We reveal the secrets behind Get Carter, one of the most brutal gangster flicks of all time

The film was not well-received by critics initially.

They complained that the characters were “clichéd archetypes of the criminal underworld”. By the 1990s, however, the British Film Institute had ranked Get Carter 16th in the Top 100 British Movies Ever Made, Quentin Tarantino was hailing it as having a huge influence on his work, and a survey of critics declared it the greatest British film of all time.

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The climactic chase scene and the death of small-time crook Eric on a beach black with coal slag was actually filmed in reverse.

Why? Ian Hendry, who played Eric, thought he’d be too out of breath after running to convincingly act as though he was dead. On the day of shooting, to capture the bleak atmosphere he wanted, director Hodges made the cast and crew wait for hours until the skies clouded over and the temperature dropped.

Michael Caine was already a huge star by the time Get Carter was made.

So much so that director Mike Hodges was surprised that he agreed to take on the role. Caine himself, however, said: “One of the reasons I wanted to make that picture was my background. Carter is the dead-end product of my own environment, my childhood; I know him well. He is the ghost of Michael Caine.”

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There's more behind the film than meets the eye

The soundtrack was recorded live, with the musicians playing along to a screening of the film.

To save time and money, 23-year-old composer Roy Budd simultaneously handled the harpsichord, electric piano and grand piano. The budget for the theme song was just £450 and its swaggering bass line, icy harpsichord notes and pioneering use of “sampled” train noises mean it’s now recognised as a hugely influential score.

Gateshead’s Trinity Square car park became a tourist attraction thanks to the movie.

It is from this multi-storey that Carter throws Brumby to his death. Its pivotal role in the film led to plans to demolish the car park being blocked. That was until 2010, when it was finally torn down, with the council selling off commemorative pieces of concrete in specially decorated tins costing £5 each.

Carter’s double-barrel shotgun grew into a pivotal character in its own right.

Hodges described the gun as being a symbol of family ties and Carter’s memories of more innocent times spent hunting with
his brother. The stock has JC and FC (for Jack and Frank Carter) scratched on to it, and although Caine wields the intimidating gun throughout most of the film, it is never actually fired.