Trivia / The Harder They Come

• Actor-Shared Background: Some autobiographical elements from Jimmy Cliff's life ended up in the film. Like Ivan, he was a Jamaican country boy who moved to Kingston to pursue success. Also, the music executive offering Ivan a pittance of money for a song was based on what really happened to Cliff at the start of his career. Thankfully, he didn't turn to crime in response like Ivan, but instead went to Leslie Kong, who owned a large record store, and convinced him to start a record label. Kong became one of the important early figures in Reggae, and has a small role in the film as Hilton's recording engineer and right-hand man.
• He Also Did:
  • Ras Daniel Heartman (Pedro) was also a well-known artist in Jamaica, mainly doing charcoal drawings, with many Rasta-themed works and album covers to his credit.
  • Beverly Anderson (the wealthy woman who Ivan begs for a job) later married Michael Manley, which made her First Lady of Jamaica when Manley became Prime Minister.
• No Budget: The production kept running out of money and took several years to complete.
• Referenced by...:
  • The song "Rivers Of Babylon" by The Melodians would later be covered by Boney M. and became a huge disco hit.
  • "The Guns Of Brixton" by The Clash on London Calling references the film. Much later it went full circle when Cliff recorded a Cover Version.
    You see, he feels like Ivan
    Born under the Brixton sun
    His game is called survivin'
    At the end of "The Harder They Come"
  • Another Clash-related Shout-Out was in Big Audio Dynamite's "C'mon Every Beatbox", which opens with a sample of Prince Buster's dancehall DJ character saying "Sit tight and listen keenly while I play for you a brand-new musical biscuit!"
• Writing by the Seat of Your Pants: Director/producer Perry Henzell started developing the film before a script was written. He had the main actors brainstorm their characters, then the script was written around them.