''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British crime film written and directed by

Mike Hodges Michael Tommy Hodges (29 July 1932 – 17 December 2022) was a British screenwriter, film and television director, playwright and novelist. His films as writer/director include ''Get Carter'' (1971), ''Pulp'' (1972), '' The Terminal Man'' (197 ...

in his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

and starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

Ian Hendry Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was a British actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of '' The Avengers'' and '' The Lotus Eaters'', and played ...

, John Osborne,

Britt Ekland Britt Ekland (; born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress, model and singer. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in '' The Double Man'' (1967), '' The Night They Raided ...

and

Bryan Mosley Bryan Mosley (25 August 1931 – 9 February 1999) was a British actor, best known for his role as grocer Alf Roberts in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Early life Mosley was born in Leeds, an only child, to Agnes Basquil ...

. Based on Ted Lewis's 1970 novel ''

Jack's Return Home ''Jack's Return Home'' is a 1970 novel by British writer Ted Lewis. It was adapted into the 1971 film ''Get Carter'', starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter. The novel portrays a subsection of society living on the borderline between crime and r ...

'', the film follows the eponymous Jack Carter (Caine), a London

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

who returns to his hometown in North East England to learn about his brother's supposedly accidental death. Suspecting foul play, and with vengeance on his mind, he investigates and interrogates, regaining a feel for the city and its hardened-criminal element. Producer

Michael Klinger Michael Klinger (born 4 July 1980) is an Australian former first-class cricketer, who held the record for the most runs scored in the Big Bash League when he retired in 2019. Until the 2008–09 season, Klinger played for Victoria and for ...

optioned Lewis's novel shortly after its publication and made a deal with the ailing

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

(MGM) to finance and release the film, making ''Get Carter'' the last project to be approved by the studio's Borehamwood division before its closure. The production went from novel to finished film in eight months, with

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

taking place from July to September 1970 in and around

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, Gateshead and County Durham. Hodges, Klinger and Caine intended to create a more realistic portrayal of violence and

criminal behaviour In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

than had previously been seen in British films: Caine, who also served as an uncredited co-producer, incorporated aspects of criminal acquaintances into his characterisation of Carter, while Hodges conducted research into the criminal underworld of Newcastle (in particular the

one-armed bandit murder The one-armed bandit murder was a criminal case in the north east of England. The case involved the murder of Angus Sibbet in 1967. The following trial resulted in life sentences for Dennis Stafford and Michael Luvaglio. Both men were released on li ...

). Cinematographer

Wolfgang Suschitzky Wolfgang Suschitzky, BSC (29 August 1912 – 7 October 2016), was an Austrian-born British documentary photographer, as well as a cinematographer perhaps best known for his collaboration with Paul Rotha in the 1940s and his work on Mike Hodges' ...

worked with Hodges to give scenes a naturalistic feel, drawing heavily on their backgrounds in

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

s. Turning a respectable profit upon its initial UK release, ''Get Carter'' initially attracted mixed reviews. Critics begrudgingly appreciated the film's technical achievements and Caine's performance while criticizing the complex plot, violence and amorality, in particular Carter's apparent lack of remorse for his actions. American critics were generally more enthusiastic, but the film languished on the

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskat ...

circuit, while MGM focused its resources on producing ''

Hit Man Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may ...

'', a Blaxploitation-themed remake of the film. ''Get Carter'' eventually garnered a cult following, and further endorsements from directors such as

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

and

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchi ...

led to the film being critically re-evaluated, with its depiction of class structure and life in 1970s Britain and

Roy Budd Roy Frederick Budd (14 March 1947 – 7 August 1993) was a British jazz pianist and composer known for his film scores, including ''Get Carter'' and ''The Wild Geese''. Early life Born in South Norwood, South London, Budd became interested in mu ...

's minimalist

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

score receiving considerable praise. In 1999, ''Get Carter'' was ranked 16th on the

BFI Top 100 British films In 1999, the British Film Institute surveyed 1,000 people from the world of British film and television to produce a list of the greatest British films of the 20th century. Voters were asked to choose up to 100 films that were "culturally British". ...

of the 20th century; five years later, a survey of British film critics in ''

Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched ...

'' magazine chose it as the greatest British film. A poorly-received second remake under the same title was released in 2000, with Sylvester Stallone portraying Jack Carter and Caine in a supporting role.

Plot

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

-born

Jack Carter has lived in London for years in the employ of

organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

bosses Gerald and Sid Fletcher. Jack is sleeping with Gerald's girlfriend Anna and plans to escape with her to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, but he must first return to Newcastle and Gateshead to attend the funeral of his brother, Frank, who died in a purported drunk-driving accident. His bosses warn him not to stir up trouble, as they are friendly with the Newcastle mob. Unsatisfied with the official explanation, Jack investigates for himself. At the funeral, Jack meets his teenage niece Doreen, and Frank's evasive mistress Margaret. Jack goes to

Newcastle Racecourse Newcastle Racecourse is a horse racing course located at Gosforth Park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, owned by Arena Racing Company. It stages both flat and National Hunt racing, with its biggest meeting being the Northumberland Plate held a ...

, seeking his old acquaintance Albert Swift for information about his brother's death, but Swift evades him. Jack encounters another old associate, Eric Paice, who refuses to tell Jack who is employing him as a chauffeur. Tailing Eric leads him to the country house of crime boss Cyril Kinnear. Jack confronts Kinnear but learns little from him; he also meets a glamorous drunken woman, Glenda. As Jack leaves, Eric warns him against damaging relations between Kinnear and the Fletchers. Back in town, Jack is threatened by henchmen who want him to leave town, but he fights them off, capturing and interrogating one to find out who wants him gone. He is told the name "Brumby". Jack knows Cliff Brumby as a businessman with controlling interests in local seaside amusement arcades. Visiting Brumby's house, Jack discovers the man knows nothing about him and, believing he has been set up, he leaves. The next morning two of Jack's London colleagues – Con McCarthy and Peter the Dutchman – arrive, sent by the Fletchers to take him back, but he escapes. Jack meets Margaret to talk about Frank, but the Fletchers' men are waiting and pursue him. He is rescued by Glenda, who takes him in her sports car to meet Brumby at his new restaurant development at the top of a

multi-storey car park A multistorey car park ( British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a bui ...

. Brumby identifies Kinnear as being behind Frank's death, also explaining that Kinnear is trying to take over his business. He offers Jack £5,000 to kill the crime boss, which he refuses. Jack has sex with Glenda at her flat, where he finds and watches a pornographic film in which Doreen is forced to have sex with Albert. The other participants in the film are Glenda and Margaret. Jack becomes enraged and pushes Glenda's head underwater as she is taking a bath. She tells him the film was Kinnear's, and that she thinks Doreen was pulled into the production by Eric. Forcing Glenda into the boot of her car, Jack drives off to find Albert. Jack tracks down Albert, who confesses he told Brumby that Doreen was Frank's daughter. Brumby showed Frank the film to incite him to call the police on Kinnear; Eric and two of his men arranged Frank's death. Having extracted this information, Jack fatally stabs Albert. Jack is attacked by the London gangsters and Eric, who has informed Fletcher of Jack and Anna's affair. In the ensuing shootout, Jack shoots Peter dead. As Eric and Con escape, they push the sports car into the river, unaware that Glenda is in the boot. Returning to the car park, Jack finds and beats Brumby before throwing him to his death. He then posts the film to the Scotland Yard

vice squad A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tr ...

