Emperor of the North
starring: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine, Charles Tyner, Malcolm Atterbury
directed by: Robert Aldrich
directed by: Robert Aldrich
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Product Description:
In this gritty and violent period drama set in the depths of the Great Depression Lee Marvin stars as A #1 the acknowledged King of the Hoboes. A #1 is famous among his fellow tramps for his ability to catch a ride on any train no matter how risky the hop or dangerous the guards. He acts as a sort of mentor for Cigaret (Keith Carradine) a young hobo who brags that some day he'll surpass A #1 in his accomplishments. But neither has had the courage to ride a train guarded by Shack (Ernest Borgnine) an unusually sadistic railroad cop who will brutally beat or even murder any man who tries to catch a ride on his train. A #1 is determined that no one not even Cigaret is going to deny him his title so taking his life in his hands he and Cigaret hop a ride on Shack's train and they are soon bearing the full brunt of his violent nature. Emperor of the North features superb location photography by Joseph F. Biroc and a fine supporting cast including Charles Tyner Simon Oakland Elisha Cook Jr. and Sid Haig. Mark Deming All Movie GuideSystem Requirements:Running Time:118 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 024543242147 Manufacturer No: 2234214
Amazon.com:
Emperor of the North, a vivid Depression-era drama, opens with a friendly, down-home song that doesn't prepare the audience for what follows: The brutal killing of a train-hopping bum at the hands of a cruel conductor named Shack (Ernest Borgnine, Marty, The Poseidon Adventure). A hobo called A-No. 1 (Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou, The Big Heat) rises to the challenge of catching a ride on Shack's train--but his heels are dogged by a tenderfoot (Keith Carradine, Deadwood, Nashville), whose inexperience may get them both killed. Director Robert Aldrich (The Dirty Dozen, Kiss Me Deadly) has a sure feel for male behavior driven by pride, boredom, and desperation. The swagger gets a little overblown at times, but more often Emperor of the North has a gritty realism, peppered with flashes of sardonic humor and surprising compassion. Aldrich has a gift for a loose yet always watchable story, filled with engaging bit parts and offbeat incidents that flesh out the world and make the main storyline all the more compelling. Marvin and Borgnine--craggy-faced character actors deluxe--are in excellent form, but Carradine steals the movie with his bitter, callow arrogance. (Originally titled Emperor of the North Pole, a bit of hobo lingo.) --Bret Fetzer
In this gritty and violent period drama set in the depths of the Great Depression Lee Marvin stars as A #1 the acknowledged King of the Hoboes. A #1 is famous among his fellow tramps for his ability to catch a ride on any train no matter how risky the hop or dangerous the guards. He acts as a sort of mentor for Cigaret (Keith Carradine) a young hobo who brags that some day he'll surpass A #1 in his accomplishments. But neither has had the courage to ride a train guarded by Shack (Ernest Borgnine) an unusually sadistic railroad cop who will brutally beat or even murder any man who tries to catch a ride on his train. A #1 is determined that no one not even Cigaret is going to deny him his title so taking his life in his hands he and Cigaret hop a ride on Shack's train and they are soon bearing the full brunt of his violent nature. Emperor of the North features superb location photography by Joseph F. Biroc and a fine supporting cast including Charles Tyner Simon Oakland Elisha Cook Jr. and Sid Haig. Mark Deming All Movie GuideSystem Requirements:Running Time:118 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 024543242147 Manufacturer No: 2234214
Amazon.com:
Emperor of the North, a vivid Depression-era drama, opens with a friendly, down-home song that doesn't prepare the audience for what follows: The brutal killing of a train-hopping bum at the hands of a cruel conductor named Shack (Ernest Borgnine, Marty, The Poseidon Adventure). A hobo called A-No. 1 (Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou, The Big Heat) rises to the challenge of catching a ride on Shack's train--but his heels are dogged by a tenderfoot (Keith Carradine, Deadwood, Nashville), whose inexperience may get them both killed. Director Robert Aldrich (The Dirty Dozen, Kiss Me Deadly) has a sure feel for male behavior driven by pride, boredom, and desperation. The swagger gets a little overblown at times, but more often Emperor of the North has a gritty realism, peppered with flashes of sardonic humor and surprising compassion. Aldrich has a gift for a loose yet always watchable story, filled with engaging bit parts and offbeat incidents that flesh out the world and make the main storyline all the more compelling. Marvin and Borgnine--craggy-faced character actors deluxe--are in excellent form, but Carradine steals the movie with his bitter, callow arrogance. (Originally titled Emperor of the North Pole, a bit of hobo lingo.) --Bret Fetzer
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Oldie but goodie
I had never even heard of this one until my husband reccomended it. I have to say that for an older film it was well written and directed. I don't usually go for this particular genre but the content reeled me right on in and I was glued to the finish! Surely to become a classic down the line somewhere!
