{ "id": "epxcbgbe8z", "slug": "pulp-1972-film", "title": "Pulp (1972 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "label": "Comedies of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s.yr-1970-1976", "label": "Released 1970 to 1976", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s.yr-1970-1976" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000: Comedies of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "label": "Comedies of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Pulp (1972) is a British satirical thriller by Mike Hodges, originally titled Memoirs of a Ghost Writer, starring Michael Caine as ghostwriter Mickey King and Mickey Rooney in Malta; a Get Carter follow-up shot in Malta to avoid Mafia interference.", "snippet": "Pulp (1972) is a British satirical thriller by Mike Hodges, originally titled Memoirs of a Ghost Writer, starring Michael Caine as ghostwriter Mickey King and Mickey Rooney in Malta; a Get Carter follow-up shot in Malta to avoid Mafia interference.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s.yr-1970-1976", "markdown": "# Pulp (1972 film)\n\n**Pulp** is a 1972 British satirical thriller written and directed by [Mike Hodges](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-hodges), starring [Michael Caine](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-caine) as Mickey King, a hack writer of cheap pulp novels who is hired to ghostwrite the autobiography of a washed-up Hollywood actor with Mafia ties, played by [Mickey Rooney](https://www.edgepedia.org/mickey-rooney). It was Hodges's follow-up to *Get Carter* (1971) and reunited him with Caine and producer Michael Klinger.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54619-PULP)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writer | Mike Hodges, who wrote the original screenplay on spec[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54619-PULP) • [2](https://cinephiliabeyond.org/get-carter/) |\n| Cast | Michael Caine (Mickey King), Mickey Rooney (Preston Gilbert), Lionel Stander (Ben Dinuccio), Lizabeth Scott (Princess Betty Cippola), Dennis Price, Al Lettieri[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54619-PULP) |\n| Production | Three Michaels Film Productions, Inc., a Klinger/Caine/Hodges production; distributed by United Artists[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54619-PULP) |\n| Filming location | Republic of Malta; Italy was originally considered but the shoot was moved to avoid Mafia interference[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54619-PULP) • [3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-british-thrillers-1970s) |\n| Working titles | *Memoirs of a Ghost Writer* and *Scandal*[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54619-PULP) |\n| Runtime and rating | 92 or 95–96 minutes per AFI (98 minutes per BFI); rated PG[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54619-PULP) • [4](https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/return%20of%20the%20outsider%3Cbr%3Ethe%20films%20of%20mike%20hodges/2022/05/04/pulp/) |\n| Music and crew | Original music by George Martin; cinematography by Ousama Rawi; editing by John Glen[5](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/pulp/cast/2030031364/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and style\n\nMickey King is a prolific author of tawdry sex and crime novels published under pseudonyms, one of which is \"S. Odomy\". He accepts a commission to ghostwrite the autobiography of Preston Gilbert, a former movie star who specialized in playing gangsters, has real Mafia connections, and lives in retirement in Malta with his mother, his mistress, and his bodyguard. After Gilbert is murdered at a party, King, inspired by the detectives of his own fiction, investigates the death and crosses paths with a transvestite hit man, a beautiful princess, and a mysterious clairvoyant.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pulp) • [7](https://www.tcm.com/articles/201926/pulp)\n\nThe film is narrated throughout by Caine in the hardboiled style of the books King writes, a voiceover device Hodges had used in his 1969 television film *Rumour*. Most of the opening credits, including the title, appear onscreen letter by letter as if being typed, and the film opens on the words \"A Typing Pool somewhere in the Mediterranean\" as typists take dictation from Caine's voice.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54619-PULP) • [4](https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/return%20of%20the%20outsider%3Cbr%3Ethe%20films%20of%20mike%20hodges/2022/05/04/pulp/)\n\n## Origins\n\nAfter the success of *Get Carter*, Michael Klinger offered Hodges various projects that did not appeal to him. Caine, Klinger, and Hodges agreed to work together again and formed the Three Michaels production company, and Hodges chose to write a screenplay speculatively rather than accept a commission; the partners would proceed only if they liked the result. That script was *Pulp*.[2](https://cinephiliabeyond.org/get-carter/) • [4](https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/return%20of%20the%20outsider%3Cbr%3Ethe%20films%20of%20mike%20hodges/2022/05/04/pulp/)\n\n**Political roots.** Hodges said the idea came from many sources, including his fascination with B movies and with writers such as [Raymond Chandler](https://www.edgepedia.org/raymond-chandler), James M. Cain, and [Mickey Spillane](https://www.edgepedia.org/mickey-spillane). He was shaken by Italian local elections in the early 1970s that showed strong support for a neo-fascist political party, and he described the finished film as \"a scream against fascism\". He also drew on the 1953 Wilma Montesi scandal, in which a young woman was found drowned on a beach south of Rome and the communist press alleged murder and a political cover-up, and on the observation that many B movies concerned the Mafia, an Italian institution he found close to comic opera in its fascist parallels. His stated approach was satire, \"more Fellini than Bertolucci\".