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Rumor has it Martin Scorsese showed this film, his second, to John Cassavetes, who labeled the movie "sh*t" and suggested Marty work on more personal projects in the future. This advice prompted Scorsese to direct Mean Streets, the first of his many masterpieces. Boxcar Bertha is not one of them, but it isn't as bad as Cassavetes stated, either. It's an average B-movie of the kind Roger Corman would offer to his students (Marty among them).

Plotwise this picture has a more defined structure than Who's That Knocking at My Door: the setting is small-town America, the Great Depression is far from over, and a young girl named Bertha (Barbara Hershey) joins union leader "Big Bill" (David Carradine) in a violent protest against the people who are managing a railroad. When things turn ugly, the two lovers are forced to run for their lives, while still hoping they will prevail.

Hardly an original story (it's essentially the poor man's Bonnie & Clyde), but Scorsese does his best in making it appealing to audiences, shooting in beautiful countryside locations and obtaining strong performances from Hershey (who would later play Mary Magdalene in The Last Temptation of Christ) and Carradine, most notably in a sex scene that, according to everyone involved, was not faked.

Beyond that, though, it is obvious Cassavetes had a point: there is nothing that gives Boxcar Bertha that unique Scorsese feel. He just did his job without finding anything in the script he could connect to; even the religious iconography used in the bloody climax seems to have been tucked in for no particular reason.

Still, the film is enjoyable and worth seeing, even just as the product of a young filmmaker still shaping into the master he was to become.

Boxcar Bertha is a fine film and entertaining at times. It supposedly tells a "true story" but I doubt we can be expected to believe every word of it. Nor should we. This is clearly the "fictionalization" version.

All the same; that doesn't make it any better. There are some good scenes here and there and a few good lines and one or two great stunts and effects.

But at the end of the day it has to be s pass for me. Not Scorsese at his best, but does show him as an up and coming director as he developed his style. So for that reason it can be counted as a historical record but nothing more.

Watching early films by classic directors in the midst of discovering their trademark style always proves to be an interesting endeavor, and Martin Scorsese's Boxcar Bertha is no exception. Made the year before Scorsese's breakthrough hit, and first tale of Italian American life on the streets, Mean Streets, Boxcar Bertha shows the legendary Scorsese adapting his own personal narrative style into a different niche, and attempting what he referred to as a "genre picture". Boxcar Bertha was first pitched as a simple exploitation film, but under the capable guiding hand of Scorsese, the final outcome is a highly enjoyable and surprisingly in depth portrait of the lifestyle and viewpoints of depression era railroad workers.

Even in this early work, Scorsese shows his almost unparalleled ability to create a shockingly vivid and humane portrait of the working class; while the film may not be set in little Italy, the same themes ring true and the characters' voices are once again perfectly captured, speaking out against repression from the upper classes and the harsh conditions of their everyday lives. Scorsese also demonstrates a knack for creating a particularly believable period look and feel; indeed, the film's set design is particularly impressive, and the audience seems to live and breathe the harsh fumes of the boxcar at the height of 1920s depression.

It's also interesting to watch the gestation of several of Scorsese's definitive film-making techniques, even in an earlier effort - his use of high speed camera zooms, bold, dramatic editing and an aggressive, wonderfully bluesy musical score may seem slightly out of place for a film such as this, but these are all vintage Scorsese moments, which, when identified as such, just make the film all the more enjoyable. There are also some moments of not so subtle religious allusions, most memorably a gruesome and hard to watch scene involving Big Bill Shelley near the film's conclusion, another Scorsese trademark. However, forced to adapt his vision to the conventions of the style of film he was instructed to make, Scorsese was forced to include several highly unnecessary nude scenes and gunfights with absurdly fake blood, which can prove entertaining on a campy level, though they detract from the more interesting aspects of the film, on the whole. It's just a shame that the subject matter the budding director was given to work with was so intentionally sparse and simplistic, but the surprising depth and complexity he extracted from what at first appeared to be a simple Bonnie and Clyde knockoff billed as a "true story" only served as a precursor for the brilliant career which was to follow.

