"Get Carter" is now widely acknowledged as the finest British gangster film of all time. Released in 1971, the film fell out of fashion until the cultural changes of the 1990s gave a new currency to its pessimistic vision of a doomed male within a decaying social order. Before its re-release in 1999, Mike Hodges' fusion of the crime genre with social realism received surprisingly little critical attention. Steve Chibnall's book now gives "Get Carter" the consideration it demands. With the co-operation of Hodges and access to rare documents, including an early draft of the script, Chibnall places the film in its social context, describes its making, discusses its characteristics, scene by scene, and charts its changing status since the 1970s.

Steve Chibnall is leader of the Film Studies Pathway and coordinator of the British Cinema and Television Research Group, De Montfort University, Leicester.

Illustrations /vi Acknowledgements /vii Foreword by Mike Hodges /viii Film Credits 1 1 Carter in Context 3 2 From London Luxury to Terminal Beach 48 3 Death and Resurrection 90 Appendix: Scene Breakdown and Shooting Schedule 117 Notes 127 Select Bibliography 136