seymourblack-1 The demise of the Production Code gave first-time director Mike Hodges the freedom to make this British gangster movie in a more realistic style than would ever have been possible before and the result was a gritty and uncompromising end-product that proved to be both groundbreaking and highly influential. Based on Ted Lewis' novel "Jack Returns Home", it's the tale of one man's quest for revenge and features some great location work, considerable amounts of brutality and a cast of pretty unsavoury characters. The mood of the piece is grim throughout and the action includes a number of well-staged sequences that, for various reasons, prove to be very memorable.Jack Carter (Michael Caine), who works as an enforcer for London gangsters, the Fletcher brothers, travels to Newcastle-upon-Tyne to attend the funeral of his brother who had reportedly been killed in a car accident whilst drunk. After failing to gather any more information from Frank's daughter Doreen (Petra Markham) or his mistress, Margaret (Dorothy White), Jack goes to the local racecourse where he meets one of his old contacts, a chauffeur called Eric Paice (Ian Hendry) who proves to be very unhelpful. However, after discovering that Eric works for local crime boss Cyril Kinnear (John Osbourne), Jack goes to visit the ultra-smooth villain at his mansion where he encounters a porn star called Glenda (Geraldine Moffatt) and the same kind of reticence about Frank's death that he'd come up against elsewhere.At the "bed and breakfast" lodgings where Jack is staying, he gets visited by some heavies who tell him to leave Newcastle and after an altercation, is told that they were hired by local businessman Cliff Brumby (Bryan Mosely). This proves to be false information and a little while later, a couple of thugs working for the Fletcher brothers call by with the intention of taking Jack back to London. The two men decide to leave promptly, however, when Jack threatens them with a shotgun but turn up again at a different location when Jack's in the middle of a conversation with the uncooperative Margaret. On this occasion, Jack makes a rapid escape and the chase that follows ends well for him when Glenda picks him up in her sports car and drives him at great speed to meet Brumby on the top floor of a multi-storey car park.The information that Brumby discloses at this point enables Jack to start unravelling the mystery of what had happened to Frank an provides the catalyst for the series of killings that follow."Get Carter" contains a number of memorable scenes such as the one in which Brumby is thrown off the top of a multi-storey car park, the sequences during which Jack and his landlady are interrupted in flagrante delicto and the powerful finale. Overall, there's an unremitting bleakness that permeates all the action and is well complemented by some of the grim-looking outside locations and the action that takes place in the drab bingo hall, a smoke-filled pub and the grubby betting shop.Jack Carter returned to his hometown to avenge the death of his brother despite the fact that he never liked Frank and knew that the Fletchers and the Newcastle mob both disapproved of his actions because of the threat he posed to the smooth running of their businesses. Michael Caine, in a very controlled performance, shows convincingly how driven, callous and ruthless Jack is and also how abusive he is in his relationships with a series of women. The quality of the supporting cast is also very impressive with very solid contributions from everyone involved.

Tweekums Jack Carter is a tough London gangster who heads north to Newcastle for his brother's funeral. He is pretty certain that it wasn't an accident and he is sure it wasn't suicide so determines to find out who was behind it and why. As he starts to ask questions he comes up against some of the most dangerous men in the North East; they know what happened but have no intention of telling Carter and they want him gone but are happy to point him in the direction of their rivals first. When Carter eventually discovers the truth nobody involved will be safe.This film is almost the definition of 'gritty'; the '70s Newcastle setting has a cold feel with its rundown back-to-back housing and concrete tower blocks. None of the characters can really be considered nice; Jack Carter certainly isn't. He is one of cinema's less pleasant protagonists; brutal and amoral. Michael Caine is on top form; making Carter a believable character. As well as a fair amount of nasty violence there is quite a bit of nudity; this is more sleazy than sexy though… although it is once mildly comic as Carter threatens two heavies with a shotgun while completely naked; shocking the neighbour in the process! Overall I'd certainly recommend it; it is considered a classic with good reason, just don't expect any happy endings.