[4](https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/return%20of%20the%20outsider%3Cbr%3Ethe%20films%20of%20mike%20hodges/2022/05/04/pulp/) • [8](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/mike-hodges-black-rainbow/)\n\n## Production\n\nAlthough the film is set in Italy, it was shot in Malta; a September 1971 *Variety* news item reported that Italy was originally considered for the location, and the BFI notes the move was made to avoid Mafia interference. The part of Mickey was written for Caine by Hodges. The end of the film thanks the government and people of Malta, and notes that the funeral-theme music heard during the funeral procession sequence was played by a local Maltese band.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54619-PULP) • [3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-british-thrillers-1970s)\n\nThe film marked the final feature appearance of [Lizabeth Scott](https://www.edgepedia.org/lizabeth-scott), who had not appeared in feature films for some years, and carried the opening credit \"And introducing Nadia Cassini\", for whom it was an American feature film debut.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54619-PULP)\n\n## Reception and standing\n\n*Pulp* was largely dismissed by early critics as a disappointment after the hard-hitting *Get Carter*, but it later grew into a cult film with many insider jokes.[9](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/pulp/) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 77% Tomatometer from 13 reviews and a 38% Popcornmeter audience score from more than 500 ratings.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pulp) Later critics have been warmer: Kevin Maher of *The Times* called it \"an underrated comedic masterpiece\", and the BFI included it in a list of ten great British thrillers of the 1970s.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pulp) • [3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-british-thrillers-1970s)\n\n**Meta-noir.** MoMA's program note describes the film as a satirical sendup of [John Huston](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-huston)'s crime movies and says it \"manages to out-meta *Pulp Fiction*\", quoting Howard Hampton: it belongs to a line of irreverent noir deviations from *The Big Sleep* (1946) to [Jean-Luc Godard](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-luc-godard)'s *Made in USA* (1966) without mimicking them, and contains choreographed mishaps and baroque grotesqueries that would not be out of place in films by [Jacques Tati](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacques-tati) or Federico Fellini.[10](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/10705) TCM places it among a string of 1970s private eye movies that spend as much time referencing old films as generating new plots, and notes that Caine relished performing with older actors, such as Rooney, whom he had first seen in childhood movie matinees.[7](https://www.tcm.com/articles/201926/pulp) Reviewers have also noted the film's use of giallo signifiers, including red herrings and murders with inexplicable elements, and the location cinematography of Ousama Rawi, for whom *Pulp* was a first feature film.[11](https://www.framerated.co.uk/pulp-1972/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Pulp (1972), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54619-PULP)\n2. [Life and Death in a Northern Town: Mike Hodges' 'Get Carter', Cinephilia & Beyond](https://cinephiliabeyond.org/get-carter/)\n3. [10 great British thrillers of the 1970s, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-british-thrillers-1970s)\n4. [Pulp, BFI Southbank Programme Notes](https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/return%20of%20the%20outsider%3Cbr%3Ethe%20films%20of%20mike%20hodges/2022/05/04/pulp/)\n5. [Pulp, Full Cast & Crew, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/pulp/cast/2030031364/)\n6. [Pulp, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pulp)\n7. [Pulp, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/201926/pulp)\n8. [Mike Hodges interview, Starburst Magazine](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/mike-hodges-black-rainbow/)\n9. [Pulp, Dennis Schwartz Reviews](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/pulp/)\n10. [Pulp. 1972. Written and directed by Mike Hodges, MoMA](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/10705)\n11. [Pulp (1972), Frame Rated](https://www.framerated.co.uk/pulp-1972/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1970s › Released 1970 to 1976*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/pulp-1972-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/pulp-1972-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Pulp (1972 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/pulp-1972-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Pulp (1972 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulp-1972-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/pulp-1972-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulp-1972-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Pulp (1972 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/pulp-1972-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Pulp is a British satirical thriller by Mike Hodges, originally titled Memoirs of a Ghost Writer, starring Michael Caine as ghostwriter Mickey King and Mickey Rooney in Malta; a Get Carter follow-up shot in Malta to avoid Mafia interference." }