. Jack abducts Margaret. He telephones Kinnear in the middle of a wild party, telling him he has the film and makes a deal for Kinnear to give him Eric in exchange for his silence. Kinnear agrees, sending Eric to an agreed location; however, he subsequently phones an associate. Jack drives Margaret to the grounds of Kinnear's estate, kills her with a fatal injection and leaves her body there. He then calls the police to raid Kinnear's party. Jack chases Eric along a beach. He forces Eric to drink a bottle of whisky as Eric had done to Frank, then beats him to death with his shotgun. Having avenged Frank and Doreen, Jack walks along the shorelinewhere he is shot dead from a distance by Kinnear's associate.

Cast

There was pressure from MGM to have more big-name American stars in the film, which was successfully resisted by Hodges. As well as

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...

, names posited by Klinger and studio executives were

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...

, and someone Hodges described as "the Canadian lead actress in TV's '' Peyton Place''", which is likely a reference to

Barbara Parkins Barbara Parkins (born May 22, 1942) is a Canadian-American former actress, singer, dancer and photographer. Early life Parkins was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. *

as Jack Carter. Hodges wrote the screenplay with Ian Hendry in mind for Carter, but learned that

had already signed up Caine for the role. With the backing of a major studio, Klinger was keen to secure a big name for the lead, and Caine was very prominent at the time, having starred in ''

Alfie Alfie may refer to: Theatre and film * ''Alfie'' (play), a 1963 play by Bill Naughton * ''Alfie'' (1966 film), a film based on the play starring Michael Caine * ''Alfie'' (2004 film), a remake of the 1966 film * ''Alfie'' (2013 film), an Indi ...

'', ''

The Italian Job ''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, r ...

'' and ''

The Ipcress File ''The IPCRESS File'' is Len Deighton's first spy novel, published in 1962. The story involves Cold War brainwashing, includes scenes in Lebanon and on an atoll for a United States atomic weapon test, as well as information about Joe One, the ...

''. Hodges was surprised that a star of Caine's stature would want to play such a thoroughly unlikeable person as Carter. Giving his reasons for wanting to be involved with the film, the actor said "One of the reasons I wanted to make that picture was my background. In English movies, gangsters were either stupid or funny. I wanted to show that they're neither. Gangsters are not stupid, and they're certainly not very funny". He identified with Carter as a memory of his working-class upbringing, having friends and family members who were involved in crime and felt Carter represented a path his life might have taken under different circumstances: "Carter is the dead-end product of my own environment, my childhood; I know him well. He is the ghost of Michael Caine". He made subtle changes to Hodges' depiction of Carter in the script, cut out pleasantries and gave him a cold, hard edge; closer to Lewis's original envisioning of the character. Although he is not credited as such in the film, Caine has been acknowledged in retrospect as a co-producer. In a strange coincidence, Caine's stand-in on the film was a man called Jack Carter. *

as Eric Paice. Hendry had previously been cast by producer Klinger in

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

's '' Repulsion'', and was Hodges' first choice to play Carter, but by 1970 his career was rapidly declining. Hendry's

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

and poor physical condition were apparent on set in Newcastle, and his envy at the success of his contemporary Caine was exacerbated by his drinking. Hodges and Caine used his animosity towards Caine to their advantage to create extra tension in the scenes between Carter and Paice. * John Osborne as Cyril Kinnear, Jack's main adversary. Osborne, a famous playwright, was an unusual choice of actor; he was suggested by Hodges' agent. The writer enjoyed the change, and saw it as a way to erase the image in the public's mind of him as an angry young man. Osborne had never played card games before and practised poker before the shoot to lend realism to the gambling scene. Osborne's portrayal was a contrast to the description in Lewis's novel of Kinnear as an uncultured, corpulent spiv, giving him an urbane and relaxed demeanour, his delivery being so relaxed and quiet that it was difficult for the

sound recordist Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording te ...

to pick up, but Hodges liked the "menace in that quietness". Britt-ekland-get-carter-trailer

as Anna. Ekland was cast as the leading lady of the film, as she was a prominent sex symbol of the time and would have already been familiar to US audiences through her work in ''

The Night They Raided Minsky's ''The Night They Raided Minsky's'' is a 1968 American musical comedy film directed by William Friedkin and produced by Norman Lear. Based on the 1960 novel by Rowland Barber, it is a fictional account of the invention of the striptease at Mins ...

'' and '' Stiletto''. Accordingly, her small role in the film was overemphasised in the publicity. Ekland was afraid of becoming typecast, having already played two gangster's molls before ''Carter''. She was also reluctant to take the part as she did not want to take her clothes off; however, she had financial problems at the time as a result of bad investment decisions by her accountant. She was later happy that she had been involved with the project. *

as Cliff Brumby. MGM executives initially wanted

for the part of the "big man", but were impressed by '' Coronation Street'' actor Mosley's performance in fight scenes in '' Far from The Madding Crowd''. A devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, Mosley was concerned about taking part in such a violent film with depictions of

, consulting his priest over the moral implications. *

George Sewell George Sewell (31 August 19242 April 2007) was an English actor, best known for his television roles, but also active on stage and in films. Early life and career The son of a Hoxton printer and a florist, Sewell left school at the age of 14 a ...

as Con McCarty. Sewell was the man who introduced

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.

Charlie Kray Charlie Kray (9 July 1927 – 4 April 2000) was an English amateur boxer and convicted criminal. He was the elder brother of Ronnie and Reggie Kray. Early life Charles James Kray was born at 26 Gorsuch Street, Hoxton on 9 July 1927, to Charl ...

. He grew up in working-class

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It li ...

and had come to acting late when in 1959 he joined

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West E ...

. A well-known face on British television in the 1960s, his sandblasted features and shifty, haunted looks made him ideal for playing villainous characters or hard-bitten detectives. He seemed ideally cast as a London gangster colleague of Carter's. After ''Carter'', Sewell became more known for playing policemen rather than villains. *

Tony Beckley Derek Anthony Beckley (7 October 1927 – 19 April 1980) was an English actor. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Beckley went on to carve out a career on film and television throughout the 1960s and 1970s, often playing villainou ...

as Peter the Dutchman. Lewis depicted Peter as a misogynistic homosexual in his novel; these elements were not emphasised in the film, although the character is flamboyant and

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

. Beckley had developed a specialism of playing sadistic criminals, so his part in ''Carter'' was somewhat similar to his role of "Camp Freddy" alongside Caine in ''The Italian Job''. *

Glynn Edwards John Glynn Edwards (2 February 1931 – 23 May 2018) was a British television and cinema character actor, who came to national prominence for his portrayal of the barman Dave Harris in the 1970s–1990s British television comedy-drama ''Minder' ...

as Albert Swift. Like Sewell, Edwards was an apprentice of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop who had come to acting in his thirties. He had previously appeared alongside Caine in '' Zulu'' and ''

''. After the film Edwards found work as a character actor and appeared regularly in the TV show ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

''. *

Alun Armstrong Alan Armstrong, known professionally as Alun Armstrong, is an English actor. He grew up in County Durham in North East England, and first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began ...

as Keith. This was Armstrong's screen debut. The themes of ''Get Carter'' echo to a certain extent those of Armstrong's better-known role 25 years later in BBC drama ''

Our Friends in the North ''Our Friends in the North'' is a British television drama serial produced by the BBC. It was originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC2 in early 1996. Written by Peter Flannery, it tells the story of four friends from Newcastle upon Tyne ...

