The production went from novel to finished film in ten months, with principal photography taking place from July to September 1970 in and around Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and County Durham.

Jack drives Margaret to the grounds of Kinnear's estate, kills her with a fatal injection, and leaves her body there. I’ll think you’ll find that he asks for a straight glass so he gets a true pint, the thicker jugs naturally held less! Although he is not credited as such in the film, Caine has been acknowledged in retrospect as a co-producer. I didn’t pick up at all on the anti-establishment theme and it was interesting to replay the movie in my mind with that lens.This personality trait I’ve never seen done well in a movie and I feel this movie also falls short on this aspect. Like they needed the end to be the way it was and felt the source material was too complicated so took an easier way out. The most bizarre example of gangster chic was a CD released in 1999, Products of The Environment, that featured notable underworld figures from the 1960s, including former associates of the Krays and Great Train Robber Tom Wisbey, doing spoken word to the music of British rapper Tricky. A devout Roman Catholic, Mosley was concerned about taking part in such a violent film with depictions of criminal behaviour, and consulted his priest over the moral implications. Originally announced in 1997, Tarsem Singh and Samuel Bayer were considered to direct the film before Stephen Kay signed on, with David McKenna writing the script.

Others were sourced from local casting company Beverley Artistes, which sent everyone registered with it for auditions, one of these being Deana Wilde, who was cast as the pub singer. Brumby identifies Kinnear as being behind Frank's death, also explaining that Kinnear is trying to take over his business. When the steward’s niece and then later Audrey herself show up, Jack is in for bigger surprises yet.While the finales for both of these 1971 films would be considered less than satisfying in any of the ten years which bracketed The Me Decade, each of those endings sure worked on-screen. Whilst the movie changed some elements of Lewis’ novel – notably resetting the story in Newcastle and the nature of the climax – it retains the core plot progression and atmosphere. Ted Lewis died in 1982 having published seven more novels and written several episodes for the television series Z-Cars. BTW, since you’re a fan, and if you’ve not seen it, I’ll lend you my R2 disc of The Fourth Protocol with him as the lead.

Usually we get all flash and no humanity, lots of fancy camera tricks but no feel for the criminal strata of society".I’ve never thought to apply such a theme to organized crime and I’m not sure I’m wholly convinced but it certainly adds an interesting spin that I enjoy mulling over. She pushed her hands in to the pockets of her short artificial-fur coat and leaned back against the wall and looked at me.

Jack doesn’t like leaving the business in other people’s hands, but especially not to a couple of ponces like Gerald and Les. In Sight and Sound, Tom Milne said the film was well-constructed and had good characterisation, but lacked the mystery and charisma of the earlier American crime films it attempted to emulate.Even so, he created an iconic character in the annals of British crime fiction, one who’s been copied many times since but has rarely been equalled, and set him in a world long lost but utterly unforgettable (even if mostly for the wrong reasons). The tops of the staithes as they appear in the film have been demolished; only the base of the structure remains. Elvis Mitchell in The New York Times wrote "it's so minimally plotted that not only does it lack subtext or context, but it also may be the world's first movie without even a text". The grass has enough knowledge about the firm to not only bring down Gerald and Les but Jack as well.