Fatman_Crothers I truly believe that 1971's Get Carter is one of the best British films ever made. It is a simple revenge flick, but it is much more than all the 'guns and geezers' trash that has tainted our national cinema. The film has massive amounts of charm and although Caine's character is performing lawless acts of violence, you Sympathise with his cause. The pain and the anger he feels inside makes you feel sorry for him and you understand that he is dealing with the situation in the only way he knows how. Michael Caine gives a stunning performance as one of his most famous characters, Jack Carter, and Mike Hodges direction is well paced and perfect for this film. The setting of Newcastle brings something fresh to the viewer after being soaked with east end cockney gangsters for so many years. I highly recommend that you watch this film (but for your sake, I would try to avoid the Sylvester Stallone remake). It is a brilliant piece of cinema and will be one of the defining moments in Michael Caine's long and extensive career.

jimpayne1967 I first saw Get Carter when I was 15 when it was shown on ITV. The film was cut heavily- mainly by the broadcaster- and remember that it was the talk of the school the next morning. Admittedly a lot of the schoolboy discussion centred on the scenes in which Geraldine Moffat and, especially, Britt Ekland bare their breasts but there was enough realisation amongst my friends of nearly 40 years ago that Get Carter was rather a good picture.The film enjoys as high a reputation now as it ever has. Even in the late nineteen nineties when it and the original Ted Lewis novel on which it is based were re-released reviews were mixed. Part of the problem that people had , and I would imagine still have, with Get Carter is that people could not accept Caine as such a despicable figure as Carter proves to be. I had, in early 1976, only ever seen Caine in Zulu and a terrible film with Jane Fonda (Hurry Sundown I think) when I first saw Get Carter all those years ago so had less of a preconceived notion of what Caine should be like so he just seemed like a great 'baddie' who, eventually, gets his comeuppance (but only after the other baddies get what they deserve) but I can see now why at the time people who had loved Caine in the Harry Palmer films or in the Italian Job or as Alfie ( though I think that character is actually a swine)were aghast at this lovable rogue pouring whisky down Ian Hendry's throat prior to smashing his head in or throwing Bryan Mosley off a multi-story car park. And he treats women abominably. The film is criticised because it shows a lot of violence towards women - with other violence being implied- and I can see why people are uncomfortable with that but this is a gangster movie and gangsters are not nice people. I think it is a more legitimate criticism that the female characters are weak/submissive/untrustworthy but even so the most sympathetic character in the film is Carter's niece ( Doreen) and she is the one character who shows a kinder, even sensitive side of Carter.The film is now almost regarded as one of those dreaded 'national treasures' with some of its more famous lines like Ian Hendry's character Eric Paice having eyes like 'two pissholes in the snow' or the architects who remark after Carter throws Brumby off that car park ' I don't think we are going to get our fee' or a bystander in the post office who on being told about the man being thrown from that car park asks 'was he dead?' suggest a bit of jollity that is more in line with the Caine of The Italian Job but it is in truth a gritty, uncomfortable picture that even now seems pretty visceral. Although there is no hint of the supernatural in Get Carter the film made after it which is most like it in some ways is Eastwood's underrated High Plains' Drifter in which Eastwood's character wreaks similar havoc as an outsider arriving in a village that had some grisly secrets it wishes to be kept hiddenGet Carter is very much Caine's picture but John Osborne as the number one villain Kinnear as well as the aforementioned Hendry and Mosley provide great support and I have always liked Moffat as the flaky, lush, sports car driving girlfriend of Kinnear. Alan Armstrong - now a very highly respected actor- makes one of his earliest appearances and is pretty good and for a film set in Newcastle upon Tyne his is one of the few local accents heard. Ekland looks very nice in her black undies though I will admit that this particular scene serves little in the way of dramatic point.The film looks great with some great location shots of a Newcastle that does not seem to exist anymore and the Roy Budd score is superb- the title sequence in which the main theme is played as carter makes his train journey North is a magnificent scene setter in the class of Touch of Evil. I really like Get Carter and think it is one of the Holy Trinity of Brit Gangster films alongside the 1947 Brighton Rock and 1980's The Long Good Friday. It is brutal and the characters almost uniformly amoral but the story is neatly rounded out and the ending surprising but satisfactory. It is rather more than just seeing Britt Ekland in her pants as I and my old school chums once thought it mainly was.