''Pulp'' is a 1972 British

comedy thriller Comedy thrillers are a hybrid genre that draw subject matter generally from comedy and thrillers. Criteria They often include a darker tone, relative to other genres, of humor. List of comedy thriller films * '' The Big Fix'' (1978) * ''Chara ...

film, 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 ...

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 ...

as Mickey King, a writer of cheap paperback detective novels. The film features the final screen appearance of

Lizabeth Scott Lizabeth Virginia Scott (born Emma Matzo; September 29, 1921 – January 31, 2015) was an American actress, singer and model for the Walter Thornton Model Agency, known for her "smoky voice" and being "the most beautiful face of film noir durin ...

. ''Pulp'', originally titled ''Memoirs of a Ghost Writer'', was almost entirely shot on the island of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Facilities were provided by the then Malta Film Facilities and Intermed Sound Studio, later known as Britannia Film Sound Studios.

Plot

Writer Mickey King lives in

churning out a string of violent, sexually charged

hardboiled Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence o ...

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...

novels under an array of lewd

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s like " S. Odomy". King is offered an abnormally large sum to ghostwrite the autobiography of a mystery celebrity. The intrigued King agrees and is transported to a remote island, during which time he will make contact with a representative for the celebrity. King meets a man named Miller, who identifies himself as an English professor. King assumes Miller is the mysterious contact—until discovering Miller dead in his bathtub after a hotel room mix-up. Finally arriving on the island, King meets his subject: Preston Gilbert. A retired movie star, Gilbert is known for portraying

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 ...

s and notorious for hanging out with real-life mobsters off the set. Now suffering from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, the pompous, vain Gilbert wants King to immortalize his life story before he dies. Gilbert is planning a fancy birthday celebration. Among the attendees is Princess Betty Cippola, a man-hungry social climber who seems to have a sordid history with Gilbert. However, after the party is underway and Gilbert has staged a

practical joke A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

, Miller returns, now dressed as a Catholic priest. Sensing danger, King flees as Miller opens fire, killing Gilbert. The partygoers assume it's another prank, and applaud as Gilbert dies. Gilbert's death leaves King with no conclusion to his tale. Playing detective like the heroes of his stories, King pieces together the mystery. He learns that Gilbert's proposed autobiography has alarmed several of the actor's erstwhile associates, who worry their schemes and crimes might be exposed.

Cast

as Mickey King *

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

as Preston Gilbert *

Lionel Stander Lionel Jay Stander (January 11, 1908 – November 30, 1994) was an American actor in films, radio, theater and television. He is best remembered for his role as majordomo Max on the 1980s mystery television series '' Hart to Hart''. Early ...

as Ben Dinuccio *

as Princess Betty Cippola *

Nadia Cassini Gianna Lou Cassini ( Müller; born January 2, 1949), better known with her stage name Nadia Cassini, is a retired American actress, singer and showgirl who became famous in Italian exploitation films of the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in ...

as Liz Adams *

Dennis Price Dennistoun Franklyn John Rose Price (23 June 1915 – 6 October 1973) was an English actor, best remembered for his role as Louis Mazzini in the film '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) and for his portrayal of the omnicompetent valet Jeeve ...

as The Englishman * Al Lettieri as Miller *

Leopoldo Trieste Leopoldo Trieste (3 May 1917 – 25 January 2003) was an Italian actor, film director and script writer. Trieste was born in Reggio Calabria. He worked with directors such as Pietro Germi, Francis Ford Coppola, Giuseppe Tornatore, Mario Bava, ...

as Marcovic *

Amerigo Tot Amerigo Tot (born Imre Tóth; 27 September 1909 – 13 December 1984) was a Hungarian sculptor and occasional actor. Born in Fehérvárcsurgó, Austria-Hungary he moved to Rome towards the end of the 1920s, where he lived for the rest of his li ...

as Partisan *

Robert Sacchi Robert Patsy Sacchi (March 27, 1932 – June 23, 2021) was an Italian-American character actor who, since the 1970s, was known for his close resemblance to Humphrey Bogart. He appeared in many films and TV shows playing either Bogart or a charac ...

as The Bogeyman *

Ave Ninchi Ave Maria Ninchi (14 December 1914 – 10 November 1997) was an Italian supporting actress who played character roles on stage, television, and in over 98 feature films that included ''Tomorrow Is Too Late'' (1949) and Louis Malle's ''Murmur ...

as Fat Chambermaid

References

External links

* * * {{Mike Hodges 1972 films 1970s comedy thriller films British comedy thriller films 1970s parody films British parody films Films about writers Films directed by Mike Hodges Films set in Italy Films shot in Malta British neo-noir films United Artists films 1970s English-language films Films scored by George Martin 1972 comedy films 1970s British films