Very good picture and efficiently made by Robert Aldrich ; however , this was originally a project for Sam Peckinpah . The title ¨ Emperor of the North¨ refers to a joke among hobos during the Great Depression that the world's best hobo was Emperor of the North Pole, a way of poking fun at their own desperate situation since somebody ruling over the North Pole would be ruling over a wasteland . This film was made and originally released as "Emperor of the North Pole" after initial screenings , Twentieth Century Fox executives feared that audiences might think the title indicated a Christmas movie or an Arctic exploration story and so shortened the title to "Emperor of the North" . 1933 during the height of great depression in the US, and the land is full of people who are now homeless . Driven to desperation by the economic depression of 1930s America , a subculture of hobos hopped freight trains to get from place to place in search of jobs , handouts, or even to take it easy sometimes . Those people, commonly called "hobos", are truly hated by Shack (Ernest Borgnine), a sadistical railway conductor who announces he will kill any tramp who attempts to cop his train and swore that no hobo will ride his locomotive for free . Well, no-one but the legendary Number One (Lee Marvin) and a young hobo named Cigaret (Keith Carradine's character Cigaret is named after the moniker that Jack London adopted on the road) are ready to put their lives at wager to become national legends , as the first persons who survived the trip on Shack's known train .
Tough hobo Lee Marvin & sadistic conductor Ernest Borgnine meet in the fight of the century , both of whom give excellent performances . Emperor of the North Pole depicts a microcosm of this subculture set in Oregon, and actually used the Oregon, Pacific & Eastern railroad which was taken up in 1994 like so much other trackage around the country. Thus, this motion picture serves as not only a look into an important aspect of American history, but into a specific piece of it in the Pacific Northwest . Interesting and tense screenplay is based in part on the books 'The Road' by Jack London and 'From Coast to Coast with Jack London' . It was Robert Aldrich's intention that the characters played by Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin and Keith Carradine represented the Establishment, the Anti-Establishment and the Youth of Today respectively . Nice cinematography by Joseph Biroc reflecting appropriately the 3os and Great Depression , being stunningly filmed in Oregon. Lively and evocative musical score by Frank De Vol , Aldrich's usual, including a wonderful song by Marty Robbins .
Martin Ritt was originally slated to direct but was fired from the production , then Sam Peckinpah was approached next but he couldn't agree with the producers on money. The project was then offered to, and accepted by, Robert Aldrich who gave a tense and brilliant direction . Aldrich began writing and directing for TV series in the early 1950s, and directed his first feature in 1953 (Big Leaguer ,1953). Soon thereafter he established his own production company and produced most of his own films, collaborating in the writing of many of them . Directed in a considerable plethora of genres but almost all of his films contained a subversive undertone . He was an expert on warlike (Dirty Dozen , The Angry Hills , Attack , Ten seconds to hell) and Western (The Frisko kid , Ulzana's raid, Apache , Veracruz , The last sunset) . Raing : Above average , it's a must see and a standout in its genre
Tough hobo Lee Marvin & sadistic conductor Ernest Borgnine meet in the fight of the century , both of whom give excellent performances . Emperor of the North Pole depicts a microcosm of this subculture set in Oregon, and actually used the Oregon, Pacific & Eastern railroad which was taken up in 1994 like so much other trackage around the country. Thus, this motion picture serves as not only a look into an important aspect of American history, but into a specific piece of it in the Pacific Northwest . Interesting and tense screenplay is based in part on the books 'The Road' by Jack London and 'From Coast to Coast with Jack London' . It was Robert Aldrich's intention that the characters played by Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin and Keith Carradine represented the Establishment, the Anti-Establishment and the Youth of Today respectively . Nice cinematography by Joseph Biroc reflecting appropriately the 3os and Great Depression , being stunningly filmed in Oregon. Lively and evocative musical score by Frank De Vol , Aldrich's usual, including a wonderful song by Marty Robbins .
Martin Ritt was originally slated to direct but was fired from the production , then Sam Peckinpah was approached next but he couldn't agree with the producers on money. The project was then offered to, and accepted by, Robert Aldrich who gave a tense and brilliant direction . Aldrich began writing and directing for TV series in the early 1950s, and directed his first feature in 1953 (Big Leaguer ,1953). Soon thereafter he established his own production company and produced most of his own films, collaborating in the writing of many of them . Directed in a considerable plethora of genres but almost all of his films contained a subversive undertone . He was an expert on warlike (Dirty Dozen , The Angry Hills , Attack , Ten seconds to hell) and Western (The Frisko kid , Ulzana's raid, Apache , Veracruz , The last sunset) . Raing : Above average , it's a must see and a standout in its genre