Set in the Depression-era Northwest, director Robert Aldrich's gritty, intense railroad drama stars Lee Marvin as legendary tramp A No. 1, who sets out to prove his "King of the Hoboes" title to protege Keith Carradine by hopping an "unridable" freight train patrolled by sadistic, chain-wielding conductor Ernest Borgnine. http://www.moviesunlimited.com/musite/product.asp?sku=D68341&gclid=CKiAgd6SvKQCFd9n5QodxUWGzg
Blog Post Ideas:
- How realistic do you find this movie?
- How does the action in the film compare to what you read in The Grapes of Wrath?
- The opening song compares the train to a man....compare/contrast men and trains.
- How do the characters you meet in the film compare with characters from Grapes?
- What can we learn about the Great Depression from this film?
I thought that the song at the begining of the movie had a lot to say both about the great depresion and, of course, the difference between men and trains. The opening song says something like: "Goin' up a mountain even half way to the top
ReplyDeleteThe minute that a train runs out of steam it's gotta stop
But it's a different story when a man runs out of steam
He still can go a long, long way
On nothin' but a dream"
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This qoute shows that men are different from trains in that they can operate with out steam and even keep going on a dream alone. This song also exemplifies life during the Great Depresion, especially hobos. With no money, no job, and no place to go, millions of people during the great depresion had to live off a dream.
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To be continued...
From the opening scenes of this movie, much can be ascertained about the Great Depression Era, and how severe repression was from people who were in charge. In the Grapes of Wrath, the police and tractor drivers felt superior to the poverty-stricken, and in the movie the Trainman used his power against hobos, going as far as hitting a man over the head with a hammer. Although this behavior could be an exaggeration, I believe a lot of the time life was really like this. People had to fight to survive, and even if that involved a squabble over a chicken, why shouldn't people try their hardest to stay alive? Emperor of the North and The Grapes of Wrath are both good portrayals of the will people possess to stay alive. So often historians focus on the plight of workers in California, and forget those who are riding the rails to survive, so this movie seems to be a good source of knowledge on other aspects of the Great Depression.
ReplyDeleteI was just listening to the song "Brother can you spare a dime," and some of the lines of the song runs: "Once I built a railroad/made it run/made it race against time/once i built a railroad/ now its done/ Brother can you spare a dime? "
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As the song shows, trains represent the prosperity of the 1920's and the joy that came with being able to travel. During the 30's however, the prosperity ended and the only ones traveling were hobos.
I find the movie, from what we have watched from the movie to be very realistic. I could diffidently see the hobos waiting in the bushes for the train to stop and then running to hop on the train. I could also see one of the train conductors taking a hammer and hitting the hobo in the head, thus killing him when the train runs him over. Another scene that I feel is very realistic is when the team of hobos attempts to steal the chicken from the one man. Since food was scarce and people were hungry, stealing was a common practice.
ReplyDeleteThe opening song in the movie compares men to trains. There are many similarities between men and trains. First off men and trains are both strong. They can both move a lot of weight. Men and trains sometimes both produce steam. However men produce steam in response stress where trains produce steam as a result of their engine workings. Men and trains can also produce a lot of friction. Men can produce friction in response to someone who opposes his views whereas trains produce friction in order to stop their forward momentum. Men and trains also both come in a wide variety of shapes, colors, sizes and builds. As you see there are many comparisons and also contrasts between men and trains.
ReplyDeleteThe characters that we have met so far in the move are very similar to the characters in the Grapes of Wrath. Both of these groups of characters were in dire conditions. They were poor and without jobs (hobo and Joads). They would both move from town to town looking for work. Additionally the train conductors are like the bankers and owners of the large farms. They are not helping out the hobos or Joads at all.
ReplyDeleteWe can learn a lot about the Great Depression from this film and also many other types of media available today. In movie we really get a feel for both perspectives. We really get a feel for the people suffering from the Great Depression. We get to see how it’s like to be so poor that they have to try to steal a chicken for food. We also get to see how dangerous it was to “ride the rails.” We also get to see the opposing perspective. You just see a hobo hop on your train, so you decide to lock the door so he is stuck in there until you make your next stop. But then you turn around again to find the train car you locked him in is not on fire. I diffidently understand the feeling of frustration that I’m sure the train conductors felt during the Great Depression when dealing with hobos trying to hop on their trains.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to see this film to completion; however, I find all your comments interesting!
ReplyDeleteThanks:)