Ray Dennis Steckler regular Titus Moody directed this “semi-documentary” about hoboes. You really don’t hear about hoboes anymore, and I guess they were slowly fading away at the time, which is probably why Moody made the movie. Inspired by hearing his grandfather’s tales of hobo life, Moody decides to go undercover as a hobo for himself (wearing a ridiculously fake looking beard). Moody mixes in real documentary footage of soup kitchens, hoboes who still ride the rails, and interviews with skid row inhabitants along with staged sequences of hobo stories. We also learn how to read hobo messages and even meet a rare “Woman ‘Bo”. His journey culminates with a hobo convention that features music, parades, and the crowning of the King and Queen Hobo.
Even though there is a note at the beginning stating that some of the dialogue had to be redubbed, I have to say it’s pretty poorly done. However, what the film lacks in technical proficiency it makes up for with sheer earnestness. It’s meant as a tribute to men who were lost in their own generation, and in that respect, Moody accomplished what he set out to do.
The scenes with real hoboes trying to get by are interesting. The staged segments are the weakest parts though. I’m sure Moody stretched his budget thin with all the period settings and recreations of true hobo accounts. It’s just that these scenes have a tendency to drag (especially the long segment devoted to the “Hobo Kings”).
Last of the American Hoboes is an uneven, but fascinating curiosity item to be sure. Previously thought lost, it was revived by Vinegar Syndrome who released it as part of their Lost Picture Show Blu-Ray box set. A soundtrack album featuring such bangers as “Christmas in Hoboville” and “There’s No Depression in Heaven” was available at one time. Do you have your copy?
AKA: The Last American Hobo.
No comments:
Post a Comment