Get Carter (1971)

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:

In the first shot in the long bar, the second local man to stare at Jack Carter actually has five fingers and a thumb. This was a genuine abnormality of the 'extra' who played the part. It can be seen as he raises his glass of beer to drink.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the police raid Kinnear's mansion one of the police vehicles that drives in is strangely the same blue Land Rover that Eric, Peter and Con used in several scenes earlier in the movie.

Quotes:

Jack Carter: [to Margaret] I've come for you, Margaret.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Shaft (1971)

The ultimate in British gangster chic

If Shakespeare could have written a gangster movie, "Get Carter" would surely be the one. Jack Carter is the 1970s embodiment of classical tragic heroes like Hamlet or Macbeth. Also, in the finest Shakespearian tradition, as the film reaches its climax, the bodies begin to mount with alarming rapidity.

The film is initially a slow-burner, but what is arguably a career-best performance from Michael Caine sustains interest until the plot begins, in every sense, to kick in. And when it does, there's no stopping it, as Carter ruthlessly, and recklessly, sets about dealing with his enemies.

The industrial city of Newcastle is depicted as gritty, seedy and unapologetically working class. The grainy camerawork gives the impression that this is a real-life documentary rather than a gangster flick.

Probably every British gangster movie since has used "Get Carter" as a benchmark, particularly "The Long Good Friday", or even the revoltingly trendy "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Any why shouldn't they? For the ultimate British gangster icon, you need look no further than Jack Carter and his silver Ford Cortina.

A genuine classic.