'Boxcar' Bertha Thompson, a transient woman in Arkansas during the violence-filled Depression of the early '30s, meets up with rabble-rousing union man 'Big' Bill Shelly and the two team up to fight the corrupt railroad establishment. Based on “Sister of the Road,” the 1937 pseudo-autobiography of fictional character Bertha Thompson, written by anarchist physician Dr. Ben L. Reitman.
'Promising juvenilia' is about the most one can say for it.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
Scorsese remains one of the bright young hopes of American movies.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
fresh:
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.
– Howard Thompson,
New York Times,
9 May 2005
rotten:
The Roger Corman production, shot on an austere budget in Arkansas area, is routinely directed by Martin Scorsese.