Lee Marvin & Ernest Borgnine meet in the fight of the century.

A sadistic train conductor and a hobo hitching a ride battle it out during the Great Depression in this classic film from the director of The Dirty Dozen. Driven to desperation by the economic depression of 1930s America, a subculture of hobos hopped freight trains to get from place to place in search of jobs, handouts, or even to take it easy sometimes. Emperor of the North Pole depicts a microcosm of this subculture set in Oregon, and actually used the Oregon, Pacific & Eastern railroad which was taken up in 1994 like so much other trackage around the country. Thus, this motion picture serves as not only a look into an important aspect of American history, but into a specific piece of it in the Pacific Northwest.