For the 2000 remake with Sylvester Stallone see Get Carter (2000 film)

Get Carter is a 1971 British crime film, directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter, a gangster who sets out to avenge the death of his brother. Mike Hodges (born July 29, 1932 in Bristol, England) is a British screenwriter and film director. ... // Background From TW Books. ... Mike Hodges (born July 29, 1932 in Bristol, England) is a British screenwriter and film director. ... This article is about the English actor. ... Ian Hendry (January 13, 1931—December 24, 1984) was an English film and television actor best known for his work on several British TV series of the early 1960s. ... John James Osborne (December 12, 1929 – December 24, 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and critic of the Establishment. ... Britt Ekland (born Britt-Marie Eklund on October 6, 1942) is a Swedish actress, long resident in the UK. Ekland became famous as a result of her 1964 whirlwind romance and marriage to British actor and comedian, Peter Sellers, who proposed after seeing her photograph in the paper. ... Roy Frederick Budd (14 March 1947, Mitcham, Surrey – 7 August 1993, London) was a British jazz musician and film composer. ... Wolfgang Suschitzky (b. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... In film, a remake is a newer version of a previously released film or a newer version of the source (play, novel, story, etc. ... Sylvester Stallone (born Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone on July 6, 1946) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. ... Get Carter is a 2000 remake of the classic 1971 Michael Caine crime thriller, this time with Sylvester Stallone in the role of Jack Carter, and directed by Stephen Kay. ... See also: 1970 in film 1971 1972 in film 1970s in film years in film film // Events February 8 - Bob Dylans hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New Yorks Academy of Music. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... Mike Hodges (born July 29, 1932 in Bristol, England) is a British screenwriter and film director. ... This article is about the English actor. ...

The film was based on Ted Lewis' 1969 novel Jack's Return Home, and was Hodges' first job as director; he also wrote the film's script. The film went from novel to finished film in just eight months, with location shooting in Newcastle and Gateshead lasting just forty days. The film was produced by Michael Klinger and released by MGM. This film was also Alun Armstrong's film debut. // Background From TW Books. ... Jacks Return Home is a 1970 novel by British writer Ted Lewis. ... This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about Gateshead, England. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... Alun Armstrong (born July 17, 1946) is an English actor. ...

Plot

Jack Carter is a Newcastle-born gangster. Now based in London, he works for Gerald Fletcher (Terence Rigby), one of a pair of criminal brothers, and is having an affair with his wife Anna (Britt Ekland). As the film opens, Jack returns to Newcastle to attend the funeral of his brother, Frank. Although Frank supposedly died in a drunken car accident, Jack suspects he was murdered and methodically sets out to uncover the truth. This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ... Terence Rigby (born 2 January 1937 in Birmingham, England) is an actor with a number of film and television credits to his name. ... Britt Ekland (born Britt-Marie Eklund on October 6, 1942) is a Swedish actress, long resident in the UK. Ekland became famous as a result of her 1964 whirlwind romance and marriage to British actor and comedian, Peter Sellers, who proposed after seeing her photograph in the paper. ...

After arriving and setting himself up with a room in a small terraced boarding-house, Jack begins to re-establish links with his family and past associates. He meets up with his niece, the mousy Doreen (Petra Markham), attends his brother's funeral, where he meets Keith (Alun Armstrong), a workmate of his brother's, and talks threateningly with Margaret (Dorothy White), Frank's girlfriend. Alun Armstrong (born July 17, 1946) is an actor from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. ...

