131-398: Inadmissible Evidence is a play written by John Osborne in 1964. It was film adapted in 1968 . The protagonist of the play is William Maitland, a 39-year-old English solicitor who has come to hate his entire life. Much of the play consists of lengthy monologues in which Maitland tells the audience about his life, a life he now regards as an utter failure. He readily acknowledges that he
262-406: A Wurlitzer electric piano and a grand piano . Budd described the experience as "uncomfortable, but it sounded pleasant". The theme tune features the sounds of the character's train journey from London to Newcastle. The theme was released as a 7" vinyl single by Pye Records in 1971, titled simply Carter and backed with "Plaything", another piece composed for the soundtrack. Original copies of
393-465: A pornographic film in which Doreen is forced to have sex with Albert. The other participants in the film are Glenda and Margaret. Jack becomes enraged and pushes Glenda's head underwater as she is taking a bath. She tells him the film was Kinnear's and that she thinks Doreen was pulled into the production by Eric. Forcing Glenda into the boot of her own car, Jack drives off to find Albert. Jack tracks down Albert, who confesses he told Brumby that Doreen
524-432: A vehicle for Frank Sinatra . Michael Klinger complained in 1974 to president of UA Eric Pleskow about the lacklustre promotion of Carter , and tried to get him to relinquish the U.S. rights to the film so that Klinger could find a better distributor. The film did not encounter many censorship problems, although the scene where Carter knifes Albert Swift caused concern for the censor John Trevelyan . In South Africa
655-422: A " knight " forced to dispense his own sense of justice in a corrupt world". However, in his DVD commentary Hodges implies that he did not see Carter as morally any more justified than those he kills, and his death is intended to present his actions to the audience as morally bankrupt and futile: "I wanted him to be dealt with in exactly the same way he dealt with other people. Now that's a sort of Christian ethic in
786-553: A "chase sequence", but he persuaded them that it would draw too many comparisons with Bullitt (a chase sequence between Carter and the London gangsters is mentioned in the shooting script). Hodges tried to rehearse the racecourse scene between Caine and Hendry in their hotel the night before shooting, but "Hendry's drunken and resentful state forced Hodges to abandon [the] attempt". Hodges described Caine as "a complete dream to work with". Caine only lost his temper once on set, during
917-418: A Gentleman (1991), and a collection of his non-fiction writing, Damn You, England , was published in 1994. He died from complications of diabetes on 24 December of that year at the age of 65. Osborne was born on 12 December 1929 in London, the son of Thomas Godfrey Osborne, a commercial artist and advertising copywriter of South Welsh ancestry, and Nellie Beatrice Grove, a Cockney barmaid. In 1936,
1048-411: A Train"), the best-known piece from the film, was played by Budd and the other members of his jazz trio, Jeff Clyne ( double bass ) and Chris Karan ( percussion ), and was recorded on a budget of £450 (£8,700 in 2024). The musicians recorded the soundtrack live, direct to picture, playing along with the film. To save time and money Budd did not use overdubs, simultaneously playing a real harpsichord ,
1179-540: A copy of the Daily Worker into the office as a young journalist. Given a platform to express his views in the 1957 anthology Declaration , he took the opportunity to criticize monarchy: I have called Royalty religion the 'national swill' because it is poisonous... the leader-writers and the bribed gossip mongers have only to rattle their sticks in the royalty bucket for most of their readers to put their heads down in this trough of Queen-worship... My objection to
1310-561: A defiant auburn stubble and I was impressed by the hostility she had created by this self-isolating act. I was unable to take my eyes from her hair, her huge green eyes which must mock or plead affection, preferably both, at least… She startled and confused me… There was no calculation in my instant obsession. Though Alison Porter in Look Back in Anger was based on Pamela, Osborne describes Lane's respectable middle-class parents – her father
1441-479: A dental surgeon. Osborne spent much of the next two years before their divorce hoping they would reconcile. In 1956, after the opening of Look Back in Anger , Osborne met Lane at the railway station in York , where she told Osborne of her recent abortion and enquired after his relationship with Mary Ure . In April 1957, Osborne was granted a divorce from Lane, on the grounds of his adultery. It later emerged that in
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#17328020794741572-587: A feel for the city and its hardened-criminal element. Producer Michael Klinger optioned Lewis's novel shortly after its publication and made a deal with the ailing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to finance and release the film, making Get Carter the last project to be approved by the studio's Borehamwood division before its closure. The production went from novel to finished film in 10 months, with principal photography taking place from July to September 1970 in and around Newcastle upon Tyne , Gateshead and County Durham . Hodges, Klinger and Caine intended to create
1703-523: A landscape that suggested a "hard, deprived background". Newcastle was selected after Hodges' first choice of Hull proved to be unsuitable. Hodges thoroughly researched the local Newcastle crime scene, adapting the script to make use of settings and incorporating elements of his research into the story. His background at World in Action had made him accustomed to making films based on hard investigation and this informed his approach to Get Carter . One of
1834-497: A more realistic portrayal of violence and criminal behaviour than had previously been seen in British films: Caine, who also served as an uncredited co-producer, incorporated aspects of criminal acquaintances into his characterisation of Carter, while Hodges conducted research into the criminal underworld of Newcastle, in particular the one-armed bandit murder . Cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky worked with Hodges to give scenes
1965-565: A musical that satirizes the tabloid press; the televised documentary play A Subject of Scandal and Concern (1960); and the double bill Plays for England , comprising The Blood of the Bambergs and Under Plain Cover (1962). Luther , depicting the life of Martin Luther , was first performed in 1961; it transferred to Broadway and won Osborne a Tony Award . Inadmissible Evidence
2096-490: A naturalistic documentary feel, especially in crowd scenes. The film was shot in Metrocolor , which was MGM's trade name for films processed at its Eastmancolor laboratory . This lab processed Kodak 's Eastman Color Negative , so it is most likely the film was shot on this stock. Asked to comment on what he was aiming for in the look of the film, cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky said "The camera work on it [...] it
2227-459: A naturalistic feel, drawing heavily on their backgrounds in documentary films . Turning a respectable profit upon its initial UK release, Get Carter initially attracted mixed reviews. Critics grudgingly appreciated the film's technical achievements and Caine's performance while criticising the complex plot, violence and amorality, in particular Carter's apparent lack of remorse for his actions. American critics were generally more enthusiastic, but