Considering the film's original intent, it is surprising to see such a varied array of talented performances on display. Whether it is a testament to Scorsese's nearly unparalleled skill as an actor's director or the enthusiasm and dedication of the cast remains to be seen, but either way, the principle players contribute surprisingly strong performances to the film. As the film's title character, Barbara Hershey establishes a solid foundation to the film's acting front, turning a character who could easily be dismissed as repulsive into one who comes across as endearing and hard not to like due to Hershey's laid back charm. Character actor David Carradine of recent Kill Bill fame also gives a resonant and charismatic performance as 'Big Bill' Shelly, the robin hood figure of the railroads. Bernie Casey overcomes his disappointingly underwritten role with a charming and very likable performance as a fellow robber, and Barry Primus is also enjoyable to watch as yet another accomplice, and the only New Yorker in the film. (there had to be at least one) It's also great to see father and son spar off as John Carradine plays the head of a railroad who is thrown into a battle of wits with the thief and saboteur played by his real life son, and the two quiver with surprising tension and energy during their on screen encounter.

While it is highly unlikely Boxcar Bertha will come across as appealing to a widespread modern audience, there is still much to appreciate here, and the film should be considered essential viewing for Scorsese enthusiasts. Despite the film's premise as a simple exploitation film, Scorsese found the voice and soul of the time and characters, which resonate almost as fully as in any of his better known pictures. Despite the film's occasionally choppy plot structure and admittably simple subject matter, Boxcar Bertha is still a highly enjoyable and interesting early Scorsese effort which merits seeing for any fans of the director, stars, or anyone interested in the historical context. Don't pass this off just due to the Corman exploitation influence - there's much more to it than that!

-7/10

Roger Corman's indirect influence on the 70s movie renaissance is often overlooked. Many of that decade's key players served their apprenticeships on Corman's quickies. Directors like Coppola, Bogdanovich, Bartel and Demme, and actors like Nicholson, Hopper, Fonda, Dern, Stanton, and even De Niro.

Add Martin Scorsese to that list. 'Boxcar Bertha', his movie directly before the breakthrough 'Mean Streets', may not display his talent in full, but it is a surprisingly well shot and acted, and is an above average b-grade movie with a lot of entertainment value.

Like similar Corman productions from this period ('Bloody Mama', 'Dillinger', 'Big Bad Mama') it is a Depression era look at flamboyant criminals. An exploitation movie for sure, but exploitation with style and class. Barbara Hershey (who would reunite with Scorsese in seriously underrated 'The Last Temptation Of Christ') plays the title role, but the real star of the movie is her then real life partner David Carradine ('Kung Fu', 'Death Race 2000'), who gives a strong, charismatic performance. The supporting cast includes blaxploitation legend Bernie Casey ('Cleopatra Jones',etc.), Carradine's veteran character actor father John, and Scorsese/Ferrara regular Victor Argo ('Taxi Driver', 'King Of New York').

'Boxcar Bertha' is by no means one of Scorsese's greatest achievements, but it is nothing to be embarrassed about either. Check it out sometime. It's much better than you would think.

Martin Scorsese got hired by Roger Corman, I presume, to make this "based on true story" movie of a boxcar thief and robber named Bertha whom with some other robbers stole their way into a small piece in history but got into strife towards the end. It isn't one of his best pictures since he really was just the director and the script and the actors did more work than he needed to do on the picture. Like The Color of Money, it's a film that if he didn't direct it it wouldn't of made much of a difference in the outcome.

