression-era woman who loses her father in an airplane accident.
Joining up with controversial union leader Big Bill Shelley (David Carradine), Bertha is forced into a life on the run when a group of conservative witch hunters targets Shelley as a Communist.
Based on the book SISTER OF THE ROAD by "Boxcar" Bertha Thompson and Ben L. Reitman, Scorsese's film is an entertaining romp through an exciting chapter in American history.
movies.go.com /boxcar-bertha/d824556/drama   (312 words)

  
 Film Freak Central - Scorsese on DVD: SEVENTIES
Although a Martin Scorsese retrospective could easily survive the absence of Boxcar Bertha, the film is a cornerstone of the director's filmography: without it, there is conceivably no The Last Temptation of Christ--Bertha herself, Barbara Hershey, introduced Scorsese to the Nikos Kazantzakis source novel during production--and no Mean Streets.
A prologue featuring a biplane crash reveals a precedent for those visceral flying sequences in The Aviator, while a montage in which Bertha's lover Bill (David Carradine, ironically) is nailed to the side of a boxcar is shot-for-shot the crucifixion of Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ.
Boxcar Bertha is not just a fun Easter egg hunt, either--it's salvaged by movie-love.
www.filmfreakcentral.net /dvdreviews/scorseseondvd70s.htm   (2035 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha
The performances of David Carradine and Barbara Hershey are the glue that holds whatever there is to keep BOXCAR BERTHA on the right track.
Scorsese is a hired gun in every sense of the word on this film yet his talent is obvious and the ending of BOXCAR BERTHA is the only reason anyone remembers or cares about this opus.
The transfer of BOXCAR BERTHA is excellent and undoubtedly is the best this film has ever looked outside of the drive-ins that played it upon its original release.
www.dvddrive-in.com /reviews/a-d/boxcarbertha.htm   (523 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha - Moviefone
Rating: NA Synopsis: Produced by Roger Corman and directed by Martin Scorsese, Boxcar Bertha is a Bonnie and Clyde-like yarn set during the Depression.
Boxcar Bertha (1972) Boxcar Bertha on IMDb: Movies, TV, Celebs, and more...
Boxcar Bertha - Cast & Crew, movie showtimes, plot, synopsis, exclusive features, trailers, clips, theater listings, reviews, message boards, dvd, videos, rentals and more on Moviefone.
movies.aol.com /movie/boxcar-bertha/5802/main   (151 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha - Rotten Tomatoes
Before Martin Scorsese wowed the world with MEAN STREETS, he teamed up with legendary producer Roger Corman for BOXCAR BERTHA, a rollicking period drama that features a memorable performance from Barbara Hershey.
Part exploitation movie, part visionary cinema, Boxcar Bertha is caught somewhere in between both.
While there is a striking similarity [to Bonnie and Clyde] in general content, background, fine color photography and even the use of hillbilly music, the new, more modest film stands curiously on its own.
www.rottentomatoes.com /m/boxcar_bertha   (504 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha DVD Review   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)
Bertha (Barbara Hershey) is a free spirited traveler and small time crook who falls n love with a Union Man and self proclaimed “Robin Hood of the rails” Big Bill Shelly (David Carradine.) Stealing from the rich and giving to the workers, Bertha and Bill soon become characterized as murderous train robbers.
Author Dr. Ben L. Reitman was allegedly Al Capone’s medic and the real “Boxcar Bertha” came from a long line of radicals.
There is a (1.85:1) theatrical trailer and the DVD menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
members.aol.com /RiveraM5/boxcar_bertha.html   (349 words)

  
 Boxcar Bertha MGM (Video & DVD)  from Things Rooster
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.
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.
What this means is that while it gave Scorsese the opportunity to show flashes of the genius we now know he possessed, he had to do it at the expense (or lack there of) of delivering a Roger Cormin movie.
www.thingsrooster.com /details/B00005UM2Y.html   (798 words)

  
 Newegg.com - MGM Home Entertainment Boxcar Bertha R (MPAA) Dramas DVD Widescreen - Retail
Hershey is "Boxcar" Bertha Thompson, a Depression-era woman who loses her father in an airplane accident.
Joining up with controversial union leader Big Bill Shelley (David Carradine), Bertha is forced into a life on the run when a group of conservative witch hunters targets Shelley as a Communist.
Based on the book SISTER OF THE ROAD by "Boxcar" Bertha Thompson and Ben L. Reitman, Scorsese's film is an entertaining romp through an exciting chapter in American history.
www.newegg.com /Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E168027616873972DV&PageStyle=%23   (329 words)

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