Boxcar Bertha is a 1972 American film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a loose adaptation of Sister of the Road, a pseudoautobiographical account of the fictional character Bertha Thompson, written by Ben L. Reitman. It was Scorseses second film.
After the success of Bloody Mama Roger Corman wanted to make another female gangster film. Julie Corman researched female gangsters and came across the true story of Boxcar Bertha. Martin Scorsese was hired to direct on the strength of his first feature. He was given the lead actors, including Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, and Barry Primus, and a shooting schedule ofdays in Arkansas. The Reader Railroad was used for the train scenes.
Source: Wikipedia