''. He wrote a letter to MGM when he learned it was making the film in Newcastle, and he was invited to meet director Mike Hodges, who wanted to cast local actors. *

Bernard Hepton Francis Bernard Heptonstall (19 October 1925 – 27 July 2018) better known by the stage name Bernard Hepton, was an English theatre director and actor. Best known for his stage work and television roles in teleplays and series, he also appeare ...

as Thorpe. Bradford-born Hepton was cast by Hodges as Kinnear's nervous messenger. *

Petra Markham Petra Mavis Markham (born 17 March 1944 in Prestbury, Cheshire) is a British theatre, television and film actress. She is a daughter of actor David Markham and writer Olive Dehn (1914–2007). She has three sisters: actress Kika Markham, Sonia ...

as Doreen Carter. Petra Markham was a 24-year-old experienced theatre actress when she was asked to play the role of Carter's 16-year-old niece. Her appearance in only four scenes in the film meant she could balance the film work with appearing at the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

and her role in the television series ''

Albert and Victoria ''Albert and Victoria'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1970 to 1971. Starring Alfred Marks, it was written by Reuben Ship. It was made for the ITV network by Yorkshire Television. In ''Albert and Victoria'', Marks plays Albert Ha ...

''. She went on to play the unfortunate Rose Chapman in '' EastEnders''. *

Geraldine Moffat Geraldine Houser ( Moffat; born 5 September 1939) is a British former film and television actress and the mother of video game producers Sam and Dan Houser. Selected filmography * ''The Man Who Had Power Over Women'' (1970) – Lydia Blake ...

as Glenda. Moffatt was an experienced actress who had trained at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. ...

. She attracted Hodges' attention not just for her good looks but for her work on

Alun Owen Alun Davies Owen (24 November 1925 – 6 December 1994) was a Welsh playwright, screenwriter and actor, predominantly in television. However, he is best remembered by a wider audience for writing the screenplay of The Beatles' debut feature fi ...

television plays A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multiple-camera setup, multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contra ...

''Stella'' and ''Doreen''.Chibnall, p. 31 * Dorothy White as Margaret. White had a successful career as a television actress and was particularly well known for ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

'', but the part of Margaret was her first credited cinematic role (the only other being a part in the 1955 film '' Touch & Go''). She had previously worked with Mike Hodges on the television play ''Suspect''. * Rosemarie Dunham as Edna, Carter's landlady. Although she had appeared in '' The Avengers'' and '' A Family at War'' on television, this was Scottish-born Dunham's film debut. *

John Bindon John Dennis Arthur Bindon (4 October 1943 – 10 October 1993) was an English actor and bodyguard who had close links with the London underworld. The son of a London cab driver, Bindon was frequently in trouble as a youth for getting into figh ...

as Sid Fletcher. He was the son of a London cab driver who was "discovered" by

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

in a pub. As a young man Bindon had been in and out of

borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

, and spent most of his adult life associating with criminals, so he was ideally suited to play a gangland boss, despite being young, having intimate knowledge of that world. In the late 1970s his career suffered as he became entangled in accusations of protection racketeering in Fulham and was acquitted of murder at the Old Bailey. * Terence Rigby as Gerald Fletcher, one of the London crime boss brothers. Rigby was another actor Hodges cast from his familiarity in television police drama.Chibnall, p. 34 Mike Hodges recruited a band of experienced character actors to play the small supporting roles.

Godfrey Quigley Godfrey Quigley (4 May 1923 – 7 September 1994) was an Irish film, television and stage actor. He appeared in Stanley Kubrick's films ''A Clockwork Orange'' and ''Barry Lyndon''. Biography Quigley was born in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine, ...

was cast as Eddie, a colleague of Frank Carter's. Kevin Brennan appears as Harry the card-player.

Ben Aris Benjamin Patrick Aris (16 March 1937 – 4 September 2003) was an English actor who was best known for his parts in ''Hi-de-Hi!'' and '' To the Manor Born'', and was also very active on stage. He was often cast as an eccentric, upper-class ...

, who plays one of the architects, had previously appeared in such films as '' if....'', ''

The Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to s ...

'' and ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. Carl Howard's character of the assassin, "J", is only identified by the initial on his ring, in his only film role, and an appropriate mystery surrounds his real identity. His name does not appear on the credits of some prints. Mike Hodges explained that Howard was an extra in his TV film ''Rumour'', and the director gave him a line to say, but another extra was wrongly credited. Hodges promised he would make it up to him and cast him in ''Carter'', but his name was missed off some of the original prints. When the film credits were printed in the '' Radio Times'' and ''

TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...

'', Howard was also trimmed. Hodges said in 2002 that "Carl and credits don't seem destined for each other".Chibnall, p. 35

Production

Development

In the late 1960s, a relaxation in

film censorship Film censorship is carried out by various countries to differing degrees, sometimes as a result of powerful or relentless lobbying by organizations or individuals. Films that are banned in a particular country change over time. Rating systems A ...

produced an increase in dark, uncompromising films, with many directors pushing the boundaries of acceptability. ''Get Carter'' was a film that explored this freedom. The project went from concept to finished film in just 10 months. In 1969, producer

devised plans for a gangster film to capitalise on public interest in the British criminal underworld after the Kray Twins' convictions. Klinger was invited to view a first print of Peter Walker's '' Man of Violence'' (1969) and was unimpressed, telling the director "I'm going to make a gangster film, but it's going to cost a lot more than this and it's going to be better".Chibnall, p. 21 After searching many publishers for material to adapt into a film, Klinger purchased the rights to Ted Lewis' novel ''

''. Andrew Spicer has written that "he lingersensed its potential to imbue the British crime thriller with the realism and violence of its American counterparts". Klinger had been approached in 1969 by another producer,

Nat Cohen Nat Cohen (23 December 1905 – 10 February 1988)William D. Rubinstein, et al (eds.''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'' Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p.171 was a British film producer and executive. For over four decades he was one of t ...

, to make films for

(MGM). In financial trouble and shutting down its British operations, MGM was in the process of closing its British studios at

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly know ...

and was looking to make smaller-budget films to turn a profit. At this time Klinger's friend Robert Littman had been appointed head of MGM Europe and so Klinger took his proposal to him.Chibnall, p. 21 MGM agreed to a reasonable but below-average budget of 750,000 (there is some dispute as to whether this figure refers to dollars or pounds) for the production. Within months of agreeing to the deal MGM had pulled out of the UK.Chibnall, p. 21 Klinger had seen Mike Hodges' television film ''Suspect'' (1969) and immediately decided he was the ideal candidate to direct his new project. Hodges had also previously worked on current affairs programme ''

World in Action ''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...

'', the arts programme ''Tempo'' and a 1968 children's television serial, ''The Tyrant King'', and all these past experiences informed his approach to his film debut. Klinger contacted Hodges on 27 January 1970 with a copy of ''Jack's Return Home'' and contracted him to write and direct the film, paying him a flat fee of £7,000 for his services. Hodges' original working title for the film was ''Carter's The Name''. Steve Chibnall writes: "his treatment retained the essential structure of Lewis's novel with its strong narrative drive, but introduced some minor changes to characterisation and more fundamental alterations to

narratology Narratology is the study of narrative and narrative structure and the ways that these affect human perception. It is an anglicisation of French ''narratologie'', coined by Tzvetan Todorov (''Grammaire du Décaméron'', 1969). Its theoretical li ...