2358-432: A particular passage makes the audience uneasy or restless, then they seem (to me) as cautious and absurd as landladies and girls-who-won't. He claimed that it was his childhood memories of music hall that inspired The Entertainer , "not, as I was told authoritatively by others, the influence of Bertolt Brecht ". Osborne's work transformed British theatre. He helped to make it artistically respected again, throwing off
2489-523: A poor opinion of the play. At the time, Olivier was making a film of Rattigan's The Prince and the Showgirl co-starring Marilyn Monroe , and she was accompanied to London by her husband Arthur Miller . Olivier asked the American dramatist what plays he might want to see in London. Based on its title, Miller suggested Osborne's work; Olivier tried to dissuade him, but the playwright was insistent and
2620-437: A press officer at the theatre, used the phrase " angry young man " when promoting Look Back in Anger . He told Osborne that he disliked the play and feared it would be impossible to market. Reviews of Look Back in Anger were mixed: most of the critics who attended the first night felt it was a failure. Positive reviews from Kenneth Tynan and Harold Hobson , however, plus a TV broadcast of Act 2, helped create interest, and
2751-614: A re-release of the film at the BFI Southbank as part of their retrospective program Return of the Outsider: The Films of Mike Hodges , which ran from May 1 to May 31 and included various in-person events such as "Mike Hodges in Conversation" on May 3; this was followed by a wide release in British and Irish cinemas on 27 May. This release utilised a new 4K restoration of the film's original camera negative, which
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#17328020794742882-516: A real-life connection with organised crime. It was the recently vacated country house of North East fruit machine businessman Vince Landa, who had fled the country in 1969 after the murder of his right-hand man Angus Sibbett, the so-called one-armed bandit murder . Many believed the crime was part of a failed attempt by the Kray twins to gain control of the Newcastle underworld. Michael Klinger and
3013-491: A reasonable but below-average budget of 750,000 (there is some dispute as to whether this figure refers to dollars or pounds) for the production. Within months of agreeing to the deal MGM had pulled out of the UK. Klinger had seen Mike Hodges' television film Suspect (1969) and immediately decided he was the ideal candidate to direct his new project. Hodges had also previously worked on current affairs programme World in Action ,
3144-580: A six-week engagement at the Roundabout Theatre (23rd Street) in New York, fifteen years after the original Broadway run. In 1968 the play was made into a film by the play's director Anthony Page , and starring Nicol Williamson , Eleanor Fazan and Jill Bennett . This article on a play from the 1960s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994)
3275-399: A successful draper, her mother of a family of minor rural gentry – as "much coarser", and how at one point they hired a private detective to follow him after a fellow actor was seen 'fumbling' with his knee in a tea shop. Lane and Osborne married in nearby Wells and then left Bridgwater the following Sunday amidst an uneasy truce with Lane's parents (Osborne's hated mother was not aware of
3406-415: A way [...] That was a prerequisite of the film for me, that the hitman should go [click] and that's it". Hodges' decision to kill off Carter was initially protested by MGM executives, as they wanted the character to survive in the event that the film proved successful enough to warrant a sequel . Locations along the east coast of England had been scouted by Hodges and Klinger in the spring of 1970, to find
3537-570: Is a 1971 British gangster film , written and directed by Mike Hodges in his directorial debut and starring Michael Caine , Ian Hendry , John Osborne , Britt Ekland and Bryan Mosley . Based on Ted Lewis's 1970 novel Jack's Return Home , the film follows the eponymous Jack Carter (Caine), a London gangster who returns to his hometown in North East England after his brother's death. Suspecting foul play, and with vengeance on his mind, he investigates and interrogates, regaining
3668-415: Is bored with his wife and children, and just as bored by the petty, meaningless love affairs he's been carrying on with other women. His career revolves around sordid divorce cases, and he's come to despise both his clients and his colleagues. Maitland drinks heavily, and enjoys bullying and insulting everyone he comes into contact with. In Act One, like a prosecutor presenting a case, Maitland brutally shows
3799-474: Is considered the first work of kitchen sink realism , initiating a movement which made use of social realism and domestic settings to address disillusion with British society in the waning years of the Empire . The phrase “ angry young man ”, coined by George Fearon to describe Osborne when promoting the play, came to embody the predominantly working class and left-wing writers within this movement. Osborne
3930-568: Is not included on the soundtrack LP. The music playing in the nightclub scene is an uptempo cover of the 1969 Willie Mitchell tune "30-60-90" performed live by the Jack Hawkins Showband, which was the resident band at the Oxford Galleries night club. The pub singer, played by Denea Wilde, performs a cover of " How About You? " by Burton Lane and Ralph Freed , a song more associated with glamorous Hollywood films than
4061-473: Is referenced at the start of the film with a shot of a newspaper bearing the headline "Gaming Wars". Other locations in Newcastle and Gateshead, Northumberland and County Durham were also used. Principal photography took place in the North East between 17 July and 15 September 1970. Hodges favoured the use of long focal length lenses (as he had used previously on Rumour ) in many scenes to create
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4192-564: Is told the name "Brumby". Jack knows Cliff Brumby as a businessman with controlling interests in local seaside amusement arcades . Visiting Brumby's house, Jack discovers the man knows nothing about him and, believing he has been set up, he leaves. The next morning, two of Jack's London colleagues – Con McCarthy and Peter the Dutchman – arrive, sent by the Fletchers to take him back, but he escapes. Jack meets Margaret to talk about Frank, but
4323-813: The British New Wave . This included Osborne-penned adaptations of the Entertainer (1960) (co-written by Nigel Kneale ), and Inadmissible Evidence (1968), as well as the period comedy Tom Jones (1963), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay . Osborne was married five times, but the first four were troubled by affairs and his mistreatment of his partners. In 1978 he married Helen Dawson , and from 1986 they lived in rural Shropshire . He wrote two volumes of autobiography, A Better Class of Person (1981) and Almost
