Keith Carradine co-stars as Cigaret , a brash, untrustworthy young hobo who tries to leach off A-No. 1’s legend without putting in the work. He serves as a cynical foil to A-No. 1’s seasoned professionalism.
A sadistic, axe-wielding conductor who has made it his personal mission to ensure no hobo ever rides his train, "the Number 19," and survives.
The film centers on an escalating war of wills aboard a steam locomotive in the Pacific Northwest. subtitle Emperor of the North 1973
The original title, Emperor of the North Pole , refers to a piece of hobo lore—it’s an ironic title for the "king" of the hobos because an emperor of the North Pole rules over nothing but a frozen, empty wasteland.
Despite being directed by the man behind The Dirty Dozen and featuring two Oscar-winning powerhouses, the film was a commercial failure upon its 1973 release. Studio executives even shortened the title to Emperor of the North mid-run, fearing audiences thought it was a Christmas movie. Keith Carradine co-stars as Cigaret , a brash,
The Brutal Majesty of Robert Aldrich’s Emperor of the North (1973)
While the action is relentless, the film digs into deeper themes of survival and honor among the disenfranchised. 1’s seasoned professionalism
Filmed on location in Oregon, the movie captures a specific, rugged aesthetic that avoids the "sugar-coating" often seen in Depression-era period pieces. A Legacy of Rediscovery