". As Ted Lewis had not specified where his novel was set, Hodges felt free to relocate the story to a place he was familiar with, considering

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...

, Lowestoft, Hull and

North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

before deciding on Newcastle Upon Tyne. Hodges said he was influenced in his writing by the works of Raymond Chandler and Hollywood

B-movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

such as ''

Kiss Me Deadly ''Kiss Me Deadly'' is a 1955 American film noir produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, and Wesley Addy. It also features Maxine Cooper and Cloris Leachman appearing in th ...

'', because they showed "how to use the crime story as an autopsy on society's ills". He did not, however, employ a traditional noir technique of using a voiceover to expose the character's inner feelings. He also dispensed with flashbacks to Carter's youth featured in the novel which explored his relationship with his brother Frank, streamlining the plot to a linear narrative spanning a single weekend. As Chibnall writes The significance of the

double-barrelled shotgun A double-barreled shotgun is a break-action shotgun with two parallel barrels, allowing two single shots to be fired in quick succession or simultaneously. Construction Modern double-barreled shotguns, often known as ''doubles'', are almost un ...

as Carter's choice of weapon (which in the novel symbolises family ties and Carter's memories of more innocent times hunting with his brother) was lost in the film adaptation. Carter's killing of Brumby and his own assassination were further alterations from the novel, emphasising the film's parallels with

revenge tragedy Revenge tragedy (sometimes referred to as revenge drama, revenge play, or tragedy of blood) is a theoretical genre in which the principal theme is revenge and revenge's fatal consequences. Formally established by American educator Ashley H. Thor ...

and Carter's role as what Geoff Mayer calls "the

moral agent Moral agency is an individual's ability to make moral choices based on some notion of right and wrong and to be held accountable for these actions. A moral agent is "a being who is capable of acting with reference to right and wrong." Develop ...

..a "

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

" forced to dispense his own sense of justice in a corrupt world". However, in his DVD commentary Hodges implies that he did not see Carter as morally any more justified than those he kills, and his death is intended to present his actions to the audience as morally bankrupt and futile: "I wanted him to be dealt with in exactly the same way he dealt with other people. Now that's a sort of Christian ethic in a way ..That was a prerequisite of the film for me, that the hitman should go lickand that's it". Hodges' decision to kill off Carter was initially protested by MGM executives, as they wanted the character to survive in the event that the film proved successful enough to warrant a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

Pre-production

Locations along the east coast of England had been scouted by Hodges and Klinger in the spring of 1970, to find a landscape that suggested a "hard, deprived background". Newcastle was selected after Hodge's first choice of Hull proved to be unsuitable. Hodges thoroughly researched the local Newcastle crime scene, adapting the script to make use of settings and incorporating elements of his research into the story. His background at ''World in Action'' had made him accustomed to making films based on hard investigation and this informed his approach to ''Get Carter''. One of the first locations which attracted Hodge's attention was the Trinity Square multi-storey car park, which dominated the centre of Gateshead. To Hodges, the car park and the cast iron bridges over the Tyne, "seemed to capture the nature of Jack Carter himself". The car park embodies one of the film's more subtle themes, which is the destruction of an old cityscape and its rebuilding in line with modern Brutalism. Hodges described how wandering alone through the upper structure, he realised how the different levels could be used to reveal the hunter, Carter, and the hunted, Brumby, simultaneously but without either being aware of the other – adding to the suspense. The shopping centre and car park were closed in early 2008 and demolished in late 2010. Beechcroft, Broomside Lane - awaiting demolition

Beechcroft, Broomside Lane - awaiting demolition

The location for Cyril Kinnear's house, Dryderdale Hall, near Hamsterley, Bishop Auckland, provided a real-life connection with organised crime. It was the recently-vacated country house of North East

fruit machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine ( Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively ...

businessman Vince Landa, who had fled the country in 1969 after the murder of his right-hand man Angus Sibbett, the so-called

. Many believed the crime was part of a failed attempt by the Kray twins to gain control of the Newcastle underworld. Michael Klinger and the MGM publicity spokesman dismissed the use of the location as mere coincidence; however, Hodges was aware of the significance of the house and chose it deliberately. Steve Chibnall writes "It proved a perfect location, wreaking of authenticity and full of useful details such as the cowboys and Indians wallpaper ..the African shield and crossed spears on the wall of the crime lord's living room". The Landa case also is referenced at the start of the film with a shot of a newspaper bearing the headline "Gaming Wars". Other locations in Newcastle and Gateshead,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

and County Durham were also used.

Filming

Principal photography took place in the North East between 17 July and 15 September 1970. Hodges favoured the use of long focal length lenses (as he had used previously on ''Rumour'') in many scenes to create a naturalistic documentary feel, especially in crowd scenes. The film was shot in

Metrocolor Metrocolor is the trade name used by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for films processed at their laboratory. Virtually all of these films were shot on Kodak's Eastmancolor film. Although MGM used Kodak film products, MGM did not use all of Kodak's proc ...

, which was MGM's trade name for films processed at its

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physic ...

. This lab processed

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

Eastman Color Negative Eastman Color Negative (ECN) is a photographic processing system created by Kodak in the 1950s for the development of monopack color negative motion picture film stock. It is part of the Eastmancolor family of products sold by Eastman Kodak. The o ...

, so it is most likely the film was shot on this stock. Asked to comment on what he was aiming for in the look of the film, cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky said "The camera work on it ..it was very influenced by Mike Hodges who has a very good eye for setups and he of course conferred with his operator and myself, but he influenced all of us, and much of the good look is due to him, I confess. My main task was lighting on location, very moderately, and waiting for the right daylight and setting the exposure on the lens". In the first week of shooting in Newcastle, the ACTT called the crew out on a one-day strike. At the advice of

Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for directing the Beatles' films '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) and '' Help!'' (1965), and the superhero films ' ...

, Hodges and his assistant director stayed at a separate hotel to the rest of the cast and crew, which enabled him to have some respite from the production after the shooting day was done. Klinger was present on set for much of the film shoot. However, Hodges said he encountered very little interference from the producer. At one point Klinger and Caine asked if Hodges might work in a "chase sequence", but he persuaded them that it would draw too many comparisons with ''

Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleine ...