4454-547: The Kray Twins ' convictions. Klinger was invited to view a first print of Peter Walker 's Man of Violence (1969) and was unimpressed, telling the director "I'm going to make a gangster film, but it's going to cost a lot more than this and it's going to be better". After searching many publishers for material to adapt into a film, Klinger purchased the rights to Ted Lewis ' novel Jack's Return Home . Andrew Spicer has written that "he [Klinger] sensed its potential to imbue
4585-405: The country house of crime boss Cyril Kinnear. Jack confronts Kinnear but learns little from him; he also meets a glamorous drunken woman, Glenda. As Jack leaves, Eric warns him against damaging relations between Kinnear and the Fletchers. Back in town, Jack is threatened by henchmen who want him to leave town, but he fights them off, capturing and interrogating one to find out who wants him gone. He
4716-448: The 1950s. From 1986, Osbourne and his wife Helen lived at The Hurst , near Clunton in rural Shropshire . Increasingly his life resembled that of an old-fashioned country gentleman. He wrote a diary for conservative British magazine The Spectator , a publication that when young he had been contemptuous of. He raised money for the local church roof by opening his garden to the public, and threatened to withdraw funding for this unless
4847-472: The 1980s, Lane and Osborne corresponded frequently and met in secret until he became angered by her request for a loan. Osborne began a relationship with Ure shortly after meeting her when she was cast as Alison in Look Back in Anger in 1956, while he was married to Pamela Lane. The affair swiftly progressed; and the two moved in together in Woodfall Road, Chelsea, London . He wrote later: Mary
4978-500: The 1981 Jon and Vangelis track The Friends of Mr Cairo . The majority of the film's music was composed by Roy Budd , a jazz pianist and composer, who had previously worked on soundtracks for Soldier Blue and Flight of the Doves . Aside from its score, Budd also composed three songs: "Looking For Someone", "Love Is A Four Letter Word" (with lyrics by Jack Fishman) and "Hallucinations". The theme (otherwise known as "Carter Takes
5109-579: The ABCs in Edgware and Fulham Road . On its general release in the North of England, Chibnall notes it had a "very strong first week", before an unseasonal heatwave damaged cinema attendance. Chibnall writes that "Interestingly, although [the film's] downbeat and unsentimental tone is now thought to express the mood of its times, the mass cinema audience preferred Love Story (Arthur Hiller 1970), which remained
5240-547: The British crime thriller with the realism and violence of its American counterparts". Klinger had been approached in 1969 by another producer, Nat Cohen , to make films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). In financial trouble and shutting down its British operations, MGM was in the process of closing its British studios at Borehamwood and was looking to make smaller-budget films to turn a profit. At this time Klinger's friend Robert Littman had been appointed head of MGM Europe and so Klinger took his proposal to him. MGM agreed to
5371-464: The Fletchers' men are waiting and pursue him. He is rescued by Glenda, who takes him in her Sunbeam Alpine sports car to meet Brumby at his new restaurant development at the top of a multi-storey car park . Brumby identifies Kinnear as being behind Frank's death, also explaining that Kinnear is trying to take over his business. He offers Jack £5,000 to kill the crime boss, which he refuses. Jack has sex with Glenda at her flat, where he finds and watches
Inadmissible Evidence - Misplaced Pages Continue
5502-553: The MGM publicity spokesman dismissed the use of the location as mere coincidence; however, Hodges was aware of the significance of the house and chose it deliberately. Steve Chibnall writes "It proved a perfect location, wreaking [ sic ] of authenticity and full of useful details such as the cowboys and Indians wallpaper [...] the African shield and crossed spears on the wall of the crime lord's living room". The Landa case also
5633-798: The Royal Court and in the West End. The Entertainer uses the metaphor of the dying music hall tradition and its eclipse by early rock and roll to comment on the declining influence of the British Empire and its eclipse by the increasing influence of the United States , as illustrated during the Suez Crisis of November 1956 which forms the backdrop to the play. The Entertainer found critical acclaim. Osborne followed The Entertainer with The World of Paul Slickey (1959),
5764-634: The Royalty symbol is that it is dead; it is the gold filling in a mouthful of decay. He also protested about " the Christmas Island explosion " and what he perceived as the blindly supportive response of the British media. Osborne joined the CND in 1959, and in the early '60s was a member of the Committee of 100 who engaged in civil disobedience to protest against nuclear weapons. In 1961, in
5895-627: The Theatre Royal in Huddersfield in 1950. In June 1951 Osborne married Pamela Lane. His second play, Personal Enemy , was written with Anthony Creighton, with whom he later wrote Epitaph for George Dillon , staged at the Royal Court in 1958. Personal Enemy was staged in regional theatres before he submitted Look Back in Anger . Look Back in Anger was written in 17 days in a deck chair on Morecambe pier where Osborne
6026-748: The Year awards . The Hotel in Amsterdam features three showbiz couples in a hotel suite, having fled a tyrannical movie producer, referred to as "K.L." Osborne's biographer John Heilpern asserts that "K.L." was meant to represent director and producer Tony Richardson . John Osborne's plays in the 1970s included West of Suez, starring Ralph Richardson ; 1975's The End of Me Old Cigar ; and Watch It Come Down , starring Frank Finlay . Theatre historian Phyllis Hartnoll wrote that Osborne's work of this period "failed to enhance his reputation": his fellow playwright Alan Bennett recalled "frozen embarrassment" at
6157-458: The action market, but won't win any laurels for Caine although his portrayal of the vicious anti-hero impresses". The reviewer also opined that "Tighter editing would help considerably". Roger Ebert was less reserved in his praise, writing that "the movie has a sure touch". He noted the "proletarian detail" of the film which is "unusual in a British detective movie. Usually we get all flash and no humanity, lots of fancy camera tricks but no feel for
6288-439: The acuteness of his mind and the extraordinary power of his heart. Osborne did change the world of theatre, influencing playwrights such as Edward Albee and Mike Leigh . However, work of his kind of authenticity and originality would remain the exception rather than the rule. This did not surprise Osborne; nobody understood the tackiness of the theatre better than the man who had played Hamlet on Hayling Island . In 1992 he
6419-583: The aftermath of the Berlin Wall being built, the left-wing magazine Tribune published Osborne's "Letter to My Fellow Countrymen", addressing those politicians the author considered responsible for nuclear proliferation : My favourite fantasy is four minutes or so non-commercial viewing as you fry in your democratically elected hot seats... I would willingly watch you all die for the West... you could all go ahead and die for Berlin, for Democracy, to keep out
6550-406: The arts programme Tempo and a 1968 children's television serial, The Tyrant King , and all these past experiences informed his approach to his film debut. Klinger contacted Hodges on 27 January 1970 with a copy of Jack's Return Home and contracted him to write and direct the film, paying him a flat fee of £7,000 (£135,700 in 2024) for his services. Hodges' original working title for the film