Jack goes to the races to look for Albert Swift (Glynn Edwards), a local criminal acquaintance, but Swift makes a rapid retreat when he spots him, and Jack bumps into Eric Paice (Ian Hendry), another local criminal, instead. Paice is evasive about his current activities, and Jack follows him as he chauffers local criminal big-shot Cyril Kinnear (John Osborne) to his impressive country home (Dryerdale Hall). Carter forces his way into Kinnear's home, where he is met with polite courtesy from Kinnear and a general air of incomprehension. He also meets Kinnear's latest girl, the provocative Glenda (Geraldine Moffat), who tells Jack that she has met his employers, the Fletchers. However, on his return to his lodgings with Keith, he is approached by Thorpe (Bernard Hepton) and some thugs and told to leave on the next train to London. Carter beats them up and chases and grabs Thorpe. Thorpe gives him the name Brumby. Glynn Edwards (February 2, 1931) is a British actor. ... Ian Hendry (January 13, 1931—December 24, 1984) was an English film and television actor best known for his work on several British TV series of the early 1960s. ... John James Osborne (December 12, 1929 – December 24, 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and critic of the Establishment. ... Bernard Hepton (born October 19, 1925 in Bradford, England) is a British actor. ...

Cliff Brumby (Bryan Mosley) is a blustering businessman with a controlling interest in local arcades. Jack accosts him at his home and takes only seconds to size Brumby up as a red herring; indeed, in Jack's absence, the thugs return, attack the landlady (Rosemarie Dunham) and drag Keith away. Bryan Mosley (August 25, 1931 – February 9, 1999) was a British actor, known best as grocer Alf Roberts in Coronation Street. ... Look up red herring in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The following morning, Jack is surprised in bed - with his landlady - by two further villains, Con McCarty (George Sewell) and Peter 'The Dutchman' (Tony Beckley), who have been sent by Jack's boss, Gerald Fletcher, to take him back to London. Jack, stark naked, forces them out of the house with a shotgun and then escapes out the back. The fact that so many people want him out of Newcastle only strengthens his suspicions about Frank's death. George Sewell (31 August 1924 — 1 April 2007), was an English actor, the son of a florist family in Tottenham, London. ... Tony Beckley (born 7 October 1927 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, died 19 April 1980 in Los Angeles, California, United States) was an actor. ...

Jack tracks down Keith and finds him at his home, terribly beaten. Jack offers him scant sympathy and some money ("Here. Get yourself some karate lessons."). Keith is furious, and reveals that Jack had been having an affair with his brother's wife, thus calling Doreen's paternity into question. Jack then meets with Margaret again, on the 1849 "Iron Bridge," but is interrupted by Con and Peter, who have been tipped off by her. They chase him, but he is rescued by a drunken Glenda in her car, a Sunbeam Alpine. She takes him to Brumby in a half-built restaurant at the top of a multi-story carpark, the famous “Get Carter Car Park”. Brumby gives him Kinnear's name as Frank's killer and offers him £5,000 to kill him, but Jack brusquely refuses. Year 1849 (MDCCCXLIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The High Level Bridge, towering above the Swing Bridge across the River Tyne; photograph facing Newcastle The High Level Bridge is a notable road and railway bridge spanning the River Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, in North East England. ... 1954 Sunbeam Alpine Mark I The Sunbeam Alpine was a sporty coupé from Rootess Sunbeam car marque. ... Trinity Centre Multi-Storey Car Park is an iconic concrete structure in Gateshead. ...

Jack accompanies Glenda to her flat (in St Cuthbert's village), where he sleeps with her, but subsequently makes a terrible discovery: an amateur pornographic film featuring Doreen, a clearly unwilling participant, together with Glenda, Margaret and Albert Swift. Glenda, unaware of Jack's connection to Doreen, confirms the film belongs to Kinnear, with Eric as Doreen's procurer.

Jack's subsequent revenge is unrelenting and brutal, played out against the grim background of Tyneside in the early 1970s, a world of smoky bars, working men's clubs and derelict urban housing. Jack takes out each of his enemies with no remorse and utter brutality. For example, he phones Kinnear and blackmails him into double-crossing Eric by sending him to a clearly fatal meeting with him, but in the meantime has Kinnear arrested for murder by killing Margaret, dumping her body in water near Kinnear's home and then phoning the police. He chases the last of his brother's killers, Eric, along an ugly industrial black beach with piles of coal slag. Jack dispatches Eric in a manner similar to Frank's death - forcing whisky into him before killing him.

