Basically a three character cat and mouse game revolving around trains during the Great Depression. Sometimes a little over the top, but with good acting and dialog. Ernest Borgnine plays the deluded conductor obsessed with keeping hobos off his train. Lee Marvin is the number one hobo, who vows to ride Borgnines train all the way to Portland, and Keith Carradine, full of bravura, tries to dethrone Marvin by catching the same ride. Along the way, a sort of mutual admiration develops as the two hobos deal with the sadistic Borgnine. Great Oregon scenery and a realistic depression era setting adds immeasurably. The fact that there is minimal background information about the three protagonists was a slight disappointment. - MERK
Review of Emperor of the North