6681-432: The audience the utter despair and mediocrity of his life. In Act Two, Maitland's crimes receive their due punishment, as he is deserted by everyone he ever cared about, including his clerk, his mistress and his wife. At times the play uses the technique of intercut monologues, which are arranged like dialogue but involve no communication between the characters. The role of Maitland was created by Nicol Williamson who played
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#17328020794746812-564: The backrooms of Newcastle pubs. The Pelaw Hussars, a local juvenile jazz band and majorette troupe, also appear and perform two numbers, " When The Saints Go Marching In " and " Auld Lang Syne ". The world premiere for Get Carter was held in Los Angeles on 3 February 1971. The film finally opened for general release across the UK on 10 March 1971 and in the US on 18 March, where it was rated 'X' for violence and female nudity, meaning it
6943-513: The censor cut out Britt Ekland's phone sex scene, shortening her already brief role; her name was still left on the poster, leaving filmgoers to wonder why she was advertised as appearing. A resurgence of critical and public interest in the film in the 1990s led to the British Film Institute (BFI) releasing a new print of the film in 1999. It worked with Hodges to restore the film, with Hodges sourcing another set of negatives of
7074-603: The credits of some prints. Mike Hodges explained that Howard was an extra in his TV film Rumour , and the director gave him a line to say, but another extra was wrongly credited. Hodges promised he would make it up to him and cast him in Carter , but his name was missed off some of the original prints. When the film credits were printed in the Radio Times and TV Times , Howard was also trimmed. Hodges said in 2002 that "Carl and credits don't seem destined for each other". In
7205-452: The crew out on a one-day strike. At the advice of Richard Lester , Hodges and his assistant director stayed at a separate hotel to the rest of the cast and crew, which enabled him to have some respite from the production after the shooting day was done. Klinger was present on set for much of the film shoot. However, Hodges said he encountered very little interference from the producer. At one point Klinger and Caine asked if Hodges might work in
7336-521: The criminal strata of society". Of Caine's performance he wrote, "The character created by Caine is particularly interesting. He's tough and ruthless, but very quiet and charged with a terrible irony". Judith Crist in New York magazine gave a glowing review, saying "Michael Caine is superb, suave and sexy" and describing the film as "a hard, mean and satisfying zinger of the old tough-tec school done in frank contemporary terms". Variety also praised
7467-404: The earlier American crime films it attempted to emulate. He found Carter's motivations were inconsistent, either being an avenging angel or an "authentic post-permissive anti-hero, revelling in the casual sadism". In contrast, Nigel Andrews found the characters to be clichéd archetypes of the criminal underworld, such as the "homosexual chauffeur, bloated tycoon, glamorous mistress", describing
7598-423: The employ of organised crime bosses Gerald and Sid Fletcher. Jack is having an affair with Gerald's girlfriend Anna and plans to escape with her to South America , but he must first return to Newcastle and Gateshead to attend the funeral of his brother, Frank, who died in a purported drink-driving accident. Jack's bosses warn him not to stir up trouble, as they are friendly with the Newcastle mob. Unsatisfied with
7729-431: The family moved to the north Surrey suburb of Stoneleigh , where Thomas's mother had already settled. Osborne, however, would regard it as a cultural desert – a school friend declared subsequently that "he thought [we] were a lot of dull, uninteresting people." He adored his father but hated his mother, whom he described as "hypocritical, self-absorbed, calculating and indifferent." Thomas Osborne died in 1940, leaving
7860-467: The film and its history—has observed that the floral pattern of Carter's jacket is taken from the distinctive pillow and matching sheet design from the bed in the scene where Britt Ekland writhes naked whilst on the phone to Jack. The poster also places Carter's shotgun in Eric's hands, and features a grappling man and woman who seem to belong to a different film. Promotional shots and poster artwork exist from
7991-464: The film appeared on the front of buses across London, featuring the tagline "Caine is Carter". The original British quad poster with artwork by Arnaldo Putzu , in common with many film posters, has aspects or images that differ from the finished screen version. Carter is depicted wearing a gaudy floral jacket, as opposed to the dark raincoat and mohair suit he wears in the film. Asked in 2006, Putzu could not remember his artistic rationale for painting
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#17328020794748122-416: The film as "one of the most formidable British thrillers of its time". Get Carter was a financial success, and according to Steve Chibnall its box office takings were "very respectable". On its opening week at ABC2 cinema at Shaftesbury Avenue , London, it broke the house record, taking £8,188. It out-performed Up Pompeii , which was showing in the larger ABC1. It also performed strongly when moved to
8253-516: The film as "perfunctory". Richard Weaver in Films and Filming praised the realism of the film, describing it as "crime at its most blatant", while George Melly writing in The Observer confessed to vicarious enjoyment of it, but admitted it was "like a bottle of neat gin swallowed before breakfast. It's intoxicating all right, but it'll do you no good". Steve Chibnall writes that "America
8384-503: The film in a special edition on DVD in October 2000 in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio . Extras included three trailers; the international trailer, an introduction by Michael Caine to the people of Newcastle, and a third featuring Roy Budd playing the opening theme. This format was also used in a 2001 VHS set released by Warner, which included Bullit and Shaft . Also included on the DVD
8515-556: The film languished on the drive-in circuit, while MGM focused its resources on producing Hit Man , a blaxploitation -themed remake of the film. Get Carter eventually garnered a cult following , and further endorsements from directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie led to the film being critically re-evaluated, with its depiction of class structure and life in 1970s Britain and Roy Budd 's minimalist jazz score receiving considerable praise. In 1999, Get Carter
8646-443: The film showing Carter holding a pump-action shotgun ; in the finished film, the only shotgun used by Carter is a double-barrelled shotgun, which Carter finds on top of his brother Frank's wardrobe. MGM sold distribution rights to the film in the U.S. to its future subsidiary United Artists , which promoted it poorly, amidst worries the cockney dialogue in the opening scene would be unintelligible to U.S. audiences. The film's release
