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Mini Synopsis (spoiler free): During the height of the Depression era (1933), Shack (Ernest Borgnine) a sadistic train conductor who keeps hobos from riding on his train by smashing them in the head with a hammer! Along comes a well weathered and wiley hobo, nick named 'A No 1' (Lee Marvin) who decides to ride on train #19, Shack's train...He's accompanied by a young greenhorn hobo, Cigaret (Keith Carridine) who's more trouble than he's worth.
I seen this film on TV when I was a kid back in the 70s. Ernest Borgnine scared the hell out of me! Especially the scene of him striking a helpless hobo in the head with a hand held sledge hammer! For years I thought of Ernest Borgnine as the 'evil guy'. So image my surprise when as an adult I watched the film Marty (1955), a film where he played a gentle and quiet, shy man. That's when I realized that Ernest Borgnine is an amazing, versatile actor.
Emperor of the North (1973)
Director: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine
Genre: Period Piece, Action Drama
Length:1hour 58minutes
Director: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine
Genre: Period Piece, Action Drama
Length:1hour 58minutes
Mini Synopsis (spoiler free): During the height of the Depression era (1933), Shack (Ernest Borgnine) a sadistic train conductor who keeps hobos from riding on his train by smashing them in the head with a hammer! Along comes a well weathered and wiley hobo, nick named 'A No 1' (Lee Marvin) who decides to ride on train #19, Shack's train...He's accompanied by a young greenhorn hobo, Cigaret (Keith Carridine) who's more trouble than he's worth.
I seen this film on TV when I was a kid back in the 70s. Ernest Borgnine scared the hell out of me! Especially the scene of him striking a helpless hobo in the head with a hand held sledge hammer! For years I thought of Ernest Borgnine as the 'evil guy'. So image my surprise when as an adult I watched the film Marty (1955), a film where he played a gentle and quiet, shy man. That's when I realized that Ernest Borgnine is an amazing, versatile actor.
Lee Marvin...is the other big name in this film and his intensity and skill as an actor is legendary. He just plum looks ornery! He makes the ultimate hobo and that's what makes this film work, the look inside of the hobo's life style. We see hobo camps. We see how they look out for each other...and...we see how ultimately no hobo can trust another. They're individualist and their story is true. 1000's of men road the rails in the 1930's looking for work or even a meal. Life on the rails was tough.
Many a teenage male decided the hobo life style was the life for them and they left their homes to ride the rails. The pre code film Wild Boys of the Road (1933) chronicled their plight. In Emperor of the North it's Keith Carradine who plays the young youth, full of himself, but still wet behind the ears. It's those three main actors that make this film worth watching.
The other thing that impressed me was the actors did a lot of the own stunts. You actually see all three of them fighting it out on top of a moving train! The rural countryside, the train yard, the hobo town..all looks authentic. There's a lot to like here, and oh yeah, this has some adrenaline pumping action scenes too.
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Many a teenage male decided the hobo life style was the life for them and they left their homes to ride the rails. The pre code film Wild Boys of the Road (1933) chronicled their plight. In Emperor of the North it's Keith Carradine who plays the young youth, full of himself, but still wet behind the ears. It's those three main actors that make this film worth watching.
The other thing that impressed me was the actors did a lot of the own stunts. You actually see all three of them fighting it out on top of a moving train! The rural countryside, the train yard, the hobo town..all looks authentic. There's a lot to like here, and oh yeah, this has some adrenaline pumping action scenes too.
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