Boxcar Bertha

Boxcar Bertha is filled with recognizably Scorsese touches.

The Roger Corman production, shot on an austere budget in Arkansas area, is routinely directed by Martin Scorsese.

While there is a striking similarity [to Bonnie and Clyde] in general content, background, fine color photography and even the use of hillbilly music, the new, more modest film stands curiously on its own.

Scorsese remains one of the bright young hopes of American movies.

For exploitation-enthusiasts and Scorsese completists only.

'Promising juvenilia' is about the most one can say for it.

Martin Scorsese's second feature was a cheapie exploitation flick for Roger Corman, but it's still marked by some layered performances and ambitious camera work.

You can see the fingerprints of the director that Scorsese would quickly become. His specific attention to detail, his knack for immersing the audience into his well-drawn setting, his fluid use of the camera – it’s all on display.

Barbara Hershey is a refreshing presence as a woman hopping the rails in Depression-era America.

Though not always successful, the film does maintain a crudely compelling lifeforce, helped in no small way by the talented leads.