8777-422: The film, as well as a new audio commentary with critics Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw , an isolated music track, interviews with Hodges, Trunk Records founder Jonny Trunk , actress Petra Markham and Michael Klinger's son Tony, Philip Trevelyan 's 1966 documentary film The Ship Hotel, Tyne Main , a booklet containing various essays on the film and other paraphernalia, postcards and a double-sided poster for both
8908-521: The film, saying it "not only maintains interest but conveys with rare artistry, restraint and clarity the many brutal, sordid and gamy plot turns". However, Jay Cocks writing in Time was disparaging, calling the film "a doggedly nasty piece of business" and comparing it unfavourably to Point Blank . The film appeared on several US critics' lists of best films of the year. In Michael Klinger's The Guardian obituary in 1989, Derek Malcolm remembered
9039-582: The first locations which attracted Hodges' attention was the Trinity Square multi-storey car park, which dominated the centre of Gateshead. To Hodges, the car park and the cast iron bridges over the Tyne , "seemed to capture the nature of Jack Carter himself". The car park embodies one of the film's more subtle themes, which is the destruction of an old cityscape and its rebuilding in line with modern Brutalism . Hodges described how wandering alone through
9170-457: The floral jacket, but said he was painting a lot of flowers in designs at that time. Chibnall describes the flower power imagery as "what seems like a desperate and misguided attempt to suggest the hipness of a genre which had largely fallen out of favour". However, movie poster expert Sim Branaghan liked its eccentricity, calling it was "that kind of quirkiness you wouldn't get these days". Jonny Trunk of Trunk Records —a long-time aficionado of
9301-533: The formal constraints of the former generation, and turning public attention once more to language, theatrical rhetoric, and emotional intensity. As a young man he decided 'it was a beholden duty at all times for me to kick against the pricks'; he saw theatre as a weapon with which ordinary people could break down class barriers. He wanted his plays to be a reminder of real pleasures and real pains. David Hare said in his memorial address: John Osborne devoted his life to trying to forge some sort of connection between
9432-422: The general stance of British critics "was to admire the film's power and professionalism while condemning its amorality and excessive violence". Geoff Mayer observed that "Mainstream critics at the time were dismayed by the film's complex plotting and Carter's lack of remorse". In Sight and Sound , Tom Milne said the film was well-constructed and had good characterisation, but lacked the mystery and charisma of
9563-424: The grounds of Kinnear's estate, kills her with a fatal injection, and leaves her body there. He then calls the police to raid Kinnear's party. Jack chases Eric along a beach. He forces Eric to drink a bottle of whisky as Eric had done to Frank, then beats him to death with his shotgun. Having avenged Frank and Doreen, Jack walks along the shoreline, where he is shot dead from a distance by Kinnear's associate. There
9694-520: The headmaster. A School Certificate was the only formal qualification he acquired. After school, Osborne went home to his mother in London and briefly tried trade journalism. A job tutoring a touring company of junior actors introduced him to the theatre. He soon became involved as a stage manager and actor and joined Anthony Creighton 's provincial touring company. Osborne tried his hand at writing plays, co-writing his first, The Devil Inside Him , with his mentor Stella Linden , who directed it at
9825-410: The job". He gave Hodges multiple possibilities of how the sound could be dubbed, and explored every angle. Klinger was worried that the debut director might be overwhelmed with too many options, but Hodges said he and Atkinson got on very well. As Carter drives away from the flats, with Glenda in the boot of the car, the tyres make a screeching sound. This was later sampled by Vangelis , who used it on
9956-548: The last two decades of his life Osborne published two volumes of autobiography , A Better Class of Person (1981) and Almost a Gentleman (1991). Reviewing the first of these books, Alan Bennett wrote, "It is immensely enjoyable, is written with great gusto and Osborne has had better notices for it than for any of his plays since Inadmissible Evidence ." A Better Class of Person was filmed by Thames Television in 1985, featuring Eileen Atkins and Alan Howard as his parents, and Gary Capelin and Neil McPherson as Osborne. It
10087-428: The late 1960s, a relaxation in film censorship produced an increase in dark, uncompromising films, with many directors pushing the boundaries of acceptability. Get Carter was a film that explored this freedom. The project went from concept to finished film in just 10 months. In 1969, producer Michael Klinger devised plans for a gangster film to capitalise on public interest in the British criminal underworld after
10218-559: The next election, adding "Barrenness is preferable to rape by one of two monsters." His play Time Present (1968) contains a mocking caricature of a female Labour MP. Critics saw a conservative attitude to empire reflected in West of Suez , and later in the 1970s he expressed support for Enoch Powell . In the words of Osborne's biographer Michael Ratcliffe, "he drifted to the libertarian, unorganized right"; even his friend David Hare acknowledged that he passed "from passion to prejudice. He
10349-434: The official explanation, Jack investigates for himself. At the funeral, Jack meets his teenage niece Doreen, and Frank's evasive mistress, Margaret. Jack goes to Newcastle Racecourse , seeking his old acquaintance Albert Swift for information about his brother's death, but Swift evades him. Jack encounters another old associate, Eric Paice, who refuses to tell Jack who is employing him as a chauffeur. Tailing Eric leads him to
10480-663: The original opening, which were found in the archives of the BBC. The team then spliced the beginning segment onto a high-quality print of the film. The reissue premiered at the National Film Theatre and went on general release on 11 June 1999, showing at the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle. On 16 March 2022, the BFI announced that they would be partnering with Warner Bros. and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment for
10611-768: The play transferred successfully to the Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith) and to Broadway , later touring to Moscow . A film version was released in May 1959 with Richard Burton and Mary Ure in the leading roles. The play brought Osborne fame and won him the Evening Standard Drama Award as the most promising playwright of 1956. During production Osborne, then married, began a relationship with (Eileen) Mary Ure, and would divorce his wife, Pamela Lane, to marry Ure in 1957. Ure died in 1975. When he first saw Look Back in Anger , Laurence Olivier had
10742-466: The plot to a linear narrative spanning a single weekend. As Chibnall writes: The immediate consequence was the loss of the insights into Carter's motivations provided by his memories of boyhood and his relationships with brother Frank and delinquent gang leader Albert Swift. Also lost was the backstory of Carter's dealings with Eric Paice during their time as rival gangsters in London, in particular, Eric's violent treatment of Carter's lover Audrey (Anna in
