Get Carter
| Get Carter | |
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Original UK film poster by Arnaldo Putzu
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| Directed by | Mike Hodges |
| Produced by | Michael Klinger |
| Screenplay by | Mike Hodges |
| Based on |
Jack's Return Home by Ted Lewis |
| Starring |
Michael Caine Ian Hendry John Osborne Britt Ekland |
| Music by | Roy Budd |
| Cinematography | Wolfgang Suschitzky |
| Edited by | John Trumper |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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112 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ($/£?)750,000 |
Get Carter is a 1971 British crime film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry,Britt Ekland, John Osborne and Bryan Mosley. The screenplay was adapted by Hodges from Ted Lewis's 1969 novel Jack's Return Home. Producer Michael Klinger optioned the book and made a deal for the ailing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studio to finance and release the film, bringing in Hodges and Caine. Caine became a co-producer of the film. Get Carter was Hodges' first feature film as director, as well as being the screen debut of Alun Armstrong. MGM was scaling back its European operations and the film became the last project approved before the American company closed its Borehamwood studios. The film is set in north-east England and was filmed in and around Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and County Durham.
The story follows a London gangster, the eponymous Jack Carter (Caine), who travels back to his hometown to discover more about the events surrounding his brother Frank's supposedly accidental death. Suspecting foul play, he investigates and interrogates, getting a feel for the city and its hardened-criminal element; with vengeance on his mind, the situation builds to a violent conclusion.
Caine and Hodges had ambitions to produce a more gritty and realistic portrayal of on-screen violence and criminal behaviour than had previously been seen in a British film. Caine incorporated his knowledge of real criminal acquaintances into his characterisation of Carter. Hodges and cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky drew heavily on their backgrounds in documentary film. This—combined with Hodges' research into the contemporary criminal underworld of Newcastle (in particular the one-armed bandit murder), and the use of hundreds of local bystanders as extras—produced a naturalistic feel in many scenes. The shoot was incident-free and progressed speedily, despite a one-day strike by the Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians. The production went from novel to finished film in eight months, with location shooting lasting 40 days.
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