Get Carter (1971)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Mike Hodges

Writers:

Mike Hodges (screenplay)
Ted Lewis (novel)

Release Date:

18 March 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

What happens when a professional killer violates the code? Get Carter!

Plot:

When his brother dies under mysterious circumstances in a car accident, London gangster Jack Carter travels to Newcastle to investigate.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Betting | Pedophilia | Informer | Mini Cooper

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Jack Carter
Ian Hendry	...	Eric Paice
Britt Ekland	...	Anna
John Osborne	...	Cyril Kinnear
Tony Beckley	...	Peter the Dutchman
George Sewell	...	Con McCarty
Geraldine Moffat	...	Glenda (as Geraldine Moffatt)
Dorothy White	...	Margaret
Rosemarie Dunham	...	Edna
Petra Markham	...	Doreen
Alun Armstrong	...	Keith
Bryan Mosley	...	Cliff Brumby
Glynn Edwards	...	Albert Swift
Bernard Hepton	...	Thorpe
Terence Rigby	...	Gerald Fletcher

Runtime:

112 min | West Germany:103 min (cut version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | West Germany:18 (nf) | Australia:M | Canada:14A (video rating) | Finland:K-18 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (cut) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Ireland:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:18 (re-rating) | UK:X (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Trivia:

Mike Hodges had 'Ian Hendry' in mind for the part of Jack Carter. According to Hodges, Hendry never forgave Caine for usurping him in the role and this caused resentment between the two stars on the set, resulting in the undisguised friction seen on the screen.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Shadow of camera clearly visible after Carter slaps Margaret on the bridge.

Quotes:

Eric: So, what're you doing then? On your holidays?
Jack Carter: No, I'm visiting relatives.
Eric: Oh, that's nice.
Jack Carter: It would be... if they were still living.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Interview with Chris Petit and Keith Griffiths (2008) (V)

One Of The Best British Films Ever Made

Michael Caine has often said that GET CARTER was the first gangster movie not to portray gangsters as either being stupid or funny . He`s right , but he could also have added that this was probably the first film not to show gangsters as being sexy in anyway . Sure Glenda , Magaret etc might be physically attractive but sexy ? I don`t think so . And the men aren`t any less unattractive , almost all of them are cowardly two faced weasels or violent thugs and often these character traits overlap.

Director Mike Hodges has made a bleak , nihilistic classic film . He isn`t flashy unlike present day film makers associated with gangster flicks but that`s not a criticism . I love the way Hodges makes use of the locations in showing the North East of England as a cold , austere windswept urban area of high rise council estates and red brick terraced houses with outside toilets . There is a train of thought that by showing the audience all this it dates the film but it`s also true that it reminds us that living standards are also different today . No one takes a phone call in the pub because everyone has a mobile phone nowadays , the internet and videos have replaced slide shows and silent 8mm as the medium for porn , and it`s now illegal to dump the slag from coal mining into the sea because of EU regulations

GET CARTER also has some really great dialogue which I could sit here all day quoting . But I won`t bother except to say my favourite line is when Carter jumps out of bed naked and holds a gun on Con and Peter

Con : Put it away jack you know you won`t use it

Peter : The gun he`s talking about

classic dialogue from a classic film