10873-496: The possibility that the "resentment that John Osborne so virulently articulated" might be shared by many others, while the trade unionist Jack Jones commented, "every true Socialist should roar with applause". In his public letter, however, Osborne had denounced Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell as well as Conservative PM Harold Macmillan . The following year, he told the Daily Herald that he would not be voting Labour at
11004-511: The premiere of Watch It Come Down , though Richard Ellmann , reviewing an early performance, noticed unintentional audience laughter. Perhaps his most harshly received work from this era was A Sense of Detachment (1972), which has no plot and features a scene where an elderly lady recites at length from a hardcore porn catalogue. Part of the play involves actors planted in the audience pretending to protest, though after this began to trigger actual heckling, actress Rachel Kempson leapt into
11135-652: The record are much sought after by collectors and sell for around £100. The soundtrack—including pieces not used in the film—was originally only available in its entirety in Japan, where it was released on Odeon Records . It was released in the UK in 1998 by the Cinephile label, a subsidiary of Castle Communications . In 2012, the theme was included on the Soul Jazz Records compilation British TV, Film and Library Composers . The film includes other music which
11266-560: The red hordes or whatever you like... damn you, England. You're rotting now, and quite soon you'll disappear... I write this from another country, with murder in my brain and a knife carried in my heart for every one of you. I am not alone. If WE had just the ultimate decency and courage, we would strike at you - now, before you blaspheme the world in our name. There is nothing I should not give for your blood on my head. The letter caused controversy. Conservative journalist Peregrine Worsthorne expressed concern about its "murderous language" and
11397-450: The restoration and a replication of the original UK poster art. On Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of 87% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 7.50/10; the site's critical consensus reads "Darkly entertaining and tightly wound, Get Carter is a gritty revenge story done right". In 2003, Steve Chibnall observed a large gender imbalance in voting on the film up to April 2002, with less than 6% of votes cast (where
11528-585: The river, unaware that Glenda is in the boot. Returning to the car park, Jack finds and beats Brumby before throwing him to his death. He then posts the film to the Scotland Yard vice squad. Jack abducts Margaret. He telephones Kinnear (who is in the middle of a wild party at his home), telling him that he has the film, and makes a deal for Kinnear to give him Eric in exchange for his silence. Kinnear agrees, sending Eric to an agreed location; however, he subsequently phones an associate. Jack drives Margaret to
11659-466: The role in Anthony Page 's original Royal Court production, in its 1965 Broadway debut, and in the 1968 movie version. In 1965 the play transferred to Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End . Williamson played Maitland, with John Hurt as Jones, Cyril Raymond as Hudson, Clare Kelly as Joy, and Eleanor Fazan as Liz. In spring 1981, he and original director Anthony Page revived the play for
11790-558: The role models he identified was not a literary figure but a popular entertainer. Osborne was a great fan of comic Max Miller , and saw parallels between them: I love him (Max Miller), because he embodied a kind of theatre I admire most. 'Mary from the Dairy' was an overture to the danger that (Max) might go too far. Whenever anyone tells me that a scene or a line in a play of mine goes too far in some way then I know my instinct has been functioning as it should. When such people tell you that
11921-409: The same extras as the 2000 release, although with only two trailers and this time in 16:9 ratio. Get Carter was released on Blu-ray Disc by Warner on April 22, 2014; this release features the same extras as the special edition DVD, but due to a manufacturing error, American pressings of the disc utilize the dubbed American version of the opening sequence instead of the original audio. This change
12052-510: The screenplay) the memory of which fuels Carter's hatred. The significance of the double-barrelled shotgun as Carter's choice of weapon (which in the novel symbolises family ties and Carter's memories of more innocent times hunting with his brother) was lost in the film adaptation. Carter's killing of Brumby and his own assassination were further alterations from the novel, emphasising the film's parallels with revenge tragedy and Carter's role as what Geoff Mayer calls "the moral agent [...]
12183-626: The small supporting roles. Godfrey Quigley was cast as Eddie Appleyard, a colleague of Frank Carter's. Kevin Brennan appears as Harry the card-player. Ben Aris , who plays one of the architects, had previously appeared in such films as if.... , The Charge of the Light Brigade and Hamlet . Carl Howard's character of the assassin, "J", is only identified by the initial on his ring, in his only film role, and an appropriate mystery surrounds his real identity. His name does not appear on
12314-403: The stairs; one from the lowest level of the stairwell where Caine actually threw Bryan Mosley over the side onto mattresses; one shot of a dummy falling; and one of the body of Brumby on top of a crushed car. Carter's climactic pursuit of Eric used an amalgamation of two locations spaced 35 miles (56 km) apart: Blyth staithes and Blackhall Beach near Blackhall Colliery . The chase scene
12445-656: The stalls and assaulted some of the troublemakers in a much publicised incident. A representative review in the Financial Times declared, "This must surely be an end to his career in the theatre". During that decade Osborne played the role of gangster Cyril Kinnear in Get Carter (1971). Later, he appeared in Tomorrow Never Comes (1978) and Flash Gordon (1980). Osborne's later public image differed from his 'angry young man' persona of
12576-509: The sun began setting to capture the overcast shadowy lighting seen in the film. The film shows the beach black with coal spoilings, dumped there by the mine's conveyor system. The conveyor, a common sight on the East Durham coast, was known locally as The Flight. In the early 2000s, £10 million was spent removing these conveyors and the concrete towers, and cleaning tonnes of coal waste from the beaches of East Durham. The cleaning programme
12707-437: The two of them saw it together. Miller found the play revelatory, and they went backstage to meet Osborne. Olivier was impressed by the American's reaction and asked Osborne for a part in his next play. George Devine , artistic director of the Royal Court, sent Olivier the incomplete script of The Entertainer . Olivier eventually took the central role as failing music-hall performer Archie Rice, playing successfully both at
12838-748: The union until the couple were divorcing), spending their first night as a married couple together in the Cromwell Road in London . The two lived a fairly itinerant and reasonably happy married existence at first, living at a number of places around London and finding work there at first, then touring, staying in Kidderminster in Osborne's case. While Lane's acting career flourished in Derby, Osborne's struggled, and she began an affair with Joe Selby,
