The essence of drama is conflict. Conflict arises from actions or intentions that are at cross purposes. These actions may be classified as 'good' or 'evil' , but these labels depend on the observer identifying with one side or the other. Taoism does not adhere to these classifications; in its pure form, it is amoral.The roles of antagonist and protagonist are similarly dependent on a moral judgment. In "Emperor of the North", Lee Marvin's character A No. 1 is clearly meant to be the protagonist; Ernest Borgnine's Shack is portrayed as the antagonist. Shack is obsessed with keeping (ho)'boes from hitching free rides on his train. A No. 1 takes on the challenge of doing so, in defiance of Shack (and railway regulations). The two men play out their duel on a train that is moving through forests and mountains on its way north to Portland, Oregon. If Marvin is the 'hero', it is a hollow triumph he seeks. There is no promise of a job waiting for him in Portland - he simply wants to 'beat' Shack and remain the widely acknowledged greatest boe there is. His peers are other rootless men who have been driven by circumstance to find work and food wherever they can. Their loyalties are to their empty bellies and, usually, their fellow boes. Some work in the railroad yards for whatever pay they can scrounge. One fascinating aspect of Emperor is the gambling that is shown as widespread: will A No. 1 succeed, or will Shack remain the unconquered, feared, and despised 'champion' of the rails?The time is late October, 1933. There is no welfare state, no food stamp program, no Social Security yet for everyone. These things are a part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, which is in its infancy during this movie. FDR's voice is heard on the radio early on. He urges the citizenry to be scrupulous about the programs he has pushed through Congress; to "cooperate with me, in making this the most efficient, and the cleanest, public enterprise that the world has ever seen". To the men who ride the rails, the prize is their next meal.Marvin is his usual laconic self. He does not attempt to turn A No. 1 into a heroic or noble figure. He is just a guy who is self-assured and fiercely protective of his independence. His underplaying is a thing of wonder. He conveys the decency and humanity of A No. 1 with the slightest of head shaking and almost imperceptible nods and winks.Borgnine is simply awesome as Shack. His sadistic glee at casually maiming and bullying hapless vagabonds is palpable. He keeps his eyes wide open like a giant piranha the whole time. His kind can also be found in other movies, guarding prisons housing felons and herding Jews into the ovens of Auschwitz. Shack gets off on power over others. He is doing his job - maintaining security on the train - but perhaps a little too well. An early incident shows how things can get out of control if the boes are allowed free rein. In a country paralyzed by economic disaster, he protects the interests of the Establishment. If cattle do not arrive at their markets, people, innocent people, may suffer. Again, the morality of the various characters is relative to one's point of view. Is Order Good? Is Chaos Evil? In terms of the physical universe, good and evil are essentially meaningless concepts. A hawk killing a rodent is not evil: it is feeding.Keith Carradine plays Cigaret, a young drifter who follows A No. 1 around, while boasting of his own boe prowess. The relationship between the two reminded me greatly of "The Film Flam Man", where grizzled grifter George C. Scott mentors Army deserter Michael Sarrazin. The dynamic between the two men is much different in "Emperor", but there is an echo of one to be found in the other. The locations and down-home soundtracks of both movies are also similar.The supporting cast is overflowing with familiar character actors. Elisha Cook Jr appears briefly, nearly unrecognizable in an eye patch. Other notables are Malcolm Atterbury as Hogger the engineer, Harry Caesar as Coaly the coal stoker, Charles Tyner as Cracker, the boe assistant to Shack, Matt Clark as railyard boe Yardlet , Liam Dunn as hobo jungle resident Smile, Robert Foulk as a passenger train conductor, and Simon Oakland playing a policeman (again!). The ensemble meshes wonderfully, dutifully providing texture and a backdrop to the central conflict.Robert Aldrich directs the film without gimmicks while creating an immersive experience. The shots of 56-year-old Borgnine and 48-year-old Tyner nimbly running along the top of an obviously real moving train are incredible. As the train continues north, the lush scenery of Northern California and Oregon displays the inherent beauty of indifferent Nature, and provides contrast to the personal drama played out in the foreground. This film is all about survival. If Shack allows boes to ride his train, the company will replace him with someone who will not. And he knows it, which makes him just as desperate as the men he brutalizes. There can be no quarter given in this world, where every loose chicken represents another day of Life. I highly recommend this film. It is not grim, but it is not a comedy, either, although there are numerous humorous moments. It is the stuff that great dramas are made of.

I sat with my son and watched this movie the other day and I could see on his face during the intro he was ready to be disappointed. The intro music is crap that is reminiscent of the low budget films of the 70's. But I explained to my son that he should ignore the sound track because this is otherwise a really good movie. Afterwards he agreed that it really was a great movie and that the music was stupid.This is one of those films that really deserves to be considered among the best. It is definitely a mans movie, and I don't even remember seeing any women in it, but even my wife enjoyed it. There is no sex or sexual references, and the violence level, in my opinion, is reasonable. The characters are perfectly cast, and the dialog is, at times, poetic. In my opinion, they should re-release this movie with a new sound track. It deserves it.

During the Depression of the 1930s, hobos get around by hopping onto trains, but one man wages a war against the free loaders. It's a bad sign when the film opens with a song comparing and contrasting a train and a man. The premise of the story is not particularly interesting, and the execution leaves little doubt that this was a bad idea. The acting is bad all around. Borgnine is an unbelievably sadistic conductor who would happily kill a man who gets on his train without paying. Marvin and Carradine play hobos, and the latter is rather annoying. The quality of Aldrich's films vary wildly from good to awful; this violent and ugly film is not one of his better efforts.

This 1970s classic has hardly aged a day. Viewed in 2010, it looks like it could have been released last week. Bushy-browed Ernest Borgnine stars as a Depression-era railroad conductor who'll be damned if he'll allow hoboes to ride his train. Lee Marvin is a hobo and Borgnine's main nemesis, who decides late in the film to take on Borgnine. A very young Keith Carradine is Marvin's unwanted "student." Borgnne is incredibly ruthless dealing with not just the hoboes, but his fellow workers as well. Marvin is an unusual hobo,an introspective fella who is not like his fellow rail riders. Carradine's character is wet behind the wears, and due for a lesson in harsh reality, which he gets. The stunt fights are amazing -- no CGI crap back then -- and the interludes between fights are very entertaining. They are reminiscent of scenes from "Cool Hand Luke," at least to me. The location photography is magnificent. Director Aldrich draws the line at any graphic gore -- the blood looks like plain old red paint -- but the fights are damned convincing nonetheless. A real joy, and truly ageless.