The shocking ending deviates from that of the book, which leaves Jack's fate uncertain. In the film, Jack bursts into laughter after Eric's death and appears finally content as he strolls along the beach. He is about to toss his gun into the sea, but before he can complete this symbolic act a paid assassin (known only as "J", the initial on his signet ring), who was contacted by Kinnear the previous evening, kills him with a sniper shot to the head. The film ends with a shot of Carter's corpse on the lonely beach, the wind providing a bitter soundtrack as the cold waves wash over him.

Cast and crew

Michael Caine as Jack Carter

As well as Caine, the film gave roles to Image File history File links Get_Carter-2. ... Image File history File links Get_Carter-2. ...

• the playwright John Osborne as gang master Cyril Kinnear,
• Ian Hendry as gangster Eric Paice,
• Bryan Mosley as businessman Cliff Brumby,
• George Sewell as gangster Con McCarty,
• Tony Beckley as gangster Peter the Dutchman,
• Glynn Edwards as gambler Albert Swift and childhood friend of Carter's,
• Terence Rigby as gang master and Carter's boss Gerald Fletcher,
• Godfrey Quigley as a work colleague of Frank Carter's,
• Alun Armstrong as Keith, another work colleague of Frank's,
• Bernard Hepton as Thorpe, a gangster,
• Petra Markham as Frank's daughter Doreen (one twist to the plot is that she may actually be Jack's biological daughter),
• Geraldine Moffat as Kinnear's moll Glenda (who is also sleeping with Brumby in exchange for the use of a penthouse flat),
• Dorothy White as Margaret, a married woman whom Frank Carter saw 'once a week',
• Rosemarie Denham as B&B owner Edna Garfoot, and
• Britt Ekland as Anna, Carter's boss Gerald Fletcher's mistress, but who is also seeing Carter and is due to run away with him to South America as soon as Carter avenges his brother's death.

John James Osborne (December 12, 1929 – December 24, 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and critic of the Establishment. ... Ian Hendry (January 13, 1931—December 24, 1984) was an English film and television actor best known for his work on several British TV series of the early 1960s. ... Bryan Mosley (August 25, 1931 – February 9, 1999) was a British actor, known best as grocer Alf Roberts in Coronation Street. ... George Sewell (31 August 1924 — 1 April 2007), was an English actor, the son of a florist family in Tottenham, London. ... Tony Beckley (born 7 October 1927 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, died 19 April 1980 in Los Angeles, California, United States) was an actor. ... Glynn Edwards (February 2, 1931) is a British actor. ... Terence Rigby (born 2 January 1937 in Birmingham, England) is an actor with a number of film and television credits to his name. ... Godfrey Quigley is a British actor who has taken small roles in classic British films. ... Alun Armstrong (born July 17, 1946) is an English actor. ... Bernard Hepton (born October 19, 1925 in Bradford, England) is a British actor. ... Britt Ekland (born Britt-Marie Eklund on October 6, 1942) is a Swedish actress, long resident in the UK. Ekland became famous as a result of her 1964 whirlwind romance and marriage to British actor and comedian, Peter Sellers, who proposed after seeing her photograph in the paper. ...

Music

The distinctive music in the film was composed by Roy Budd, a jazz and "easy listening" specialist, who worked well outside his previous boundaries for this film. The much admired theme tune features the sounds of Caine's train journey from London to Newcastle. All the music was played by Budd and two other jazz musicians, Jeff Clyne (double bass) and Chris Karan (percussion). The soundtrack was first released on CD by the Cinephile label in 1998 (it had previously only been released in Japan). It has often been used as incidental music for TV programmes and adverts, most with no connection to the film. Roy Frederick Budd (14 March 1947, Mitcham, Surrey – 7 August 1993, London) was a British jazz musician and film composer. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ... Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ...

