Emperor of the North (1973)

In the description of the technical specs IMDb lists it as being in 1:85. That is incorrect it is In 2:35 Panavision. I own the DVD and it is Anamorphic widescreen. I also recently saw it on the Fox Movie Channel and it was presented in 2:35 widescreen. Great Oregon locations and Acting especially by Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine and a very young Keith Carradine.

Had the movie sitting around for a few months only because I had others to watch. Thought it was a fine movie and a must see. Train lovers should really like this flick.Cool scenes...Ernest Borgnine clubbed this hobo over the head with his hammer and the guy fell between the cars. The train then proceeded to run the poor guy over cutting him in half!Ernest Borgnine locked one of the cars with Lee Marvin and Keith Carradine inside. So Lee Marvin started a fire and busted out chicken in hand followed by Keith Carradine.The movie was kind of a head of its time.

During the Depression of the 1930s, hobos get around by hopping onto trains, but one man wages a war against the free loaders. It's a bad sign when the film opens with a song comparing and contrasting a train and a man. The premise of the story is not particularly interesting, and the execution leaves little doubt that this was a bad idea. The acting is bad all around. Borgnine is an unbelievably sadistic conductor who would happily kill a man who gets on his train without paying. Marvin and Carradine play hobos, and the latter is rather annoying. The quality of Aldrich's films vary wildly from good to awful; this violent and ugly film is not one of his better efforts.

Having been a supporting actor for years in pictures such as Marlon Brando's 'The Wild One' ( 1953 ), tough guy Lee Marvin unexpectedly acquired leading man status as the '60's drew to a close. His Oscar-winning turn as the drunken cowboy 'Kid Shelleen' in 'Cat Ballou' ( 1965 ) helped, of course, but the role that really turned round his fortunes was that of 'Major Reisman' in Robert Aldrich's 'The Dirty Dozen' ( 1967 ). 'Point Blank!' and 'Paint Your Wagon' ( 1969 ) followed in due course. He was an unlikely star; for one thing, he was not young, and his distinctive deep voice and white hair precluded him from doing too many roles that did not cast him as some grizzled, hard bitten adventurer. In 1973, he was reunited with Aldrich, producer Kenneth Hyman, and actor Ernest Borgnine for this splendid adventure film, scripted by Christopher Knopf. Set in Depression era America, unemployed men - nicknamed 'hobos' by the railroad companies - travel across the country in search of work by stowing away whenever they can on passing trains. The companies fight back by hiring guards to ensure their trains stay hobo-free. One such guard is Shack ( Borgnine ), a sadistic monster who apparently regards the train as his personal property, and any tramp who tries to get on can expect to be either maimed or killed. One poor soul who does this at the start of the film receives a hammer blow to the skull, followed by the removal of his legs as he tumbles onto the track.But a threat to Shack's kingdom appears in the unlikely form of an unnamed drifter ( Marvin ) calling himself 'A No.1'. He decides to take Shack on. Spotting A No.1 climbing into a train compartment, Shack bolts the roof hatch, trapping him. He starts a fire, and when the wooden walls have burnt sufficiently crashes through them to freedom. A younger man, Cigaret ( Keith Carradine ) is impressed. A No.1 becomes a folk hero to other hobos, earning himself the title 'Emperor Of The North Pole', setting the scene for an epic confrontation between the tramp and the railroad man...As was the case with 'Dirty Dozen', the cast is mostly all male ( there are a couple of amusing moments which feature women - Cigaret spies a lady shaving her armpits, and a baptist pushes a woman into a river to cleanse her of sin and when she emerges her white gown has become transparent and her breasts can be seen ), and Marvin dominates the film. Watching the quick thinking A No.1 outwit Shack at every turn is a joy. Imagine a Charlie Chaplin picture with blood and you have 'Emperor Of The North Pole'. The film was criticised on its release for its violence, but I think it was necessary to show the audience what sort of a vile creature Shack was. It makes his final defeat all the more satisfying. Borgnine is terrific, throwing hammers round, a grin on his face, like an insane version of the Marvel Comics' super-hero 'Thor'. Another I.M.D.B. reviewer has made comparisons with John Frankenheimer's 'The Train' ( 1965 ) and I think its a realistic one. In the pre-C.G.I. age, action scenes on moving trains such as the ones seen here had to be done for real, making the film all the more exciting and believable.If you like outdoor adventure films and don't give a fig if the leading man looks old enough to be your grandfather, give this a go. In the U.K., the title was shortened to 'Emperor Of The North' so as not to give the misleading impression it was set in the North Pole.