Get Carter (1971)

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

Director:

Mike Hodges

Writers:

Mike Hodges (screenplay), Ted Lewis (novel)

Stars:

Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, Britt Ekland

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Carter
Alun Armstrong	...	Keith
Bryan Mosley	...	Cliff Brumby
Glynn Edwards	...	Albert Swift
Bernard Hepton	...	Thorpe
Terence Rigby	...	Gerald Fletcher

Storyline

A vicious London gangster, Jack Carter, travels to Newcastle for his brother's funeral. He begins to suspect that his brother's death was not an accident and sets out to follow a complex trail of lies, deceit, cover-ups and backhanders through Newcastle's underworld, leading, he hopes, to the man who ordered his brother killed. Because of his ruthlessness, Carter exhibits all the unstopability of the android in Terminator, or Walker in Point Blank, and he and the other characters in the film are prone to sudden, brutal acts of violence.

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | newcastle upon tyne | death of brother | hitman | revenge | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jack rechnet ab

Filming Locations:

Blackhall Beach, County Durham, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 103 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jack's shotgun has more significance in the novel, as it symbolizes family ties, and Carter's memories of more innocent times, hunting with his brother.

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Goofs

During the nightclub scene where Jack is tracking down Thorpie; Thorpe pushes past two men coming up from the toilets/cloakrooms. When Jack arrives in the toilets moments later one of the men Thorpe passed on the stairs going to the toilet can be seen combing his hair.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gerald Fletcher: Bare ass naked with his socks still on?
Sid Fletcher: Yeah, they do it like that - up North.
Gerald Fletcher: What for? For protective purposes?

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Alternate Versions

According to director Mike Hodges on the R2 commentary, when ITV first showed the film, the phone sex scene had been shortened.

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Connections

Featured in The Man Who Got Carter (2018)

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Soundtracks

Something On My Mind
Music by Roy Budd
Lyrics by Jack Fishman

User Reviews

A Masterpiece of Grittiness

This is one of Caine's best roles and undoubtedly one of the greatest gangster/crime films ever made. It is unrelentingly harsh, gritty, and bleak in showing the nasty world of Carter.

Few characters are truly likable or admirable and most have a mix of good and bad. This applies to Carter himself and even the bystanders or victims. Everyone is portrayed as flawed somehow, even those who are tragic. This is one of many aspects that adds to the realism of this film.

This grittiness is true not only of the world of crime, but the entire world of the early post-industrial Northern England, once at the forefront of the industrial revolution but by then a depressed backwater that had yet to feel the true benefits of recent social and economic changes. It thus provides some subtle social commentary as well, although one may easily miss it.

In addition to its raw grittiness, the film is also very intense. There is a building tension throughout, and a palpable that things are not right. At the same time, the events, in particular the action and violence are rather slow but relentless.

In fact, the way the film presents the violence and action is one of the keys to its greatness. It is an unusual, fascinating, and very powerful depiction. There isn't gore or even lots of blood or the like and, like the rest of the film, it generally progresses slowly and calmly. It's not exhilarating or glamorous, but instead deliberate, relentless, and, above all, cold. The coldness of the violence and how Carter in particular, but others as well, kill and hurt in an unfeeling, perfunctory manner makes it seem all the more harsh.

Another interesting aspect of the film is the juxtaposition of the idea that someone can force or change events around him against the feeling that one can merely react to events beyond his control. Both of these themes seem to clash in Carter and his actions, for one of these themes may at times appear to be what's happening, yet in the end it seems that the other exerts its dominance.

Ultimately, this is superb, extremely gritty, and powerful drama. It contains action and violence, but it is not an action film and most expecting a non-stop action film, with flashy fighting, "getting the bad guys," etc. may well be bored.