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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)
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Popularity
3,673 ( 702)
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Caine ... Jack Carter
Ian Hendry ... Eric Paice
Britt Ekland ... Anna
John Osborne John Osborne ... Cyril Kinnear
Tony Beckley ... Peter the Dutchman
George Sewell ... Con McCarty
Geraldine Moffat ... Glenda (as Geraldine Moffatt)
Dorothy White Dorothy White ... Margaret
Rosemarie Dunham Rosemarie Dunham ... Edna
Petra Markham Petra Markham ... Doreen Carter
Alun Armstrong ... Keith
Bryan Mosley ... Cliff Brumby
Glynn Edwards ... Albert Swift
Bernard Hepton ... Thorpe
Terence Rigby ... Gerald Fletcher
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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 cyborg in The Terminator (1984), or Walker in Point Blank (1967), and he and the other characters in this movie are prone to sudden, brutal acts of violence. Written by Mark Thompson <mrt@oasis.icl.co.uk>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

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

Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was remade into Get Carter (2000) starring Sylvester Stallone as Jack Carter and Michael Caine as Cliff Brumby. See more »

Goofs

At around 1:18:30 as Jacks shoves the soggy Glenda into the boot of her car, in the top left of the screen the balding head of the driver can be seen hunched over trying not be seen in-shot. As Michael Caine didn't drive (manual transmission at least), this is presumably the person who drives the car away. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Gerald Fletcher: Bollock 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

The UK cinema release was cut to get an "X" rating by the BBFC with the stabbing of Albert edited to remove some shots of the knife. Director Mike Hodges later admitted that "The less you see of the knife, the more effective the scene is". The cuts were waived in 1993. See more »


Soundtracks

Gettin' Nowhere In a Hurry
Music by Roy Budd
Lyrics by Jack Fishman
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User Reviews

Cold, Hard, and Glistening
30 April 2012 | by dougdoepkeSee all my reviews

The movie's an ice-cold exercise in revenge, with a no-nonsense script and a first-rate turn by Caine as the heck-bent avenger. Someone killed his brother and, by golly, they're going to pay along with anyone else who gets in his way. The idea's not new; what's different is that Carter (Caine) has almost no redeeming qualities. He's about as cold blooded as the worst of the gangsters he confronts. Rooting for him is like rooting for a stomach pain over a headache.

Then too, Caine's ice-blue eyes are put to good use in sizing up his targets. And catch that gear shifting in the fast car timed to coincide with Carter's fast action on the bed. At last the subtext of all those sleek auto advertisements is revealed, this time in high octane. I just wish we saw more of Ms. Ekland, both literally and especially figuratively. And if that's not enough, catch that great ending. It's a marvel of imaginative staging and a perfect cap to what's gone before. Anyway, the movie reminds me of a polished piece of glass-- just about as cold and shiny and needing no depth. I couldn't stop looking at it.


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Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 1971 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Get Carter See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

GBP750,000 (estimated)
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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