Pulp (1972)

A seedy writer of sleazy pulp novels is recruited by a quirky, reclusive ex-actor to help him write his biography at his house in Malta.

Director:

Mike Hodges

Writer:

Mike Hodges

Stars:

Michael Caine, Mickey Rooney, Lionel Stander

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Caine	...	Mickey King
Mickey Rooney	...	Preston Gilbert
Lionel Stander	...	Ben Dinuccio
Lizabeth Scott	...	Betty Cippola
Nadia Cassini	...	Liz
Dennis Price	...	The Englishman
Al Lettieri	...	Miller
Leopoldo Trieste	...	Marcovic
Amerigo Tot	...	Partisan
Robert Sacchi	...	The Bogeyman (as Roberto Sacchi)
Giulio Donnini	...	Typing Pool Manager
Joe Zammit Cordina	...	The Beautiful Thing
Luciano Pigozzi	...	Clairvoyant
Maria Cumani Quasimodo	...	Office Manageress (as Maria Quasimodo)
Liù Bosisio	...	1st Typist (as Liu Bosisio)

Storyline

Michael King is a seedy writer of sleazy pulp genre novels under a half dozen sensational pseudonyms whose ambition is to dictate 10,000 words per minute to stenographers a la Earle Stanley Gardner. He's recruited by the agent of Preston Gilbert, a quirky ex-Hollywood star currently living reclusively in exile in Malta, to help him write his biography. Despite being pursued by an enigmatic hit man, Gilbert has a large entourage of eccentrics and remains an inveterate practical joker. After Gilbert is eventually murdered by an apparent priest, King tries to stay alive himself while interacting with a variety of idiosyncratic characters including an ersatz princess, a henpecked clairvoyant, and a cross-dressing hit man.

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Plot Keywords:

princess | eccentric | stenographer | clairvoyant | exile | 

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Taglines:

Write it. Live it. But try not to be it.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Memoirs of a Ghostwriter

Filming Locations:

Malta

Company Credits

Production Co:

Three Michaels Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original title was "Memoirs of a Ghostwriter".

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Quotes

Mickey King: Then I read in The Guiness Book of Records about Erle Stanley Gardner, the world's fastest writer, who can dictate up to the rate of 10,000 words a day. That was for me. None of that romantic stuff with a typewriter. I had better uses for those two particular fingers.

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Crazy Credits

and introducing NADIA CASSINI

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Connections

References The Pink Panther (1963)

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Soundtracks

"In a Quiet Corner"
(uncredited)
Written by William Millen, Jack Hylton and Reginald Connelly

User Reviews

Limp...

Dryly irreverent, but sadly unfunny satire of detective movies, with stony-faced Michael Caine playing a British author of trashy crime stories traveling to the Mediterraean to assist in writing the memoirs of a would-be gangster; soon, he realizes he's being followed and his life is in danger. Caine narrates the proceedings with considerable sly wit and low-keyed sarcasm, but his actual performance is bereft of energy (Caine's shrill bursts of anger or frustration seem to come out of nowhere, and he connects with nobody on the screen). Other cast members (particularly Mickey Rooney, a silver-haired Lionel Stander, and Lizabeth Scott) do very well in colorfully outré roles, though Al Lettieri has an insulting part as an apparent cross-dressing homosexual (Lettieri gets insulted without being able to defend himself, an unenviable position). Writer-director Mike Hodges has the germ of a good idea (satirize the detective movies of the 1940s without compromising the hard-boiled talk and milieu), but he hasn't a very sharp sense of humor. When a Bogart lookalike--asking a question about a falcon--is the best joke, what follows is anemic indeed. ** from ****