Still, give credit where credit is due, and those (very few I might think) that heard what Cassavettes said to Scoresese after the movie got released (he told Marty that it was a piece of s*** and to work on something better- which he did with Mean Streets) should disregard it. Overall, Boxcar Bertha is a watchable and good piece of cinema with some decent performances and an overall feel that works in it's "tradition of Bonnie & Clyde" genre. Hershey and Carradine are also good. Just don't expect anything ground-breaking, unlike the next 5 out of 6 movies Scorsese would make in the next eight years after this. B+

Early, solid film from Scorcese with Hershey as the heroine, who along with Carradine leads a pack of hoods who begin as communists and progress to bigger and bigger crimes -- something of a variation on Corman's "Machine Gun Kelly." Carradine and Hershey give good, but not outstanding, performances. The direction is somewhat showy and involves a lot of movement, typical of Scorcese's more evolved style as well. Roughly follows the mold set by previous AIP gangster mama flicks, with the step up on the violence meter each succeeding film seemed to demand.

Interesting also that this is the only Corman/AIP collaboration I can remember seeing from this period of time (72) when Corman's independent operations were becoming more successful all the time (w/ the nurse movies and stewardess epics cleaning up at the box office). I can only think that they saw it as a continuation of such a successful collaboration that it was impossible to resist getting together again one more time (though Corman claims to have been so absolutely disgusted by their treatment of his epic "Gasssssss" that he would no longer work with them after 1970). Anyone with information on how this collaboration took place will make me very grateful by forwarding this information to me.

This was Martin Scorsese's second full-length feature film and it is a decent one. It's about a young girl in the 1930's who meets and falls in love with a union organizer, who also happens to be a thief. Together, they form a small gang and begin robbing trains as well as anything else they can get their hands on. The fun soon turns to fright when they become fugitives and are hunted down by law enforcement officers. There's action and entertainment but not a movie that you would expect from Martin Scorsese. It has none of his trade marks whatsoever. But do realize that this was one of his first films and try to respect that. I do.

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.

Director Martin Scorsese stages some beautifully choreographed violence in "Boxcar Bertha", his first studio film, but he had yet to break through to his actors, and much of the picture is stilted or awkward. Barbara Hershey plays Bertha Thompson, a teenage orphan in Depression-scarred Arkansas who falls in league (and in love) with a union organizer; they're joined by a black harmonica player and a Yankee card-shark to take revenge on the railroad company by robbing the trains. Adapted from Ben L. Reitman's book "Sister of the Road", Scorsese as a filmmaker is a bit misplaced within this milieu--the 1930s doesn't seem to be his thing--and while the film has atmosphere, it lacks visual assurance and nuance. Similarly, Hershey doesn't seem to connect with the Depression, either; with her dreamy eyes, flowing chestnut hair and penchant for throwing her lines away blithely, she's more like a Boxcar Hippie. Still, Scorsese uses her well at certain moments, particularly early on when she's shooting craps around a campfire, correcting a friend about her surname, or staring out a rain-soaked window. She also looks great chasing after locomotives, and the train sequences are all well-filmed. The finale, a slaughter out in the middle of nowhere, packs a visual wallop. It seems certain the youthful director saved his creative juices for this sequence, and his cinematic prowess suddenly flairs up. Visceral and expressive, this showdown turns the story around from mere exploits of low-class gangsters into something far more profound: a sorrowful human tragedy soaked in consequence and fate. **1/2 from ****

"Boxcar Bertha" is an unusual film. In one of his first films, Martin Scorsese directs a film for Roger Corman. Now this is a problem, as Corman is the king of cheap but successful exploitation films--and Scorsese obviously was trying to make a film better than this genre. The results, though better than you expect, are still not great. This film is much like taking Corman's "Big Bad Momma" and combining it with a less cheap and less exploitational crime film. As a result, it's not quite as silly as this previous film--but the use of lots of nudity and violence betray its exploitation roots.

There really isn't a lot of plot in "Boxcar Bertha". It consists of Bertha (Barbara Hershey) taking off her clothes a lot as well as her and the gang (consisting of David Carradine, Bernie Casey and Barry Primus) robbing banks, trains and the like as well as OFTEN escaping from the police or prison. The only thing that really is unique is the strong populist message, as Carradine's character is often talking about unions and socialism. I found all this mildly interesting but that's really all. In fact, the most interesting aspect of the film is that David Carradine appears in some scenes with his father, John. All in all, a film that is not particularly great or bad--somewhere in the middle. Had the film either tried harder to be sleazy and silly OR been more serious and had greater depth, it would be a film I would heartily recommend. As it is, it's just a time-passer.