12969-404: The upper structure, he realised how the different levels could be used to reveal the hunter, Carter, and the hunted, Brumby, simultaneously but without either being aware of the other – adding to the suspense. The shopping centre and car park were closed in early 2008 and demolished in late 2010. The location for Cyril Kinnear's house, Dryderdale Hall, near Hamsterley, Bishop Auckland , provided
13100-482: The very tense and emotional day filming in Glenda's flat, when the focus puller ruined his first take . Caine apologised immediately. The most complicated scene to shoot was Kinnear's game of cards. There are four simultaneous conversations, with a lot of plot exposition and the introduction of two important characters, Kinnear and Glenda. The technical complexity was compounded by the variation in light coming through
13231-629: The vicar restored the Book of Common Prayer (Osborne had returned to the Church of England in about 1974). Ferdinand Mount draws a contrast between this devotion to Anglican ritual and the opening of Look Back in Anger , with Jimmy Porter railing against the sound of church bells. In 2003 the Osbourne's residence was opened as a residential retreat for writers by the Arvon Foundation . In
13362-409: The voters gave their gender) by women (53 out of 947). He also noticed a substantial increase in women voting on the film in the eight months leading up to April 2002. Describing the initial critical response to the film, Steve Chibnall wrote "Initial critical vilification or indifference establishes the conditions in which a cult can flourish. Get Carter had to make do with ambivalence". He thought
13493-412: The windows, and Osborne's whispered delivery which made microphone placement difficult. Hodges moved the camera and the boom closer to Osborne as the scene progressed. Chibnall says that Hodges regretted not rehearsing the scene more thoroughly. In shooting the scene in which Carter throws Brumby to his death from the multi-storey car park, Hodges used four shots: one of the pair struggling high up on
13624-510: The young boy an insurance settlement which he used to pay for a private education at Belmont College, a minor public school in Barnstaple , Devon. He entered the school in 1943, but was expelled in the summer term of 1945. Osborne claimed this was for hitting the headmaster, who had struck him for listening to a broadcast by Frank Sinatra , but another former pupil asserted that Osborne was caught fighting with other pupils and did not assault
13755-509: Was Carter's The Name . Steve Chibnall writes: "his treatment retained the essential structure of Lewis's novel with its strong narrative drive, but introduced some minor changes to characterisation and more fundamental alterations to narratology ". Given that Ted Lewis had not specified where his novel was set, Hodges felt free to relocate the story to a place he was familiar with, considering Grimsby , Lowestoft , Hull and North Shields before deciding on Newcastle upon Tyne. Hodges said he
13886-479: Was commentary from Caine, Hodges and Suschitzky, constructed from separate interviews with the three. The soundtrack was presented in 1.0 mono Dolby Digital . The film was bundled in the 2008 "Movies That Matter – 70's Classics" DVD set with Deliverance and Dog Day Afternoon . It is available from the Warner Archive Collection as a Made on Demand (MOD) DVD-R or a download, with
14017-408: Was Frank's daughter. Brumby showed Frank the film to incite him to call the police on Kinnear so Eric and two of his men arranged Frank's death. Having extracted this information, Jack fatally stabs Albert. Jack is attacked by the London gangsters and Eric, who has informed Fletcher of Jack and Anna's affair. In the ensuing shootout, Jack kills Peter. As Eric and Con escape, they push the sports car into
14148-470: Was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and entrepreneur, who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-war theatre . Born in London, he briefly worked as a journalist before starting out in theatre as a stage manager and actor. He lived in poverty for several years before his third produced play, Look Back in Anger (1956), brought him national fame. Based on Osborne's volatile relationship with his first wife, Pamela Lane, it
14279-514: Was approved by Hodges. Chibnall has established that the film was shown on LWT in 1976 and 1980 "in a bowdlerised version" (which edited out Britt Ekland's phone sex scene) and once on Westward Television and on Granada in August 1981, but it was not shown nationally and in its entirety until a post-watershed BBC broadcast in 1986. It was finally released on home media in 1993 by MGM/UA as part of its "Elite Collection". Chibnall says "There
14410-470: Was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Writer's Guild of Great Britain . In A Better Class of Person , Osborne describes the emotional appeal that socialism had to him as a schoolboy and how he and his closest friends "all attended the local Labour Party meetings" as youths. He carried these affiliations with him into adult life, alienating fellow commuters and colleagues by regularly bringing
14541-399: Was carried over to the initial British pressings of the disc, but was later reversed following public backlash; later British pressings sold by outlets such as Amazon UK feature the original audio track. BFI Video released its 4K restoration of Get Carter on August 1, 2022 on standard and Ultra HD Blu-ray ; the two-disc sets include the special features of earlier home media releases of
14672-825: Was considered its leading figure due to his often controversial left-wing politics, though critics nevertheless noted a conservative strain even in his early writing. The Entertainer (1957), Luther (1961), and Inadmissable Evidence (1964) were also well-received, Luther winning the 1964 Tony Award for Best Play , though reception to his later plays was less favourable. During this period Osborne began writing and acting for television and appearing in films, most notably as crime boss Cyril Kinnear in Get Carter (1971). In 1958, Osborne joined Look Back in Anger director Tony Richardson and film producer Harry Saltzman to form Woodfall Film Productions , in order to produce Richardson's 1959 film adaptation of Anger and other works of kitchen sink realism, spearheading
14803-403: Was delayed while parts of the film were redubbed, with no great improvement. In the process of redubbing the opening, the version of the film with the original dialogue was lost. For years the version shown on British television was the redubbed American cut. UA placed the film on the declining drive-in movie circuit , where it played at the bottom of a double bill with Dirty Dingus Magee ,
14934-568: Was first performed in 1964. In between these plays, Osborne won an Oscar for his 1963 screenplay adaptation of Tom Jones . His 1965 play, A Patriot for Me , draws on the Austrian Redl case, involving themes of homosexuality and espionage, and helped to end the system of theatrical censorship under the Lord Chamberlain . Both A Patriot For Me and The Hotel in Amsterdam (1968) won Evening Standard Best Play of
15065-503: Was for adults only. It was later reclassified as 'R' , meaning children under the age of 17 had to be accompanied by an adult. A censored version was released in West Germany on 6 August 1971, with a running time nine minutes shorter than the original. Michael Klinger was involved in promotion of the film in the UK, using the experience from his background as a distributor to conduct a strong advertising campaign. Teaser posters for
