Happy 88th Birthday, Mike Hodges! Born today in 1932 as Michael Tommy "Mike" Hodges, this English novelist, playwright, screenwriter and film director's spasmodic career illustrates many of the besetting problems of the British film industry.
Born in Bristol, England, United Kingdom, Hodges, years later, qualified as a chartered accountant and served out his two years' National Service on the lower deck of a Royal Navy minesweeper.
Afterwards, Hodges got a job in British television as a teleprompter operator. This allowed him to observe the workings of the studios, and gave him time to start writing scripts.
One of these was Some Will Cry Murder, written for ABC’s British television drama anthology series Armchair Theatre (1956–1974). Although never performed, it served to get Hodges enough writing commissions to quit his job as a technician.
After writing for British television, Hod's quickly progressed to producer/director status. He later wrote, produced and directed two filmed thrillers for ITV Playhouse (1967–present).
These were the 1969 British comedy drama film 'Suspect' (S03E12) and the 1970 British comedy drama film 'Rumour' (S03E22); again collaborating with Thames Television.
These films formed the basis for the creation of Euston Films, the influential, subsidiary television production company operating from 1971–1994.
These two films also led to Hodges being asked to write and direct the film for which he is best known. This was the 1971 British crime thriller/adventure film 'Get Carter'. It had later been described as "one of the great British gangster films of all time".
The film follows Jack Carter (Michael Caine), a cold-blooded London gangster, and not the sort of man you want to cross.
When Carter's brother winds up dead, he travels to Newcastle to arrange the funeral. Convinced that his brother was murdered, Carter questions local thug Eric (Ian Hendry), who eventually leads him to kingpin Cyril Kinnear (John Osborne).
From there, Carter carves a bloody trail of revenge through the seedy underbelly of Newcastle in search of his brother's killer.
The film had been memorably adapted from British crime fiction writer Ted Lewis’ uncompromising 1970 mystery thriller crime fiction novel Jack’s Return Home.
'Get Carter' is not just one of the finest exponents of British neo-noir, but one of the greatest British films ever, period. Unfortunately, upon its release, 'Get Carter' received no awards and did not seem likely to be well remembered.
However, nine years later, Hodges' 1980 American fantasy/science fiction film 'Flash Gordon' has enjoyed cult status ever since. The film was based off of the eponymous King Features comic strip created by American cartoonist Alex Raymond.
Interspersed with Hodges' cinema work are some interesting and critically successful television films. His most notable was the one that he created, being the British drama television mini-series Dandelion Dead (February 6, 1994–February 13, 1994).
The mini-series was scripted by English theatre, radio, television and non-fiction writer and former television producer and executive Michael Chaplin.
Two decades after Hodges' 'Flash Gordon', the titular 2000 American action thriller drama/crime film was released, with Sylvester Stallone starring in and taking over the titular role.
This time, the film is set in Las Vegas, Nevada, with Stallone playing a mob enforcer. Caine also co-stars as loan shark Cliff Brumby.
Upon release, the critical reaction for 'Get Carter' was negative, and the film flopped at the box office.
The film's worldwide earnings were $19.e million against a production budget of $63.6 million. It currently holds a 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Hodges had been active from 1964–2004.
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