I’ll get right to the point here; Ted Lewis’s 1970 novel Jack’s Return Home (re-titled Get Carter so I’ll call it that from here on) is one of the most influential works of crime fiction in existence. In the world of U.K. hardboiled literature it’s had the kind of impact that books by Dashiell Hammett…
Brothers shouldn’t get involved with the same woman. There could be a whole subgenre or books/movies in which this scenario is involved, and I feel confident stating that tragedy would be a common theme. Bob Crane (no, not that Bob Crane), narrator of Hill Girl—Charles Williams’s excellent work of farmyard pulp from 1951—never had any…
Lots of people know about the landmark 1971 British gangland film Get Carter (and if you’re a crime fiction/film enthusiast who doesn’t: stop here, go watch it, then come back and read this later). But too few have been hipped to Ted Lewis, the author of the novel that served as that movie’s basis. Lewis…
Michael Caine occupies a unique position in film history. He’s one of the most important British film actors ever, but he’s always been a bigger a star in Britain then in the United States. For example, The Italian Job (1969) is a hugely popular film in Britain, but was a relative failure over here. Too…