15196-577: Was forced back into a position which, finally, for most writers is undignified and unproductive: the pretence that the past is always, necessarily, superior to the present". Several commentators have argued that a conservative and nostalgic strain was apparent in Osborne's work from an early stage. As early as 1957, Kenneth Tynan had noticed "a deeply submerged nostalgia" for Britain's pre- WW1 past in The Entertainer . Osborne had many affairs and frequently mistreated his wives and lovers. He
15327-407: Was happening. Others were sourced from local casting company Beverley Artistes, which sent everyone registered with it for auditions, one of these being Deana Wilde, who was cast as the pub singer. Several of the company's actors were also in background shots in the film including the casino, streets, bars and the police raid scene. Mike Hodges recruited a band of experienced character actors to play
15458-468: Was influenced in his writing by the works of Raymond Chandler and Hollywood B-movies such as Kiss Me Deadly , because they showed "how to use the crime story as an autopsy on society's ills". He did not, however, employ a traditional noir technique of using a voiceover to expose the character's inner feelings. He also dispensed with flashbacks to Carter's youth featured in the novel which explored his relationship with his brother Frank, streamlining
15589-517: Was known as Turning the Tide. Klinger was a hands-on producer who remained present throughout shooting and in post-production. He suggested Hodges use John Trumper as editor. Hodges said that he and Trumper argued and disagreed constantly, but he still thought he was a "brilliant, brilliant editor" and was "very grateful to him for [...] how much he contributed". Sound editing and dubbing was done by Jim Atkinson, whom Hodges described as "so obsessive about
15720-656: Was married five times, all except the last being unhappy unions. The first four were marred by frequent affairs and mistreatment of his partners. He outlived three of his wives, being survived only by the first and the last, both of whom have since died. His final marriage, from 1978 until his death, was to the journalist Helen Dawson . Source: In A Better Class of Person , Osborne describes feeling an immediate and intense attraction towards his first wife, Pamela Lane. The pair were both members of an acting troupe in Bridgwater . She had just recently shorn her hair down to
15851-485: Was no advertising to suggest a significant event had occurred. It was simply a part of the long process of exploiting MGM's back catalogue in the run-up to Christmas". Despite this, the release was given a five-star review in Empire , where it was described as "one of the best British films of the 70s". Chibnall notes "it did not, however, find a place in Empire ' s top fifty videos of the year". Warner Bros. reissued
15982-509: Was nominated for the Prix Italia . Osborne's last play was Déjàvu (1992), a sequel to Look Back in Anger . Various of his newspaper and magazine writings appeared in a collection entitled Damn You, England (1994), while his two autobiographical volumes were reissued as Looking Back – Never Explain, Never Apologise (1999). Osborne described his childhood home as a place "where books... were almost completely disregarded". One of
16113-411: Was not surprising, but its aggressive dispatch did give me a kind of baffled relief. It was like being grasped at the upper arm by a testy policeman and told to move on". Finally it was sent to the new English Stage Company at London's Royal Court Theatre . Formed by actor-manager and artistic director George Devine , the company had seen its first two productions perform disappointingly. Devine
16244-492: Was one of those unguarded souls who can make themselves understood by penguins or the wildest dervishes .. I was not in love. There was fondness and pleasure, but no groping expectations, just a feeling of fleeting heart's ease. For the present we were both content enough. Eventually, Osborne became jealous and somewhat contemptuous of Ure's stable family background and her relationship with them. He also began to lose regard for her acting abilities. Get Carter Get Carter
16375-535: Was performing in Hugh Hastings' play Seagulls over Sorrento in a repertory theatre . Osborne's play is largely autobiographical, based on his time living, and arguing, with Pamela Lane in cramped accommodation in Derby , while she had an affair with a local dentist. It was submitted to several agents in London, who rejected it. In his autobiography, Osborne writes: "The speed with which it had been returned
16506-599: Was prepared to gamble on this play because he saw in it a powerful articulation of a new post-war spirit. Osborne was living on a houseboat with Creighton at Cubitts Yacht Basin in Chiswick on the River Thames at the time and eating stewed nettles from the riverbank. When Devine accepted the play, he had to row out to the houseboat to speak to Osborne. The play was directed by Tony Richardson and starred Kenneth Haigh , Mary Ure and Alan Bates . George Fearon,
16637-577: Was pressure from MGM to have more big-name American stars in the film, which was successfully resisted by Hodges. As well as Telly Savalas , names posited by Klinger and studio executives were Joan Collins , and someone Hodges described as "the Canadian lead actress in TV's Peyton Place ", which is likely a reference to Barbara Parkins . The production also utilised a large number of extras, most of whom were locals who just happened to be on scene when filming
16768-545: Was ranked 16th on the BFI Top 100 British films of the 20th century; five years later, a survey of British film critics in Total Film magazine chose it as the greatest British film of all time. A poorly received second remake under the same title was released in 2000, with Sylvester Stallone portraying Jack Carter and Caine in a supporting role. Newcastle -born gangster Jack Carter has lived in London for years in
16899-452: Was rather more used to hard-boiled storytelling" and that reviewers there were "more prepared than British criticism to treat Get Carter as a serious work", Pauline Kael admiring its "calculated soullessness" and wondering if it signalled a "new genre of virtuoso viciousness". US publication Box Office gave a cautiously approving review, describing the film as "nasty, violent and sexy all at once". It predicted that "It should please in
17030-407: Was shot in reverse, with Hodges filming Eric's death scene first because of Hendry's poor condition, Hodges being worried that he would be too out of breath to play the death scene after running. Hodges chose the beach for its bleak, dark atmosphere but when he returned to shoot the scene he found it bathed in bright sunshine, unsuitable for the sombre conclusion he was hoping for. He waited hours until
17161-450: Was very influenced by Mike Hodges who has a very good eye for setups and he of course conferred with his operator and myself, but he influenced all of us, and much of the good look is due to him, I confess. My main task was lighting on location, very moderately, and waiting for the right daylight and setting the exposure on the lens". In the first week of shooting in Newcastle, the ACTT called
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