Emperor of the North Pole

Unbelievably good for a movie about a guy trying to steal a ride on a train. The final fight is a must-see for any fans of Lee Marvin or Ernest Borgnine.

Lee Marvin and Keith Carradine both turn in something adequate [until things get a little too chummy] but it's Borgnine that sells this; running across a moving train, killing hobos, & breaking down men with a stare like the most crazed man imaginable. In keeping with the rest of the events here, it ranges on the cartoonish, and embraces that theme more as it progresses. This is definitely not a flick you need your brain on for, but that final battle certainly gave me something to smile about.

"Hey Shack, you got as much chance as a one-legged man at an asskicking contest!" Great mano-a-mano macho fun with Borgnine perfecting his maniacal, evil stare, while Marvin just oozes quiet, contemplative hobo calm. Low-key, impressively structured first half that slowly gathers steam (pun intended) towards an explosive finale. Also: First film to seriously make me consider becoming a hobo. Uh. Just one more: "One of those New Orleans women get a hold of you, you'll cry for your mama!"

The premise is a bit absurd: the top hobo vs. the meanest conductor sounds like a Conan O'Brien sketch. But it's played straight and it works well - Marvin and Borgnine play the brutal and conniving enemies quite well. Carradine is irritating, but not all that distracting. Overall, it's good, old-fashioned masculine bravado that is not particularly deep, but quite entertaining.

Unusual, exciting (and heavily symbolic) action film set during the Depression. Beautifully filmed in Oregon by Joseph Biroc; taut script and typically muscular Aldrich direction make this a unique entertainment.

Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Aldrich. This should have been huge but a wretched supporting cast, a two hour running time with a wafer thin script and some horrible editing sink this one into the interesting failure field.

Two legends battle, and both actors bring performances that make this movie worth watching.

Viewed April 8, 2020.

First Aldrich. Look, acting direction, use of music and storytelling in general are on point. Need to see more.

Lee Marvin beats some people with a chicken, makes a cop bark like a dog, steals clothes from some worshipers, and wields an axe against Ernest Borgnine, and yet, I was underwhelmed. It's certainly unique, but seems a bit unbalanced. Some parts are cartoonishly funny, while at times it seems to take itself too seriously. Marvin and Borgnine are fine. I've seen a handful of better films by Aldrich, but there are also some that are worse.

The florid language of the hobos really defies belief. The film itself is a spare account of men in conflict, with occasional sideswipes at 'civilisation and locomotives to look at'. Ernest Borgnine is superb, and pushes the score up far higher than the rest of the film really deserves.

Best Hobo film I've seen since Beggars of Life (1928).

Highly literate hobos with impeccable haircuts run wild. Keith Carradine's performance drags down the entire film. It's good, but starts off very slow and at the end I didn't really feel like I understood any of the characters.

I wonder what Woody Guthrie would have thought about this.

"You got a chance to be a good bum!" says Marvin to Carradine. It's not a wholly believable movie and it takes some time to build up steam, but then it's rather good fun. Its best feature is Ernest Borgnine as a totally badass antagonist, a type he hasn't been cast for since his earliest roles. Semi-spoiler: Thank God Hollywood stopped using red paint for blood - it ruins the best scene here.

Heavy-handed allegory with Two Titans duking out on a hurtling train. Somewhat over-written; Aldrich does his usual high-testosterone thing and delivers hard lessons on how to be a real Man's Man . . . all set against the background of the great depression. Borgnine gives a huge, smashing performance, one of the best of his career.

One of the strangest adventure movies ever made

Excellent.