'' (a chase sequence between Carter and the London gangsters is mentioned in the shooting script). Hodges tried to rehearse the racecourse scene between Caine and Hendry in their hotel the night before shooting, but "Hendry's drunken and resentful state forced Hodges to abandon heattempt". Hodges described Caine as "a complete dream to work with". Caine only lost his temper once on set, during the very tense and emotional day filming in Glenda's flat, when the

focus puller A focus puller or first assistant camera (1st AC) is a member of a film crew's camera department whose primary responsibility is to maintain the camera lens's optical focus on whatever subject or action is being filmed. "Pulling focus" refers t ...

ruined his first

take A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

. Caine apologised immediately. The most complicated scene to shoot was Kinnear's game of cards. There are four simultaneous conversations, with a lot of plot exposition and the introduction of two important characters, Kinnear and Glenda. The technical complexity was compounded by the variation in light coming through the windows, and Osborne's whispered deliveryChibnall, p. 57 which made microphone placement difficult. Hodges moved the camera and the boom closer to Osborne as the scene progressed. Chibnall says that Hodges regretted not rehearsing the scene more thoroughly. In shooting the scene in which Carter throws Brumby to his death from the multi-storey car park, Hodges used four shots: one of the pair struggling high up on the stairs; one from the lowest level of the stairwell where Caine actually threw Bryan Mosley over the side onto mattresses; one shot of a dummy falling; and one of the body of Brumby on top of a crushed car. Carter's climactic pursuit of Eric used an amalgamation of two locations spaced apart: Blyth staithes and Blackhall Beach near Blackhall Colliery."The 50 best beach scenes in the movies"
, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', 23 August 2008 The chase scene was shot in reverse, with Hodges filming Eric's death scene first because of Hendry's poor condition, Hodges being worried that he would be too out of breath to play the death scene after running. Hodges chose the beach for its bleak, dark atmosphere but when he returned to shoot the scene he found it bathed in bright sunshine, unsuitable for the sombre conclusion he was hoping for. He waited hours until the sun began setting to capture the overcast shadowy lighting seen in the film. The film shows the beach black with coal spoilings, dumped there by the mine's conveyor system. The conveyor, a common sight on the East Durham coast, was known locally as 'The Flight'. In the early 2000s, £10 million was spent removing these conveyors and the concrete towers, and cleaning tons of coal waste from the beaches of East Durham. The cleaning programme was known as 'Turning the Tide'.

Post-production and music

Klinger was a hands-on producer who remained present throughout shooting and in post-production. He suggested Hodges use John Trumper as editor. Hodges said that he and Trumper argued and disagreed constantly, but he still thought he was a "brilliant, brilliant editor" and was "very grateful to him for ..how much he contributed". Sound editing and dubbing was done by Jim Atkinson, whom Hodges described as "so obsessive about the job". He gave Hodges multiple possibilities of how the sound could be dubbed, and explored every angle. Klinger was worried that the debut director might be overwhelmed with too many options, but Hodges said he and Atkinson got on very well. The majority of the film's music was composed by

, a jazz pianist and composer, who had previously worked on soundtracks for ''

Soldier Blue ''Soldier Blue'' is a 1970 American Revisionist Western film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, and Donald Pleasence. Adapted by John Gay from the novel ''Arrow in the Sun'' by T.V. Olsen, it is inspired by even ...

'' and ''

Flight of the Doves ''Flight of the Doves'' is a 1971 British Eastmancolor children's film based on the novel by Irish writer Walter Macken. The film, based and filmed in Ireland, was written by Frank Gabrielson and Ralph Nelson, with Nelson also directing. Plot T ...

''. Aside from its score, Budd also composed three songs: "Looking For Someone", "Love Is A Four Letter Word" (with lyrics by Jack Fishman) and "Hallucinations". The theme (otherwise known as "Carter Takes a Train"), the best-known piece from the film, was played by Budd and the other members of his jazz trio,

Jeff Clyne Jeffrey Ovid Clyne (29 January 1937 – 16 November 2009) was a British jazz bassist (playing both bass guitar and double bass). He worked with Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott in their group the Jazz Couriers for a year from 1958, and was part ...

(

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

) and

Chris Karan Chris Karan (born Chrisostomos Karanikis, 14 October 1939) is a Britain-based Australian jazz drummer and percussionist of Greek descent. Life and career Karan was born in 1939 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Karan played in The Three Out t ...

(

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

), and was recorded on a budget of £450. The musicians recorded the soundtrack live, direct to picture, playing along with the film. To save time and money Budd did not use overdubs, simultaneously playing a real harpsichord, a

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is concept ...

and a

grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

. Budd described the experience as "uncomfortable, but it sounded pleasant". The theme tune features the sounds of the character's train journey from London to Newcastle. The theme was released as a 7" vinyl single by

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...

in 1971, titled simply ''Carter'' and backed with "Plaything", another piece composed for the soundtrack. Original copies of the record are much sought after by collectors and sell for around £100. The soundtrack—including pieces not used in the film—was originally only available in its entirety in Japan, where it was released on

Odeon Records Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. The label's name and logo come from the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe in Paris. History Straus a ...

. It was released in the UK in 1998 by the Cinephile label, a subsidiary of

Castle Communications Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's product ...

. In 2012, the theme was included on the

Soul Jazz Records Soul Jazz Records is a British record label based in London. Outside of releasing records, the label also publishes books, occasionally films and performs as a DJ set. The music releases labels from a variety of genres, including reggae, house ...

compilation ''British TV, Film and Library Composers''. The film includes other music which is not included on the soundtrack LP. The music playing in the nightclub scene is an uptempo cover of the 1969 Willie Mitchell tune "30-60-90" performed live by the Jack Hawkins Showband, which was the resident band at the Oxford Galleries night club. The pub singer, played by Denea Wilde, performs a cover of "

How About You? "How About You?" is a popular song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by Ralph Freed. (1941 in music) It was introduced in the 1941 film ''Babes on Broadway'' by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. The lyrics of the song are often changed dependi ...

" by Burton Lane and

Ralph Freed Ralph Freed (1 May 1907, Vancouver - February 13, 1973) was a Canadian born American lyricist and television producer. Early Life Born May 1, 1907 to Max Freed and Rosie (Rosza) Grossman who met in Charleston, SC. Ralph married Grace H. Berchma ...

, a song more associated with glamorous Hollywood films than the backrooms of Newcastle pubs. The Pelaw Hussars, a local

juvenile jazz band Juvenile jazz bands are a type of children's marching band that started in the 20th century almost exclusively in working class mining areas of the North of England and the Midlands, with a few bands in the mining areas of Wales. Historically, the ...

and

majorette A majorette is a baton twirler whose twirling performance is often accompanied by dance, movement, or gymnastics; they are primarily associated with marching bands during parades. Majorettes can also spin knives, fire knives, flags, light-up ...

troupe, also appear and perform two numbers, "

When The Saints Go Marching In "When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as simply "The Saints", is a traditional black spiritual. It originated as a Christian hymn and is often played by jazz bands. This song was famously recorded on May 13, 1938, by Louis Armstron ...

" and " Auld Lang Syne".

Release

Theatrical

The world premiere for ''Get Carter'' was held in Los Angeles on 3 February 1971. The film finally opened for general release across the UK on 10 March 1971 and in the US on 18 March, where it was rated 'X' for violence and female nudity, meaning it was for adults only. It was later reclassified as 'R', meaning children under the age of 17 had to be accompanied by an adult. A censored version was released in West Germany on 6 August 1971, with a running time nine minutes shorter than the original. Michael Klinger was involved in promotion of the film in the UK, using the experience from his background as a distributor to conduct a strong advertising campaign.

Teaser poster A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. The ...

s for the film appeared on the front of buses across London, featuring the tagline "Caine is Carter". The original British quad poster with artwork by

Arnaldo Putzu Arnaldo Putzu (6 August 1927 – 1 September 2012) was an Italian artist renowned for his film posters for Italian and British films, such as ''Get Carter'' and the '' Carry On'' films. Biography Born in Rome, the son of an Italian navy officer ...

