A fellow from Arizona was kind enough to send me a copy of this movie
on DVD after reading my Obscure Train Movies
website. I had never
heard of it before, but a good chunk of the picture features 1930's
depression-era railroading
on the Southern Pacific.
It tells the story of thousands of down-on-their-luck teenagers
who wind up riding freight trains in search of none-to-be-found
employment.
Being a Warner's picture, there's lots of action and
raw Lord-of-the-Flies type debauchery. There's even a rape scene
with
vigilante justice dispensed promptly.
Amidst all the carnage, we get a close-up look at what appears to be
an SP reefer (refrigerator car) yard with a nice
assortment of SP,
Pacific Fruit Express, Western Pacific and Union Pacific box cars.
The filmed scenes are remarkable for the many kids riding on top of
boxcars and bailing off as the trains are moving.
Imagine filming
THAT in this day and age. Must have used quite a few stunt doubles.
There's only one actor in this picture you may have heard of. Do you
recognize him in the picture below?
That's a very young Sterling
Holloway, better known as the voice of Winnie The Pooh.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001359/
Wild Boys of the Road is not available for purchase, AFAIK, but I
believe it plays occasionally on the TCM network.
