"Boxcar Bertha" Review

 

by Daniel White

What do you get when Roger Corman meets Martin Scorsese? The free-wheelin', easy goin' Boxcar Bertha (1972). Free and easy that is, until the movie ends in an orgiastic blast of exaggerated violence. Barbara Hershey stars as Bertha, and she is quite beguiling. Known to me mainly as Bette Midler's sidekick in Beaches, Miss Hershey is near perfect as the high-spirited, freight-hopping Bertha. It's not an easy task to play golly-gee innocence while toting a gun or turning tricks in a brothel, but she pulls it off believably. However, its Mr. Scorsese who captures top honors here. By taking producer Corman's tale of lovable bandits of the open road and infusing it with heft and meaning, he has delivered a flick that transcends the constraints of its genre.

Set in the Great Depression, Boxcar Bertha is the story of Bertha, the daughter of a crop duster. Forced to fly because of another man's greed, his plane crashes, rendering Bertha an orphan. It's that age old saga, the struggle between the haves and the have-nots, and what happens when the latter refuse to take it anymore.

Playing a character loosely based on American Socialist William "Big Bill" Haywood, David Carradine registers nicely as Bertha's fellow hobo and love interest. It's especially fun to see him sparring against his dad, John Carradine, as a grasping railroad owner.

But it's Scorsese, in only his second feature, who turns cornpone into caviar. In a remarkable scene, he ably demonstrates the conflicts of Big Bill Shelly (D. Carradine). Disgusted that he's gone from labor organizer to train robber, Bill rushes down a hallway that Scorsese has cinematically turned into a claustrophobic boxcar. Trapped by his criminal behavior, yearning to resume the life of a man of morality, the camera reveals his internal struggle. The director has merged cartoon exploits and actual inner turmoil and it resonates strongly.

Barry Primus and Bernie Casey also do well as Bertha and Bill's accomplices in crime. The film benefits immensely from the rightness of its four leads. A rural romance/crime drama/social justice tale that Martin Scorsese manages to make a little extra special, Boxcar Bertha is a worthwhile trip to take. Boxcar Bertha is currently streaming on Tubi.