Before Martin Scorsese did classic work such as Goodfellas, Mean Streets, Gangs of New York, Casino, Cape Fear, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, Boxcar Bertha was his first masterpiece of crime. I consider Boxcar Bertha to be the Road to Perdition of the 70's. I comment that because these films take place in the depression era, where jobs are lost and people are finding ways to make money. in the film, Barbera Hershey and David Carradine joined together to heist money and stay together. It's a masterpiece of crime, intelligence and an unforgetable ending that will leave you breathless. Even though for a small film that isn't recognizable as it is today thanks to filmmaker Martin Scorsese, people should get a chance to see a good movie instead of these phony blockbusters that are in movie theatres now.

The title role in "Boxcar Bertha" is played by Barbara Hershey who, at the time, was in a relationship with her costar, David Carradine (Big Bill Shelly). This work of fiction concerns the Depression-era South and a group of individuals who were victimized by poverty and racism.

Still, one cannot lose sight of the fact that it is a B-grade exploitation film, filled with graphic violence, gratuitous nudity, and glamorized gore. Young director Martin Scorsese gives the film plenty of visual style, but it only serves to glorify the baser elements of the story. Students of his career and his filmic methods can appreciate the variety of shots that populate the film, but it mostly serves as a baseline against which to compare his later efforts.

The film has been compared to "Bonnie and Clyde" for good reasons, but Scorsese is hamstrung with budgetary restraints and orders to include more nudity and blood--titillation to appease audiences at the local drive in theater, where it makes a perfect second billing. Any point of view that "Boxcar Bertha" might have conveyed is undermined by contradictory scenes and pointless pandering to lower appetites.

Scorsese refers to this 1972 Roger Corman quickie--he shot it in the deep South in twenty-one days--as his "exploitation picture." Funny, that--if it came out today, it'd be the height of the Arty Independent Film. Barbara Hershey and David Carradine are this movie's knockoff of Bonnie and Clyde; the script ain't much, but Scorsese storyboarded every shot and hoo doggie! This guy was the greatest shotmaker ever, even when he was on Skid Row. Rent it for Hershey's lyrical style and the chance to discern the fetus of a genius.

I would love to say that there's a lot in "Boxcar Bertha" that foreshadows the birth of a new talent for American Cinema, that it carries many aspects that would define Scorsese's style, I would love to but I won't do that.

I won't not because it's not true, Martin Scorsese's directing is the obvious highlight of the film and what elevates to a level slightly higher than all the other 70's exploitation movies, still, even admitting this would be unfair because it wouldn't take into consideration the chronological context of the film's making. 1972, we're at the pinnacle of the New Hollywood period, the same year "The Godfather" would open the door for the coming blockbusters' era, so when Scorsese made the film, he was only one among many other growing talents of his generation: Sam Peckinpah, Hal Ashby, Dennis Hopper or Arthur Penn.

Speaking of Penn, the story is adapted from the autobiography of Boxcar Bertha, a folk local outlaw who was associated with a gang of train robbers in the tumultuous 'Great Depression' days. On that aspect, the film immediately reminds of the much more acclaimed "Bonnie and Clyde", a landmark in the portrayal of modern violence in Cinema. At least Scorsese's second feature film is just the proof that his talent could match more experimented directors, but as far as directing, editing, and bold depiction of sex and violence were concerned, it was nothing new, not even for that time. However, it does have a little something that is waiting to explode, and that will, one year later, with Marty's first masterpiece "Mean Streets".

