Emperor of the North Pole (1973)

7.2PG118 minDirector: Robert Aldrich

1973 film by Robert Aldrich

Emperor of the North Pole is a 1973 American action adventure film directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine, and Charles Tyner. It was later re-released on home media (and is more widely known) under the shorter title Emperor of the North, ostensibly chosen by studio executives to avoid being mistaken for a heartwarming holiday story. This original title is a homage to the historic joke among Great Depression-era hobos that the world's best hobo was "Emperor of the North Pole", a way of poking fun at their own desperate situation, implying that somebody ruling over the North Pole would reign over nothing but a vast, barren, cold, empty, and stark wasteland. The film depicts the story of two hobos' struggle (esp. vs. "The Establishment") during the Great Depression in 1930s Oregon.

Carradine's character, Cigaret, uses the moniker that Jack London used during his hobo escapades, and like London, is portrayed as a young traveling companion to the older Livingston's A-No.-1 (played by Marvin), but that is where (some assert) the similarity between Carradine's character and Jack London ends, as Cigaret is portrayed in the film as immature, loud-mouthed, and not bright, opposite A-No.-1's gracious and graceful seasoned veteran.

Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

FAQ

What is Emperor of the North Pole about?
Emperor of the North Pole (1973) — During the Great Depression, the US is full of people who are now homeless. These people, commonly called "hobos," are truly hated by Shack (Borgnine), a sadistic railway conductor who swore that no hobo would ride his train for free. Well, none by "A" Number One (Lee Marvin), wh
Is Emperor of the North Pole based on a true story?
See the production background and source material details on the official Wikipedia article.
Is Emperor of the North Pole scary?
Content rating: PG. See the reviews tab for parental guidance and tone notes.