, in common with many film posters, has aspects or images that differ from the finished screen version. Carter is depicted wearing a gaudy floral jacket, as opposed to the dark raincoat and mohair suit he wears in the film. Asked in 2006, Putzu could not remember his artistic rationale for painting the floral jacket, but said he was painting a lot of flowers in designs at that time. Chibnall describes the

flower power Flower power was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and nonviolence. It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsbe ...

imagery as "what seems like a desperate and misguided attempt to suggest the hipness of a genre which had largely fallen out of favour". However, movie poster expert Sim Branaghan liked its eccentricity, calling it was "that kind of quirkiness you wouldn't get these days". Jonny Trunk of

Trunk Records Trunk Records is a British independent record label, which specialises mainly in lost film scores, unreleased TV music, library music, old advertising jingles, art, sexploitation and kitsch releases. It was founded in 1995 by Jonny Trunk, and ...

—a long-time aficionado of the film and its history—has observed that the floral pattern of Carter's jacket is taken from the distinctive pillow and matching sheet design from the bed in the scene where Britt Ekland writhes naked whilst on the phone to Jack. The poster also places Carter's shotgun in Eric's hands, and features a grappling man and woman who seem to belong to a different film. Promotional shots and poster artwork exist from the film showing Carter holding a

pump-action shotgun Pump action or slide action is a repeating firearm action that is operated manually by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge and typically to ...

; in the finished film, the only shotgun used by Carter is a double-barrelled shotgun, which Carter finds on top of his brother Frank's wardrobe. MGM sold distribution rights to the film in the U.S. to its future subsidiary

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

, which promoted it poorly, amidst worries the cockney dialogue in the opening scene would be unintelligible to U.S. audiences. The film's release was delayed while parts of the film were redubbed, with no great improvement. In the process of redubbing the opening, the version of the film with the original dialogue was lost. For years the version shown on British television was the redubbed American cut. UA placed the film on the declining drive-in movie circuit, where it played at the bottom of a

double bill The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

with ''

Dirty Dingus Magee ''Dirty Dingus Magee'' is a 1970 American comedy revisionist Western film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring Frank Sinatra as the title outlaw and George Kennedy as a sheriff out to capture him. The movie was based on the novel ''The Ballad ...

'', a

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...

for Frank Sinatra. Michael Klinger complained in 1974 to president of UA

Eric Pleskow Eric Pleskow (born Erich Pleskoff; April 24, 1924 – October 1, 2019) was an Austrian-born American film producer and executive. From 1973 through 1978, Pleskow was president of United Artists. Following a protest from Transamerica Corporation, ...

about the lacklustre promotion of ''Carter'', and tried to get him to relinquish the U.S. rights to the film so that Klinger could find a better distributor. The film did not encounter many censorship problems, although the scene where Carter knifes Albert Swift caused concern for the censor John Trevelyan. In South Africa the censor cut out Britt Ekland's phone sex scene, shortening her already brief role; her name was still left on the poster, leaving filmgoers to wonder why she was advertised as appearing.Chibnall, p. 61 A resurgence of critical and public interest in the film in the 1990s led to the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

(BFI) releasing a new print of the film in 1999. It worked with Hodges to restore the film, with Hodges sourcing another set of negatives of the original opening, which were found in the archives of the BBC. The team then

spliced Spliced may refer to: *Spliced, the result of rope splicing Rope splicing in ropework is the forming of a semi-permanent joint between two ropes or two parts of the same rope by partly untwisting and then interweaving their strands. Splices ca ...

the beginning segment onto a high-quality print of the film. The reissue premiered at the

National Film Theatre BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. His ...

and went on general release on 11 June 1999, showing at the

Tyneside Cinema The Tyneside Cinema is an independent cinema in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the city's only full-time independent cultural cinema, specialising in the screening of independent and world cinema from across the globe. The last remaining Newsreel ...

in Newcastle. On 16 March 2022, the BFI announced that they would be partnering with

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment for a re-release of the film at the

BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. His ...

as part of their retrospective program ''Return of the Outsider: The Films of Mike Hodges'', which ran from May 1 to May 31 and included various in-person events such as "Mike Hodges in Conversation" on May 3; this was followed by a wide release in British and Irish cinemas on 27 May. This release utilised a new 4K restoration of the film's original camera negative, which was approved by Hodges.

Home media

Chibnall has established that the film was shown on

LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

in 1976 and 1980 "in a

bowdlerised Expurgation, also known as bowdlerization, is a form of censorship that involves purging anything deemed noxious or offensive from an artistic work or other type of writing or media. The term ''bowdlerization'' is a pejorative term for the practi ...

version" (which edited out Britt Ekland's phone sex scene) and once on

Westward Television Westward Television was the first ITV (TV network), ITV franchise-holder for the South West England, South West of England. It held the franchise from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward Television provided a ...

and on Granada in August 1981, but it was not shown nationally and in its entirety until a post-watershed BBC broadcast in 1986.Chibnall, p. 99 It was finally released on home media in 1993 by MGM/UA as part of its "Elite Collection". Chibnall says "There was no advertising to suggest a significant event had occurred. It was simply a part of the long process of exploiting MGM's back catalogue in the run-up to Christmas". Despite this, the release was given a five-star review in ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'', where it was described as "one of the best British films of the 70s". Chibnall notes "it did not, however, find a place in ''Empire''s top fifty videos of the year". Warner Bros. reissued the film in a special edition on DVD in October 2000 in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Extras included three trailers; the international trailer, an introduction by Michael Caine to the people of Newcastle, and a third featuring Roy Budd playing the opening theme. This format was also used in a 2001 VHS set released by Warner, which included ''Bullit'' and '' Shaft''. Also included on the DVD was

commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

from Caine, Hodges and Suschitzky, constructed from separate interviews with the three. The soundtrack was presented in 1.0 mono Dolby Digital. The film was bundled in the 2008 "Movies That Matter – 70's Classics" DVD set with ''

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapt ...

'' and ''

Dog Day Afternoon ''Dog Day Afternoon'' is a 1975 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick, and Charles Durning. The screenplay is wr ...

''. It is available from the

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

as a Made on Demand (MOD) DVD-R or a download, with the same extras as the 2000 release, although with only two trailers and this time in 16:9 ratio. ''Get Carter'' was released on Blu-ray Disc by Warner on April 22, 2014; this release features the same extras as the special edition DVD, but due to a manufacturing error, American pressings of the disc utilize the dubbed American version of the opening sequence instead of the original audio. This change was carried over to the initial British pressings of the disc, but was later reversed following public backlash; later British pressings sold by outlets such as

Amazon UK Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

feature the original audio track. BFI Video released its 4K restoration of ''Get Carter'' on August 1, 2022 on standard and

Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...

; the two-disc sets include the special features of earlier home media releases of the film, as well as a new audio commentary with critics

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at ...

and

Barry Forshaw Barry Forshaw is a writer, broadcaster and journalist whose books include '' British Crime Writing: An Encyclopedia'', '' The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction'', '' Brit Noir'', '' British Gothic Cinema'', ''Nordic Noir'', '' Sex and Film'', '' Euro N ...

, an isolated music track, interviews with Hodges,

founder Jonny Trunk, actress Petra Markham and Michael Klinger's son Tony,

Philip Trevelyan Philip Erasmus Trevelyan (born 22 August 1943) is a British organic hill farmer, entrepreneur and former film and television director, most noted for the 1971 documentary film '' The Moon and the Sledgehammer''. Early life He is the son of the ar ...

's 1966 documentary film ''The Ship Hotel, Tyne Main'', a booklet containing various essays on the film and other paraphernalia, postcards and a double-sided poster for both the restoration and a replication of the original UK poster art.

