The Harder They Come (1972)

Wishing to become a successful Reggae singer, a young Jamaican man finds himself tied to corrupt record producers and drug pushers.

Director:

Perry Henzell

Writers:

Perry Henzell, Trevor D. Rhone

Stars:

Jimmy Cliff, Janet Bartley, Carl Bradshaw

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jimmy Cliff	...	Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin
Janet Bartley	...	Elsa
Carl Bradshaw	...	Jose Smith
Ras Daniel Hartman	...	Pedro
Basil Keane	...	Preacher
Bob Charlton	...	Hilton
Winston Stona	...	Detective Ray Jones
Lucia White	...	Mother
Volair Johnson	...	Pushcart Boy
Beverly Anderson	...	Housewife
Clover Lewis	...	Market Woman
Elijah Chambers	...	Longa
Prince Buster	...	DJ at Dance
Ed 'Bim' Lewis	...	Photographer
Bobby Loban	...	Fitz

Storyline

With dreams of becoming a successful Reggae singer, a young Jamaican man finds corruption from his record producers and the drug pushers they're connected to. Rather than fail his dreams Ivan lets nothing stand in his way, not even the law.

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Plot Keywords:

jamaica | revenge | west indies | reggae | singer | 

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Taglines:

dem a loot, dem a shoot, dem a wail in shanty town (British DVD tag-line)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The car Ivan steals from the Skyline Hotel is a 1970 Mercury Cougar convertible.

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Quotes

Mother: What you come to town for?
Ivan Martin: Grandma dead.
Mother: Dead? Dead? How she can dead and I never know?
Ivan Martin: We tried to get you, but the telegram came back.
Mother: And when she going to bury?
Ivan Martin: She buried already, Momma.
Mother: Bury already? Buried already and I never get to go to the funeral? Oh, God. Oh, God...

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Alternate Versions

Because of the thick accents, and the extensive use of Jamaican slang, the U.S. release prints contained English subtitles.

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Connections

Featured in Reggae: The Story of Jamaican Music (2002)

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Soundtracks

Rivers of Babylon
Performed by The Melodians
Composed by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton

User Reviews

A film that has changed

I think "The Harder They Come" has been cut and re-cut many times over the years. I saw a current version of it recently, and it was not the same film I saw in 1972. There were many scenes I recall that were missing. I suspect no one commenting about the film on this site has seen the original 1972 release.

I have read that it was originally a revolutionary film, but was reduced to an anti-drug cliché diatribe through much re-editing.

When you saw it, did you see the following two things:

(1) On two occasions, when Jimmy Cliff's character got caned, they showed him stretched over a barrel with his penis hanging through a hole. Then he lost his water when the policeman hit him. They showed a close up of his penis hanging there with water coming out.

(2) When his character's new record became popular, a scene with a highly effeminate DJ, who used "love" and "lover" in every sentence, taking a telephone request for the record. "Hello Lover, this is Bob's love line. What do you want to hear, Lover?" Or some such.

I did not see these scenes when I saw the film recently, and I am sure there must have been many other things that were not the same as in 1972 original.

Does anyone know how to obtain and authentic 1972 version of this film?

Mike

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Jamaica

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 April 1976 (France)

Also Known As:

The Harder They Come

Filming Locations:

Kingston, Jamaica

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Films, Xenon Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 103 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1