Boxcar Bertha

Boxcar Bertha (1972), one of acclaimed director Martin Scorsese's earliest films, is a semi-faithful adaptation of "Sister of the Road," the autobiography of radical and transient Bertha Thompson--as related to physician Ben L. Reitman. One of producer Roger Corman's infamous Exploitation films, the movie was made with a minuscule $600,000 budget and taught Scorsese how to make films quickly and economically.

The film tells the story of Bertha Thompson and "Big" Bill Shelley, two train robbers and lovers who are caught up in the plight of railroad workers in the American South. When Bertha is implicated in the murder of a wealthy gambler, the pair also become fugitives from justice. While this story adheres to certain conventions of exploitation narrative, it also offers a surprisingly frank look at race and gender issues in the 1930s.