Reception

Critical response

Describing the initial critical response to the film, Steve Chibnall wrote "Initial critical vilification or indifference establishes the conditions in which a cult can flourish. ''Get Carter'' had to make do with ambivalence". He thought the general stance of British critics "was to admire the film's power and professionalism while condemning its amorality and excessive violence".Chibnall, p. 92 Geoff Mayer observed that "Mainstream critics at the time were dismayed by the film's complex plotting and Carter's lack of remorse". In '' Sight and Sound'',

Tom Milne Tom Milne (2 April 1926 – 14 December 2005) was a British film critic. See also After war service, he studied English and French at Aberdeen University and later at the Sorbonne. Interested in the theatre too, he wrote for the magazine ' ...

said the film was well-constructed and had good characterisation, but lacked the mystery and charisma of the earlier American crime films it attempted to emulate. He found Carter's motivations were inconsistent, either being an avenging angel or an "authentic post-permissive anti-hero, revelling in the casual sadism". In contrast, Nigel Andrews found the characters to be clichéd archetypes of the criminal underworld, such as the "homosexual chauffeur, bloated tycoon, glamorous mistress", describing the film as "perfunctory". Richard Weaver in '' Films and Filming'' praised the realism of the film, describing it as "crime at its most blatant", while

George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...

writing in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' confessed to vicarious enjoyment of it, but admitted it was "like a bottle of neat gin swallowed before breakfast. It's intoxicating all right, but it'll do you no good". Steve Chibnall writes that "America was rather more used to hard-boiled storytelling" and that reviewers there were "more prepared than British criticism to treat ''Get Carter'' as a serious work",Chibnall, p. 93

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...

admiring its "calculated soullessness" and wondering if it signalled a "new genre of virtuoso viciousness". US publication '' Box Office'' gave a cautiously approving review, describing the film as "nasty, violent and sexy all at once". It predicted that "It should please in the action market, but won't win any laurels for Caine although his portrayal of the vicious anti-hero impresses". The reviewer also opined that "Tighter editing would help considerably". Roger Ebert was less reserved in his praise, writing that "the movie has a sure touch". He noted the "proletarian detail" of the film which is "unusual in a British detective movie. Usually we get all flash and no humanity, lots of fancy camera tricks but no feel for the criminal strata of society". Of Caine's performance he wrote, "The character created by Caine is particularly interesting. He's tough and ruthless, but very quiet and charged with a terrible irony".

Judith Crist Judith Crist (; May 22, 1922 – August 7, 2012) was an American film critic and academic. She appeared regularly on the ''Today'' show from 1964 to 1973 Martin, Douglas (August 8, 2012)"Judith Crist, Zinging and Influential Film Critic, ...

in '' New York'' magazine gave a glowing review, saying "Michael Caine is superb, suave and sexy" and describing the film as "a hard, mean and satisfying zinger of the old tough-tec school done in frank contemporary terms". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' also praised the film, saying it "not only maintains interest but conveys with rare artistry, restraint and clarity the many brutal, sordid and gamy plot turns". However,

Jay Cocks John C. "Jay" Cocks Jr. (born January 12, 1944) is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is a graduate of Kenyon College.Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' was disparaging, calling the film "a doggedly nasty piece of business" and comparing it unfavourably to ''

Point Blank Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel paral ...

''. The film appeared on several US critics' lists of best films of the year. In Michael Klinger's ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' obituary in 1989,

Derek Malcolm Derek Elliston Michael Malcolm (born 12 May 1932) is an English film critic. Son of J. Douglas Malcolm (died 1967) and Dorothy Vera (died 1964; née Elliston-Taylor), Malcolm was educated at Eton College and Merton College, Oxford. As a child h ...

remembered the film as "one of the most formidable British thrillers of its time". On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of 87% based on 38 reviews; the site's critical consensus reads "Darkly entertaining and tightly wound, ''Get Carter'' is a gritty revenge story done right". In 2003, Steve Chibnall observed a large gender imbalance in voting on the film up to April 2002, with less than 6% of votes cast (where the voters gave their gender) by women (53 out of 947). He also noticed a substantial increase in women voting on the film in the eight months leading up to April 2002.

Box office

''Get Carter'' was a financial success, and according to Steve Chibnall its box office takings were "very respectable". On its opening week at

ABC2 ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment pr ...

cinema at

Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadilly C ...

, London, it broke the house record, taking £8,188. It out-performed ''

Up Pompeii ''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the second series by Rothwell and S ...

'', which was showing in the larger ABC1. It also performed strongly when moved to the ABCs in

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

and

Fulham Road Fulham Road is a street in London, England, which comprises the A304 and part of the A308. Overview Fulham Road ( the A219) runs from Putney Bridge as "Fulham High Street" and then eastward to Fulham Broadway, in the London Borough of Hamme ...

. On its general release in the North of England, Chibnall notes it had a "very strong first week", before an unseasonal heatwave damaged cinema attendance. Chibnall writes that "Interestingly, although he film'sdownbeat and unsentimental tone is now thought to express the mood of its times, the mass cinema audience preferred '' Love Story'' (Arthur Hiller 1970), which remained the most popular film in Britain throughout ''Get Carters run". It was the sixth-most popular "general release" movie at the British box office in 1971.

Accolades

At the time of its release, the only recognition the film received was a 1972 BAFTA Awards nomination for Ian Hendry as Best Supporting Actor. In 1999, ''Get Carter'' was ranked 16th on the

of the 20th century; five years later, a survey of British film critics in ''

'' magazine chose it as the greatest British film of all time. In 2008 the film was placed at 225 on ''

''s 500 Best Movies of All Time list, which was selected by over 10,000 ''Empire'' readers, 150 filmmakers and 50 film critics. In October 2010 the critics from ''The Guardian'' newspaper placed the film on their list of "Greatest Films of All Time", placing it at number 7 in the 25 greatest crime films. In the accompanying poll conducted amongst ''Guardian'' readers, it was voted fifth. In 2011 Time Out London placed the film at 32 in its 100 Best British Films list, which was selected by a panel of 150 film industry experts.

Remakes

In 1972, MGM released the Blaxploitation film ''

'', written and directed by

George Armitage George Brendan Armitage (born March 2, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed the films '' Miami Blues'' (1990) and '' Grosse Pointe Blank'' (1997). He worked frequently with Roger Corman. Life and career Ar ...

and produced by

Gene Corman Eugene Harold "Gene" Corman (September 24, 1927 – September 28, 2020) was an American film producer and agent. He and his older brother, Roger, co-founded New World Pictures. Biography Corman entered the film industry before his brother, wo ...

; the film's credits identify Lewis' ''Jack's Return Home'' as its basis. This marked the second time that Corman had produced a Blaxploitation film based on a novel that had previously been adapted for film following '' Cool Breeze'' (1972), the fourth adaptation of

W. R. Burnett William Riley Burnett (November 25, 1899 April 25, 1982) was an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for the crime novel ''Little Caesar'', the film adaptation of which is considered the first of the classic American gangster ...

's ''

The Asphalt Jungle ''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American film noir heist film directed by John Huston. Based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city. The film stars Sterling Hayden and L ...