The influential Human League album Dare contains a track covering the Get Carter theme, although it was only a version of the sparse leitmotif that opens and closes the film as opposed to the full-blooded jazz piece that accompanies the train journey. Stereolab also covers Roy Budd's theme on their album Aluminum Tunes, Volume 2, although they call their version Get Carter, as opposed to its proper title, Main Theme (Carter Takes A Train). This Stereolab version was subsequently used as a sample in the song "Got Carter" by 76. The Human League are an award winning, Grammy nominated British synthpop/New Wave band formed in 1977 who, after a key change in line up, achieved great popularity in the 1980s. ... Dare! was the third album released by The Human League, and the first to feature singers Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catheral. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Stereolab are an English alternative music band formed in 1990 in London. ... Roy Frederick Budd (14 March 1947, Mitcham, Surrey – 7 August 1993, London) was a British jazz musician and film composer. ...

Early criticism and cult status

Initial critical reception was poor, especially in the United Kingdom: "soulless and nastily erotic...virtuoso viciousness", "sado-masochistic fantasy", and "one would rather wash one's mouth out with soap than recommend it". The much-respected American film critic Pauline Kael, however, was a fan of the film, admiring its 'calculated soullessness'. A minor hit at the time, the film has become progressively rehabilitated via subsequent showings on television; with its harsh realism, quotable dialogue and incidental detail, it is now considered among the best British gangster films ever made. In 2004, the magazine Total Film claimed it to be the greatest British movie in any genre. Pauline Kael (June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Total Film, published by Future Publishing, is the United Kingdoms second best-selling film magazine, after the longer-established Empire from Emap. ...

There are two slightly different versions of this film. In the opening scene of the original version Gerald Fletcher warns Carter that the Newcastle gangs 'won't take kindly to someone from The Smoke poking his bugle in'. This was later redubbed (not by Terence Rigby) for American release with 'won't take kindly to someone from London poking his nose in', as tape previews in the USA had revealed that many Americans did not understand what 'Smoke' and 'bugle' meant in this context. Also the line 'I smell trouble, boy' is edited out, for no apparent reason. DVD releases within the United Kingdom under the 'Iconic Films' label do not have this change. Terence Rigby (born 2 January 1937 in Birmingham, England) is an actor with a number of film and television credits to his name. ...

Remakes

Get Carter was remade in 2000 under the same title, with Sylvester Stallone starring as Jack Carter. Michael Caine appears as Cliff Brumby and Mickey Rourke plays the villain Cyrus Paice. This remake was almost universally poorly received. In film, a remake is a newer version of a previously released film or a newer version of the source (play, novel, story, etc. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Get Carter is a 2000 remake of the classic 1971 Michael Caine crime thriller, this time with Sylvester Stallone in the role of Jack Carter, and directed by Stephen Kay. ... Sylvester Stallone (born Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone on July 6, 1946) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. ... This article is about the English actor. ... Mickey Rourke (born September 16, 1956) is an American actor who has primarily appeared in drama, action, and thriller films. ...

Hit Man, a 1972 blaxploitation film starring Bernie Casey and Pam Grier, is also a scene-for-scene remake, crediting Ted Lewis in the opening titles. Shaft (1971) Blaxploitation is a film genre that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s when many exploitation films were made that targeted the urban African American audience; the word itself is a portmanteau of the words “black” and “exploitation. ... Bernard Terry Casey (born June 8, 1939) was an American Football player during the 1960s who later became an actor. ... Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an iconic American actress. ...

Memorable quotations

• Carter: A pint of bitter (snaps fingers as barman walks away) in a thin glass.
• Carter to Eric: You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow.
• Eric to Carter: So, what're you doing then? On your holidays?
  Carter: No, I'm visiting relatives.
  Eric: Oh, that's nice.
  Carter: It would be... if they were still living.
• Cyril Kinnear: You don't give a man like Jack a drink in those piddly little glasses. Give him the bloody bottle.
• Carter to Brumby: You're a big man, but you're in bad shape. With me it's a full time job. Now behave yourself.
• Carter (naked, pointing a shotgun): Out!
  Con McCarty: Come on Jack, put it away. You know you're not going to use it.
  Peter: The gun he means!

