My Romance with Movies: From the 1970s: Emperor of the North

1973 Drama
From 20th Century Fox
Directed by Robert Aldrich

Starring
Lee Marvin
Ernest Borgnine
Keith Carradine
Charles Tyner
Malcolm Atterbury
Harry Caesar
Matt Clark

Our two stars made five theatrical films together... The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953), Violent Saturday (1955), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), The Dirty Dozen (1967) and this film, their last pairing. In the first four, they were part of large ensembles and although they had scenes together, it is Emperor that puts them in direct and constant contact as adversaries.

I love train movies. I don't particularly care whether folks are inside them or outside of them, I love train movies. Of course, if they're outside, that generally means a fight, a great fight, gloriously staged and photographed. And such is the case here. If some consider this not a good film, I'm okay with that but I found it to be an exhilarating train flick.

A prologue states: 1933. The height of the Great Depression. Hobos roamed the land, riding the rails in a desperate search for jobs. Spurned by society, unwanted and homeless, they became a breed apart. Nomads who scorned the law and enforced their own. Dedicated to their destruction was the railroad man who stood between them and their only source of survival... the trains.

Borgnine plays one of his meanest roles as Shack, a dangerous and sadistic conductor who lives to bust up, savagely beat and even kill hobos who hop his train, number 19. All those in the various hobo camps know of Shack and likely hop other trains, but one guy, named A No.1, played by a laid-back Marvin, is determined to take 19.

A No. 1 is not happy about a young hobo named Cigaret (Carradine) who attaches himself to the older man and frequently places them both in jeopardy. When the two are not involved in train mayhem, cameras follow A No. 1 and Cigaret around as they discuss hobo philosophy, collect supplies, visit others sharing their lifestyles and argue and fight. It's mostly a chance to engage in some mild comedy which, frankly, is welcomed.

The train scenes, of course, are many and exciting. They are not about one long journey but several shorter ones. The two hobos stay in the same basic area and hop a train for a 20-mile, one-way trip, taking their lives in their hands as eagle-eyed Slack is checking.

And of course, as we all expect, it ends with a violent fight on a flat car that is part of the moving train. With an axe, chains and logs, it is a doozy of a fight and a fitting finale.

I usually like some back stories of characters as I want to get to know them. But here we know nothing about these three people, nothing whatsoever, except what we glean from the time we spend with them. And I liked it, it worked and added to the mystery of the people and their sad lives. At the same time, it's interesting to note that Borgnine and Marvin share very little dialogue. Their mutual scenes are all action.

Made in Oregon along the O,P & E Railway, the company gave the filmmakers complete access to make their movie. It is a beautiful location that is not lost on audiences and it is virtually all outdoors. The railway company also provided much stock footage and more importantly, two steam locomotives.

Originally Martin (Hud) Ritt was to direct and then Sam Peckinpah. Both would have done well but it didn't happen for them. There was always Robert Aldrich in the background, practically jumping up and down, saying he very much wanted to do it. And it was a good movie for him... an outdoor adventure with men (there is no starring female role) that Aldrich does so well. He rounded up his crew from Dirty Dozen and two of its stars and they were off for an 18-week romp. It was Borgnine's fifth of six pictures for Aldrich. It was Marvin's third of four films with him.

The film is based in part on two short stories by Jack London that touched on his own life as a wanderer, if not a hobo, who named himself Cigaret. The movie was originally called Emperor of the North Pole which was how the head hobo of any group that rode the rails was referred to. The movie starting filming with that title but Fox execs said they didn't want audiences thinking they could expect Santa Claus so it was shortened. However, emperor of the North Pole is mentioned several times.

Marvin and Borgnine, over the years, occasionally saw one another off a film set but they were mainly good work buddies. Their Hollywood stories were similar. Both were easterners who started in films in 1950. They both made tons of movies in character and supporting roles before stardom came. They often played villains and were not usually involved in romances. Both (improbably perhaps) won Oscars and they got more leading man roles. I almost always enjoyed their films, together and separately.

Offscreen they were not as similar. Borgnine loved to talk about movies, his and others. He loved being an actor and years after becoming one, he could still hardly believe it. Marvin found acting little more than a job. He showed up, was usually a pain in the ass, and went home. Borgnine turned into a devoted family man and Marvin was an iconoclast with a drinking problem.

Of course both stars pulled off the acting here with Borgnine having the strongest showing. Carradine seemed made for outdoor dramas and he was fine here as the young hopeful for the coveted title. There's also a large, talented supporting cast.

The cinematography of Joseph Biroc is both beautiful and exciting. I have great admiration for those who film fight scenes on moving trains. Also loved the musical score by Frank De Vol, a regular potpourri of delights. Marty Robbins's singing of A Man and a Train over the opening credits certainly got everything rolling along.

I do not consider this to be a great film but it is a good one and very entertaining. It had an interesting tale to spin. It felt like a fable. It is a robust adventure yarn... a violent, uncompromising look at hard people during hard times.

Though it has gathered more praise over the years, Emperor of the North was not well-received when it was first released. Most everyone associated with it was surprised but perhaps no one more than the director. Aldrich said I thought the symbols were so clear. It never occurred to me that the audience would miss the relationship. Borgnine was the establishment, Marvin was the anti-establishment, individualistic character and Carradine was the opportunistic youth who would sell out for whatever was most convenient. I never thought that anyone wouldn't root for the Marvin character. I thought everyone would say I understand what Marvin is. He's trying not to be regimented and suppressed and denied his right... and I'm for him. And nobody was. It just didn't happen. Nobody cared.

Well, I cared and I got the symbolism. I rooted for A No. 1. I also root for those who wander. It's always appealed to the Jack Kerouac in me. But alas, I realized that I can't be away from HBO for that long of a time.