So whatever superlatives can't be said about "Boxcar Bertha", they definitely apply to "Mean Streets". But let's get back to "Boxcar Bertha" since this is what the review is about. The little something I was mentioning was a soul inside the characters, they're not here to appeal to us, but we're supposed to understand the soul behind the actions. They're all outlaws but for once, no one seems to lead the gang, and they're all following what seem to be impulses, pride, love and loyalty, with a romance in the core. Bertha is a young, sweet and innocent girl who discovered love at the same time as violence when her father accidentally dies in a plane accident caused by his boss' stubbornness. And she falls in love with Big Bill Shelley, David Carradine, an idealistic union leader, labeled as a Bolshevik by the railroad baron, Buckram Sartoris, played by no one else than Carradine Sr., John.

What follows is the expression of a necessary refusal for subordination in a society dictated by dangerous and heartless rules. Bill and his friend, a black worker named Von Morton, played by Bernie Casey engage in a fight that sets the overall mood of the film, and Bertha's rebellious conscience. Barbara Hershey gives an incredible sweetness to a character that follows her heart, through Bill. She meets in her route; a Yankee rookie named Rake Brown, played by the blue-eyed Barry Primus. Bertha helps him to improve his accent to make it in the hostile South. The man seems to have a certain talent for making enemies and a strange reluctance for fighting, so the inevitable happens. After an accidental shooting where he's saved by the sweet Bertha, they join Bill and Von. The gang is finally constituted.

They rob trains, they are criminals but they don't see themselves so, because they're against a dictatorial management that happens to be the real criminal, incarnated by the faces of the two McYvers, killers hired to arrest the gang. Victor Argo and Davis Osterhout with his scary Hitler-like mustache are the kinds of faces that are impossible to root for. But the film doesn't manipulate us into this or these feelings, Scorsese's directing has a way to portray the Great Depression as a moment in American History where the country lost all its boundaries, and when life was also a matter of survival and dignity, so, the line between crime and law, was sometimes imperceptible. And in the South, when the arm of the law could be very loose with the use of shotgun, we know, we're less invited to feel empathetic toward characters but just to follow their journey into a twisted world, where even being a whore was normal.

No room for morality, yet, there is something in the heart of Boxcar Bertha that makes us feel for her, maybe it's her loyalty, her devotion to her love, and her ability to transcend the frontiers of the Law, just by love. But it's something more, it's a devouring passion that accepts all the sins of the word for principles, for a sort of cause that goes beyond rational. Bertha doesn't just give her heart, she also gives her flesh, her soul, her beautiful body, so shamelessly depicted by Scorsese's directing. And sometimes, we wonder through the film if this railroad that drives all the narrative will also be a railroad to redemption. "Boxcar Bertha" contains all the philosophical and personal material Marty would express in his filmography, but I guess all it needed was the setting: New York City and more expression of his own tormented soul, the reservoir of his creativity.

I like to see "Boxcar Bertha" as the film with which Marty made his bones, tracing a clever parallel between the Great Depression and the gritty Nixon-era years, when disillusions, frustrations was the daily bread of some souls in quest of a meaning in their lives. Bertha incarnates somewhat the purity of a soul that didn't choose her fate, but made the best she could, according to what she believed in. That's the real passion and this is the film that allowed Marty to grow some confidence about his talent, and enrich American Cinema with his own passion.

Boxcar Bertha (1972) is a movie that is in my DVD collection that I recently watched on Amazon Prime. The storyline for this involves a woman who lived near the railroad tracks, loses her father as a young lady, and quickly picks up the railroad lifestyle which involves sex, gambling and scraping by. When her man gets caught on the wrong side of the law, a life of prostitution and thievery ensues. This movie is directed by Martin Scorsese (Casino) and stars Barbara Hershey (Black Swan), David Carradine (Death Race 2000), Bernie Casey (Revenge of the Nerds), Victor Argo (King of New York), and John Carradine (The Ten Commandments). The setting and circumstances in this are very good and the cast delivers solid performances. There's some very entertaining scenes in this like the escape sequence and train robbery. The conclusion is also fantastic and appropriately dramatic. The soundtrack was solid and the cinematography was excellent. Overall this isn't a perfect film but it is very entertaining. I would score this a 7/10 and recommend seeing it.

