Riding the Rails

This poignant and carefully researched documentary takes a stark look at the harsh realities behind the oft-romanticized view of the train-hopping Depression-era hobo. Of those habitual rail riders, 250,000 thousand were children and adolescents, many of whom were forced to hit the road not for fun ...more

Michael Uys and Lexy Lovell put a lot of work into this informative and emotionally compelling documentary. For example, they placed a notice in several magazines to solicit life stories from people who rode boxcars as teens in the 1930s; sent replies to the approximately 3,000 people who responded to their notice; contacted the most promising 500 leads; decided on 20 former rail riders to interview; and then selected ten of these interviewees for inclusion in their film. Perhaps this is why ...more