Rating: 
- Hey, I might be hoboing soon
What a great movie. You know there are parts of this movie that shows what it really was like during the last depression. It does show how the rails were a world of their own. I would have thought that the fake blood would have been a little less fake, but it's still a great movie.
Rating: 
- Railroad tales
This CUDDA BEEN A CONTENDER but the foul language and hokey story left me no choice but to scrap this one.I love railroads and steam locomotives but the Hollywood proclivity to use such foul language leaves me cold.
A looser for those who appreciate stories without the foul mouthed charactors who cannot speak without cursing.With the language Guardian on you get to hear about 2/3 of the film because the foulness is stripped.That says it all.
Scrap it.
Rating: - As Unforgiving as the Depression itself
Fantastic, unjustly underrated hobo drama of the 30s. Like Aldrich's other epic, the Dirty Dozen, he sets you up for unexpected, sudden and sadistic violence - but never for its own sake. Every frame is honest, gritty and realistic, and how refreshing to see an "authentic" film with no CGI (!).
Best of all, it's a morality play: every teenage punk boy ought to see this. A-No-1 (Marvin) is a first class, "hardcore" hobo who unwillingly takes on a brash-mouth wannabe tenderfoot (Carradine) ... Read More
Rating: - First class bums
Marvin and Borgnine combine to present a rivetting story of the underside of life during the Great Depression in this drama that pits a tenacious railroad man against the hobo that dares to steal a ride on his train. Life on the road was never more dangerous.
- Oldie but goodieI had never even heard of this one until my husband reccomended it. I have to say that for an older film it was well written and directed. I don't usually go for this particular genre but the content reeled me right on in and I was glued to the finish! Surely to become a classic down the line somewhere!
- Hey, I might be hoboing soonWhat a great movie. You know there are parts of this movie that shows what it really was like during the last depression. It does show how the rails were a world of their own. I would have thought that the fake blood would have been a little less fake, but it's still a great movie.
- Railroad talesThis CUDDA BEEN A CONTENDER but the foul language and hokey story left me no choice but to scrap this one.I love railroads and steam locomotives but the Hollywood proclivity to use such foul language leaves me cold.
A looser for those who appreciate stories without the foul mouthed charactors who cannot speak without cursing.With the language Guardian on you get to hear about 2/3 of the film because the foulness is stripped.That says it all.
Scrap it.
- As Unforgiving as the Depression itselfFantastic, unjustly underrated hobo drama of the 30s. Like Aldrich's other epic, the Dirty Dozen, he sets you up for unexpected, sudden and sadistic violence - but never for its own sake. Every frame is honest, gritty and realistic, and how refreshing to see an "authentic" film with no CGI (!).
Best of all, it's a morality play: every teenage punk boy ought to see this. A-No-1 (Marvin) is a first class, "hardcore" hobo who unwillingly takes on a brash-mouth wannabe tenderfoot (Carradine) ... Read More
- First class bumsMarvin and Borgnine combine to present a rivetting story of the underside of life during the Great Depression in this drama that pits a tenacious railroad man against the hobo that dares to steal a ride on his train. Life on the road was never more dangerous.