I respect both Corman and Scorsese, but this early effort by Scorsese is not up to even the average work by either. Poor performances by the leads (including Carradine, who simply can't act) and the phony-sounding dialogue don't do justice to this depression-era piece.

Another problem with this film (and one that Scorsese would learn to avoid in his future work) is that everything looks too clean and orderly. Everyone is well-washed (unless they've just been in a fight or fallen in a puddle), the camps are neatly laid out, and the interiors of the boxcars are almost spotless, with just enough nice, clean hay spread around so you won't see the actual floor of the sound-stage.

The IMDb "Trivia" section includes a comment to the effect that the sex scenes between Carradine and Hershey were not simulated. You would never guess it from the film itself, since they are some of the most tepid you could imagine. They would probably get a PG-13 today, for brief frontal and rear nudity.

Finally, the credits are up to the best Corman standards...hokey.

This film was a disappointment, but I can suggest it as a curiosity for Scorses fans. All others need not waste their time.

This isn't GoodFellas; it never escapes it's b movie trappings, but some the key Scorsese tropes already coming into view. Performances are decent enough, and the violence in this era is quite shocking. It's solid and well made, and not much more. Worth it for film buffs and historians. I.

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.

"Boxcar Bertha" is an enjoyable, if unmemorable, exploitation film that was one of a number of obvious "Bonnie & Clyde" cash-ins. It's mostly noteworthy for the fact that producer Roger Corman hired a young up and comer to direct it: Martin Scorsese. While admirers of the filmmaker may rightly feel that he's done MUCH better work, this is still a good film of its kind: decently paced, engagingly performed, quite violent at times, and occasionally sporting that Scorsese style.

A radiant and gorgeous Barbara Hershey plays a real-life Depression era character named Bertha Thompson. Bertha falls in with an odd group of companions that become her partners in crime: Big Bill Shelly (David Carradine), a union organizer with no burning desire to live the criminal life, Rake Brown (Barry Primus), a cowardly con artist, and Von Morton (Bernie Casey), an old Thompson family friend.

Hershey and Carradine, her real-life romantic partner at the time, get some very effective chemistry going, with the latter delivering a likable if somewhat low key performance. It's also irresistible to see Carradine acting with his legendary father, John Carradine (who plays railroad kingpin H. Buckram Sartoris), in a key robbery sequence. Buffs will also recognize beefy veteran character actor Victor Argo as one of the heavies and the equally solid Harry Northup as a hostile, racist cop. Although they don't show up in the movie, two minor characters get named Emeric Pressburger and M. (Michael) Powell!

Scorsese was given free reign to do pretty much what he wanted, provided that he stay within the exploitation genre, and under the budget of approximately $600,000. He does a very capable job of telling this story, keeping it watchable all the way through.

For those who care, *both* Hershey and Carradine get naked.

Six out of 10.

Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time, but it wasn't always that way. Back in the early 1970's he was still finding his way and trying some techniques out. While Boxcar Bertha is nowhere near the quality of Scorsese's later efforts, you can tell there was talent there, just waiting to be exploited.

Boxcar Bertha tells the fictional account of two lovers, a union leader and a loner, who find pleasure taking up crime to seek vengeance on what railroad management has done to them. David Carradine and Barbara Hershey star, as Scorsese directs his second feature length film. With plenty of similarities to Badlands or even Bonnie and Clyde, it's hard to figure out exactly what this film has to offer. In reality, it doesn't bring anything new to the genre, nor is the acting all that impressive.

With that said, because of where Scorsese is today, it's worth watching. There are plenty of intriguing shots used by the famed director that he would use later on, or even just certain transitions from scene to scene. As a film geek, that was interesting to see. But as far as the film itself, I don't know that you would get anything out of this story. Just go watch Badlands again. That's a much more fascinating take on two young people taking up murder and crime in the west.

+Scorsese trying things out

-Nothing new added to this style of a story

-Acting is sub-par

4.6/10