Over his forty year career, Mike Hodges struck lightning exactly twice with Get Carter and The Croupier. Okay, maybe three times if you count the cult camp classic Flash Gordon (no pun intended about the lightning).
Hodges started out in 1964, directing a variety of episodes on multiple British TV series. Then, in 1971, Hodges made his feature film debut with Get Carter starring Michael Caine. As Jack Carter, Caine plays a London gangster who returns home to Newcastle after his brother dies, and soon begins to believe that the death was no accident. This realization sets off a series of events as Carter winds his way through the dark corners of his hometown to discover the truth of his brother’s passing.
While Get Carter was all but completely ignored by year-end awards, it quickly became a classic British gangster film. Hodges’ film feels perfectly controlled from the first second to the last. His command of storytelling, and commitment to the grim, unsentimental tale makes his debut one of the finest first films any director has ever made. Hodges gets one of Caine’s very best performances from him, and Hodges’ use of the bleak Newcastle terrain matches the tone of the movie perfectly.
Just one year later. Hodges and Caine reteamed to make Pulp, an equally dark film about a skeevy writer of crime fiction who connects with a former actor to assist him with his memoirs. Unfortunately, while the film has its fans, the magic from Get Carter did not carry over to Pulp. It occurred to me when thinking of his first two films that no one should ever remake Get Carter (see Stallone’s ill-fated effort from 2000, or, better yet, don’t) and someone should definitely remake Pulp. The premise is terrific, and while Pulp is effective in stretches, it never really comes together.
After the disappointment of his sophomore effort, followed by the failure of his third film (1974’s The Terminal Man), Hodges didn’t officially direct another film until Flash Gordon in 1980 (he did do some uncredited work on Damien: Omen II). To say that Hodges’ aesthetic seems like an odd match for a big budget space opera extravaganza like Flash is to put it mildly. Although producer Dino De Laurentiis’ preferred options (Federico Fellini, Nicolas Roeg, and Sergio Leone) are even more mind blowing. George Lucas tried for years to get the rights from the infamous De Laurentiis to make his own version of Flash. Failing to do so, he turned his attention to his own sci-fi adventure, a film you may have heard of called Star Wars.
Flash Gordon was critically panned upon release and was considered a box office disappointment. However, thanks to nostalgia and lovers of filmic cheese, the movie has gained new life, becoming essentially the Rocky Horror Picture Show of sci-fi films. Oddly, Hodges is seldom mentioned when the film is spoken of. Most of the attention is given to the film’s starcrossed lead Sam Jones, the Queen soundtrack, and the often unintentionally silly set design. I have a feeling Hodges may have liked it that way.
It took nearly twenty years for Hodges to make another notable film, but when he did, he did so with a vengeance with 1998’s Croupier. This time, Hodges was back in his element, and was aided significantly by Clive Owen, who delivers a star-making performance as Jack Manfred, an aspiring writer who takes a job as a croupier at a casino, and becomes involved in a scheme to rob his employer. While the film is certainly dark and gritty, the film is ultimately less grim and even a little hopeful in its closing moments. Coming in at a lean 94 minutes, Croupier is like a Bruce Lee sinew – there is simply no fat on it. Unfortunately, the film did not qualify for the Oscars due to having first been shown on Dutch TV. It’s hard to say whether the Academy would have responded to the film with nominations, but it’s hard to believe that the film wouldn’t have been in discussion in the categories of original screenplay, lead actor, and certainly, director.
Having regained his footing, it still took Hodges another five years before returning to the director’s chair with I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (also starring Clive Owen). Taking its template from Get Carter (the mysterious death of a brother leading to one man’s journey into the seediest corners of Britain), the film met with mixed reviews and left theaters quietly the summer it was released. While not on the level of either Get Carter or Croupier, I’ve always had a soft spot for the film. Its unrelenting grimness doesn’t make it an easy watch, but there can be no denying Hodges’ dark vision.
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead would be Hodges’ final feature film. In some ways his career reminds me a lot of the American director James Foley, who somehow directed At Close Range and Glengarry Glen Ross, but also the last two Fifty Shades films. It boggles the mind, really. Both Hodges and Foley made two great films, one very good one (I’ll Sleep for Hodges and After Dark, My Sweet for Foley) and then a piece of high camp that I’m not sure either man would like to claim.
But what Hodges can proudly claim is two touchstones in the long, great history of British crime cinema. Not many directors make even one great film. Hodges made two. As the ubiquitous ‘they’ might say, “that ain’t bad.”
Mike Hodges died on December 17, 2022. He was 90 years old.
