Boxcar Bertha

Rating:
Summary: Cormin, Scorsese Style
Review: Boxcar Bertha is a Roger Cormin picture. Boxcar Bertha is a Martin Scorsese picture. What this means is that while it gave Scorsese the opportunity to show flashes of the genius we now know he possessed, he had to do it at the expense (or lack there of) of delivering a Roger Cormin movie. Now I am not knocking Cormin. Cormin was great because he gave young talent a low budget, some film, and a chance. His low risk approach gave stars such as Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper, Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola, their big breaks. Cormin films usually aren't that good, but their is no substitute for experience, especially to young filmmakers, so we should thank him.

On that note, Boxcar Bertha is sort of a take off on Bonnie and Clyde. A young Barbara Hershey plays the title character who essentially falls in with a group of disgruntled railroad union guys (David Carradine included) and starts knocking off banks and such in an effort to hurt the railroad's evil owner. The film suffers from terrible cliches and silly special effects (the blood looks like red paint). However, Scorsese makes the best out of it with his constantly moving camera, hard violence, and unorthodox editing techniques. Ultimately though, this is a film for die hard Scorsese fans interested in how he got started.

Rating:
Summary: Barbara Hershey!!!!
Review: Produced by Roger Corman and directed by Martin Scorsese, BOXCAR BERTHA is a romp through the deep south of the great depression. Bertha (Barbara Hershey) is young, beautiful, and not at all afraid of taking her clothes off! This is good, since she's naked a lot in this movie! Plot?? Well, Bertha's dad is killed in an airplane accident, sending Bertha on an adventure of boxcar jumping, bankrobbing, murder, prison escapes, trainrobbing, prostitution, and lots of laughs. Bertha is accompanied by Big Bill Shelly (David Carradine) and two other cohorts played by Barry Primus and Bernie Casey. Did I mention Bertha's lack of clothing? It just keeps flying off for some reason! Anyway, Bertha and her gang decide to take down an evil railroad baron (played nastily by John Carradine), not realizing just how evil he really is. This leads to the gang's downfall. The finale is pure savage mayhem and revenge! Worth a peek. Oh, and Bertha spends a great deal of time in her birthday suit too...

Rating:
Summary: Beware this DVD
Review: This is the cut and censoured version of that movie. Wait for the unrated version.