Trivia / Get Carter (1971)

• Breakthrough Hit: For director Mike Hodges.
• Cast the Expert: As a young man John Bindon (Sid Fletcher) had been in and out of borstal, and spent most of his adult life associating with criminals, so he was ideally suited to play a gangland boss, despite being young, having intimate knowledge of that world. In the late 1970s his career suffered as he became entangled in accusations of protection racketeering in Fulham and was acquitted of murder at the Old Bailey.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Ian Hendry was supposed to play Carter, but he was deemed unreliable due to his alcoholism and ill-health. He resented Michael Caine for replacing him, which adds to their characters' animosity.
• Completely Different Title: Called La Loi du Milieu ("The Law of the [Criminal] Underworld") in French.
• Hostility on the Set: Ian Hendry, who plays Eric, was in line for the title role and never forgave Caine for taking over it. The onscreen hatred you see is very real.
• Late Export for You: You would think you could pop down to your record shop and get Roy Budd's music on a vinyl in 1971, and you could... in Japan. There wouldn't be a British album release (if you didn't fancy paying expensive import prices) until The '90s!
• Money, Dear Boy: Britt Ekland was afraid of becoming typecast, having already played two gangster's molls before this. She was also reluctant to take the part as she did not want to take her clothes off; however, she had financial problems at the time as a result of bad investment decisions by her accountant. She was later happy that she had been involved with the project.
• One-Take Wonder: The scene featuring Jack Carter and Eric Paice at the horse race was shot in one take.
• Playing Against Type:
  • Michael Caine, usually the Loveable Rogue (at the time), is the Sociopathic Hero.
  • John Osborne relished the role of Cyril Kinnear, seeing it as a chance to shed his image as an "Angry Young Man".
• Reality Subtext: The tension between Carter and Eric Paice was assisted by the fact that Carter was originally going to be played by Ian Hendry until Michael Caine was hired, much to Hendry's resentment.
• Referenced by...:
  • "Delicious" by the British band Sleeper starts with "You're a big man, but you're out of shape," a common misquote of the line "You're a big man, but you're in bad shape."
  • Pennyworth: the personality of Alfred is modelled after several roles of Michael Caine, including Carter.
  • One of the Grand Theft Auto: London video games includes a woman named "Glenda", who's voiced by Geraldine Moffat, who played Glenda in Get Carter.
• Stillborn Franchise: MGM executives protested Mike Hodges' decision to kill Carter at the end, as they were hoping to make a sequel to the film, but Hodges insisted that Carter should pay for his crimes. Funnily enough, the source novel had sequels - Jack Carter's Law and Jack Carter and the Mafia Pigeon.
• What Could Have Been:
  • MGM wanted Telly Savalas for Cliff Brumby.
  • Michael Caine and the producer wanted a Car Chase, but Mike Hodges refused, feeling it was too similar to Bullitt. The idea would be used in the 2000 remake.
  • The studio considered Joan Collins for a role.
• Working Title: Bent, Carter, Here Comes Carter, and Carter's the Name.

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