Locations

The novel on which the film was based, Jack's Return Home, unlike the film, is not set in Newcastle, nor, as has sometimes been suggested, is it set in Doncaster or Scunthorpe (Jack in fact makes only a connection at Doncaster railway station for an un-named steeltown). The film, however, is set exclusively in Newcastle and Gateshead. Other locations in Northumberland and County Durham were also used. The location for the ending was the beach at Blackhall Colliery, six miles north of Hartlepool. At that time (it was shot in August 1970), waste from the pit was still being tipped directly into the North Sea. Since the closure of the collieries, the beach is now somewhat cleaner than the blackened wasteland over which Carter pursues Eric, although seacoal residues are still plentiful. For other places with the same name, see Doncaster (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Scunthorpe (disambiguation). ... Doncaster railway station serves the town of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. ... // Newcastle refers primarily to the following places: Newcastle upon Tyne, England Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia Newcastle (or New Castle) can refer to the following places: Newcastle, New South Wales Division of Newcastle, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in New South Wales, located around the city. ... This article is about Gateshead, England. ... Middle Street (A1086) Blackhall Colliery is a village on the North Sea coast of County Durham, in England. ... , Hartlepool is a town and North Sea port in North East England. ... Year 1970 ([[Rf 1970 == January 1 - The Unix epoch begins at 00:00:00 UTC January 2 - The last studio performance of The Beatles oman numerals|MCMLXX]]) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ...

Promotion

Alternative poster

The poster (illustrated) does not represent the film accurately. Carter is never seen wearing anything as gaudy as a floral jacket, Eric does not carry a gun at any point (indeed, the gun shown in the poster closely resembles Carter's), and the grappling man and woman do not resemble any characters in the film. The only fight of this kind depicted in the finished work is between two women in the pub that Carter visits, mid way through the film. The only part of the collage that is in any way accurate is the depiction of Kinnear struggling in police hands. A film poster for Get Carter, contended as fair use. ... A film poster for Get Carter, contended as fair use. ... Malaysia florist See Also Flower ... An amusingly named pub (the Old New Inn) at Bourton-on-the-Water, in the Cotswold Hills of South West England A pub in the Haymarket area of Edinburgh, Scotland A public house, usually known as a pub, is a drinking establishment found mainly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada... For other uses, see Collage (disambiguation). ...

Promotional shots exist from the film showing Carter holding a pump action shotgun, despite the fact that the only shotgun seen in the film is a double-barreled shotgun which Jack finds on top of his brother Frank's wardrobe. The first (found in some books about Gangster films) shows him pointing the gun at the camera and to a person who has not seen the film would appear to be an actual still. The second (found on the back of some DVD Covers, i.e. the Australian release of the film) is more clearly a promotional shot and shows Carter posing with one arm around Anna (Britt Ekland) and the other holding the pump action shotgun by his side. Wikibooks has more about this subject: Marketing Scale model of a Wheaties cereal box at a pep rally Promotion is one of the four key aspects of the marketing mix. ... Pump action shotguns are a subclass of shotguns that are distinguished in the way in which spent shells are extracted and fresh ones are chambered. ... A view of the break-action of a typical side-by-side double-barrelled shotgun, with the Anson & Deeley boxlock action open and the extractor visible. ... A photograph (often just called a photo) is an image (or a representation of that on e. ...

Trivia

The elderly man who glances at Carter when he orders his drink has an extra finger on his right hand, the hand in which he holds his old-fashioned beer mug.

The eventual assassin, 'J', is also present in the railway compartment occupied by Carter on his outward journey to Newcastle. He is seen reading a book as the train passes the cereal factory at Welwyn Garden City. He is seen again reading a newspaper as the train pulls into Newcastle station as Carter gets ready to alight. No link is ever drawn in the storyline, however, between these early appearances and the film's denouement.

Notorious London actor, later turned gangster and London protection racketeer John Bindon has an appearance in the intro. John Bindon (October 4, 1943 - October 10, 1993) was a British actor and bodyguard, noted for his film roles as a London underworld figure and tough police detective. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Get Carter

• Get Carter at the Internet Movie Database
• Get Carter Location Tour
• The Real Get Carter
• Jack's Return Home