AdventureDramaActionThriller

Emperor of the North

- If you can ride Shack's Train and Live - You'll be...

Hobos encounter a sadistic railway conductor that will not let anyone "ride the rails" for free.

Release Date : 1973-05-23

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Inter Hemisphere20th Century Fox

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles : Emperor of the NorthEmperor of the North Pole

Cast

Character Name : A No. 1

Original Name : Lee Marvin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Shack

Original Name : Ernest Borgnine

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cigaret

Original Name : Keith Carradine

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cracker

Original Name : Charles Tyner

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hogger

Original Name : Malcolm Atterbury

Gender : Male

Character Name : Policeman

Original Name : Simon Oakland

Gender : Male

Character Name : Coaly

Original Name : Harry Caesar

Gender : Male

Character Name : Yardman's Helper

Original Name : Hal Baylor

Gender : Male

Character Name : Yardlet

Original Name : Matt Clark

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gray Cat

Original Name : Elisha Cook Jr.

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dinger

Original Name : Joe Di Reda

Gender : Male

Character Name : Smile

Original Name : Liam Dunn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Girl in Water

Original Name : Diane Dye

Gender : Male

Character Name : Conductor

Original Name : Robert Foulk

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fakir

Original Name : Jim Goodwin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Preacher

Original Name : Raymond Guth

Gender : Male

Character Name : Grease Tail

Original Name : Sid Haig

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pokey Stiff

Original Name : Karl Lukas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Yard Clerk

Original Name : Edward McNally

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stew Bum

Original Name : John Steadman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Yardman

Original Name : Vic Tayback

Gender : Male

Character Name : Groundhog

Original Name : Dave Willock

Gender : Male

Character Name : Old Shine (uncredited)

Original Name : Don Blackman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dispatcher (uncredited)

Original Name : Jack Collins

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Cub (uncredited)

Original Name : Richard Daughty

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mechanic (uncredited)

Original Name : Bennie E. Dobbins

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hobo Camp Occupant (uncredited)

Original Name : Dennis Falt

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ash Eater (uncredited)

Original Name : Joe Haworth

Gender : Male

Character Name : Railroad Worker (uncredited)

Original Name : Lance Henriksen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Elder (uncredited)

Original Name : Harry Hickox

Gender : Male

Character Name : Halfy (uncredited)

Original Name : Bern Hoffman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Machinist (uncredited)

Original Name : James Kingsley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alkee Stiff (uncredited)

Original Name : Ralph Montgomery

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hobo (uncredited)

Original Name : Hal Jon Norman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hobo (uncredited)

Original Name : Danny 'Big Black' Rey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gink (uncredited)

Original Name : Wayne Sutherlin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Station Agent (uncredited)

Original Name : Forrest Wood

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Nobody gets a free ride on this train! It's the great depression and the US is now home to many homeless hobos. Shack is a particularly nasty piece of work, devoid of any compassion for the homeless, he prides himself on not letting any one ride free aboard the train he conducts upon. But in the midst is hobo supreme, A No. 1, a man who is never afraid to take up a challenge, so along with Cigaret, a young wannabe legend, he sets about destroying Shack's reputation whilst furthering his own. Make no bones about it, Emperor Of The North Pole is unashamedly macho, director Robert Aldrich filling his picture with machismo beefcakes and molding a story of brawn versus brawn aboard the unlikely setting of a steam train journey. Boasting Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine (both excellent) as the twin main leads signals the films intent, yet the picture offers more than just egotistical bluster. We get a very engrossing feel of a most depressing time in history, a time when men wanted to be men but were struck down by misfortune. Some of the dialogue is very sharp, listen to Marvin's A No. 1's wry observations on the world and you know that this film has quite a bit to say. The other major thing to note is that some of the technical work is brilliant, the photography from Joseph F. Biroc is priceless, and some of the train sequences are feasts for the eyes. Aldrich's undervalued flair for action also comes to the fore here, from a near miss train crash to the defining confrontation between our two pit bull protagonists, it really is a most accomplished piece across the board. Even young Keith Carradine as Cigaret comes out with much credit, it would have been easy for him to have been lost under the sheer weight of the beef talent around him, but he holds his own and is integral to the picture's ultimate success. It's a difficult one to recommend with any great confidence because it has kind of got an acquired taste to it, but to me it remains one of the 70s hidden treasures. Simply put it's a film that I'm always going to have the utmost regard for. 9/10