''. However, Hodges and critics have identified ''Hit Man'' as a remake of ''Get Carter'', transposing the action from Newcastle to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. The film stars

Bernie Casey Bernard Terry Casey (June 8, 1939 – September 19, 2017) was an American actor, poet and professional American football player. Early life Casey was born in Wyco, West Virginia, the son of Flossie (Coleman) and Frank Leslie Casey. He graduated ...

as Tyrone Tackett, the story's counterpart to Jack Carter, while Glenda is reimagined as Gozelda, a "sultry skin flick star" portrayed by

Pam Grier Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star (although, there are some who dispute that claim and believe Cheng Pei-pei actually holds that distinc ...

. Armitage has revealed that he had not seen ''Get Carter'' at the time he worked on the film, and that Corman had given him an untitled copy of Hodges' script, asking him to rewrite it in an African-American context; he did not learn that the film was based on ''Get Carter'' until he was informed by his agent. While the films share several plot details and treatments, such as a sniper aiming at Carter/Tackett on a rocky beach, ''Hit Man'' includes several divergences from ''Get Carter'', including a scene in which Gozelda is mauled to death by tigers, and does not end with the main character's death. Hodges and Klinger were incensed by MGM's decision to remake the film, as they considered ''Hit Man'' inferior to ''Get Carter''; Lewis later claimed that he never received any royalties from ''Hit Man''. The film was released by Warner Archive Collection as a MOD DVD-R on May 4, 2010. Warner Bros., which holds the rights to the pre-1986 MGM library, produced a remake of ''Get Carter'' in 2000 under the same title, starring Sylvester Stallone as Jack Carter. Originally announced in 1997,

Tarsem Singh Tarsem Singh Dhandwar (born 26 May 1961), known professionally as Tarsem, is an Indian director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials. He directed ''The Cell'' (2000), '' The Fall'' (2006, also screenwriter and producer), '' I ...

and

Samuel Bayer Samuel David Bayer (born February 17, 1962) is an American visual artist, cinematographer, and commercial, music video and film director. Bayer was born in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from New York City's School of Visual Arts in 1987 with ...

were considered to direct the film before Stephen Kay signed on, with David McKenna writing the script. As with ''Hit Man'', the film credited Ted Lewis' ''Jack's Return Home'' as its source, not Hodges' film, and again it contains scenes that are directly borrowed from the original, such as the opening train ride. Michael Caine appears as Cliff Brumby, in what

Elvis Mitchell Elvis Mitchell (born December 6, 1958) is an American film critic, host of the public radio show ''The Treatment'', and visiting lecturer at Harvard University. He has served as a film critic for the ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', the ''LA Weekly ...

described as "a role that will increase regard for the original", speculating that "maybe that was his intention".

Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles i ...

plays the villain Cyrus Paice. The remake was compared unfavourably to the original by the majority of reviewers. The consensus opinion of critics on Rotten Tomatoes was that it was "a remake that doesn't approach the standard of the original, ''Get Carter'' will likely leave viewers confused and unsatisfied. Also, reviews are mixed concerning Stallone's acting". It was so badly received on its US release that Warner Bros. decided not to give it a UK theatrical release, anticipating the film would be savaged by British critics and fans. Elvis Mitchell in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote "it's so minimally plotted that not only does it lack subtext or context, but it also may be the world's first movie without even a

text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including: **Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred **Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...

". Mike Hodges said in 2003 he had still not seen the remake, but was informed by a friend that it was "unspeakable". His son brought him a DVD of the film back from Hong Kong and he tried to watch it, but the region format was incompatible "so we put it in the dustbin". The film was voted the worst remake of all time in 2004 by users of British DVD rental website ScreenSelect (precursor of

Lovefilm LoveFilm was a United Kingdom–based provider of DVD-by-mail and streaming video on demand in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany. Acquired by Amazon.com in 2011, the service had reached 2 million subscribers. It claimed ...

). The remake was released on Region 1 DVD on February 13, 2001 by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Legacy

Tom Cox writes that many British film makers "have stolen from Hodges without matching the cold, realistic kick" of ''Get Carter''. Films such as ''

The Long Good Friday ''The Long Good Friday'' is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe, starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. Set in London, the storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, ...

'', ''

Face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

'' and ''

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' is a 1998 British black comedy crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, produced by Matthew Vaughn and starring an ensemble cast featuring Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Steven Ma ...

'' borrow from the film's blueprint. Steven Soderbergh's 1999 film ''

The Limey ''The Limey'' is a 1999 American crime film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Lem Dobbs. The film features Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán, Barry Newman, Nicky Katt, and Peter Fonda. The plot concerns an English career ...

'' is a homage to ''Get Carter'' and other British gangster films, and contains similar plot elements and themes of revenge, family and corruption. Soderbergh said he envisioned ''The Limey'' as "''Get Carter'' made by

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included ...

Shane Meadows Shane Meadows (born 26 December 1972) is an English director, screenwriter and actor, known for his work in independent film, most notably the cult film '' This Is England'' (2006) and its three sequels (2010–2015). Meadows' other films i ...

' film '' Dead Man's Shoes'' has also drawn comparisons to ''Get Carter'', being similarly a revenge gangster story set around a provincial English town. The production team of the television series ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

'' also cited ''Get Carter'' as one of their influences for the programme. The film's music also enjoyed its own resurgence in popularity, as it tapped into a 1990s interest in vintage film soundtracks. Portishead's

Adrian Utley Adrian Francis Utley (born 27 April 1957) is an English musician and producer, and a member of the band Portishead.Jurek, ThomAdrian Utley Biography, Allmusic. Retrieved 31 December 2016 Career Born in Northampton,Mejia, Paula (2015)In Search ...

explained that they found the music to ''Get Carter'' inspiring as "it was done quickly and cheaply with only a few instruments, and it had to be intensely creative to disguise its limitations".

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

album '' Dare'' contains a track covering the ''Get Carter'' theme, although it was only a version of the sparse leitmotif that opens and closes the film as opposed to the full-blooded jazz piece that accompanies the train journey.

Stereolab Stereolab are an Anglo- French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repeti ...

also covers Roy Budd's theme on their album '' Aluminum Tunes'', although they call their version "Get Carter", as opposed to its proper title, "Main Theme (Carter Takes A Train)". This Stereolab version was subsequently used as a sample in the song "Got Carter" by 76. The Finnish rock band

Laika & the Cosmonauts Laika & the Cosmonauts were a Finnish rock band. They had the same lineup from the time they formed in 1987 until they stopped recording in 2008. The band was named after Laika, a Soviet space dog that died on board Sputnik 2 in 1957. Their soun ...

cover the film's theme on their 1995 album ''The Amazing Colossal Band''. BB Davis & the Red Orchidstra released a version of the film's title theme in 1999.

Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...

produced a dub cover version of the theme tune in 2009. Wobble had long been a fan of the bassline of the track, saying in a 2004 interview with ''The Independent'' that "There are some bass lines that contain the whole mystery of creation within them".

References

;Bibliography * Steve Chibnall: ''Get Carter''. British Film Guides #6. I.B. Taurus, 2003, .

External links

* * * * {{Authority control 1971 films 1971 directorial debut films 1970s crime thriller films British crime thriller films British films about revenge British gangster films EMI Films films 1970s English-language films Films about dysfunctional families Films about murderers Films based on British novels Films directed by Mike Hodges Films scored by Roy Budd Films set in Newcastle upon Tyne Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Films shot in County Durham Films shot in Northumberland Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1970s British films British neo-noir films 1971 crime films

Plot

Cast

Production

Development

Pre-production

Filming

Post-production and music

Release

Theatrical

Home media

Reception

Critical response

Box office

Accolades

Remakes

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links