Pulp (1972)

67% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
42% of users liked it
(487 ratings)

A year after Get Carter (1971), director Mike Hodges and star Michael Caine reunited for this comic crime thriller. Caine stars as Mickey King, a writer of cheap paperback detective novels, living in Rome and cranking one noir book after another. King is approached by Ben Dinuccio (Lionel Stander)… More A year after Get Carter (1971), director Mike Hodges and star Michael Caine reunited for this comic crime thriller. Caine stars as Mickey King, a writer of cheap paperback detective novels, living in Rome and cranking one noir book after another. King is approached by Ben Dinuccio (Lionel Stander) and offered an abnormally large sum to ghost write the autobiography of a mystery celebrity. The intrigued King agrees and is transported to a remote island where he meets his subject, Preston Gilbert (Mickey Rooney), a one-time movie star known for playing gangsters and notorious for hanging out with real-life mobsters off the set (a sly jab at Frank Sinatra and George Raft). Now dying of cancer, Gilbert wants King to jot down his life story before he dies. Although he's an abusive jerk, Gilbert's had an interesting life and King sets about getting it all down on paper, but then the star is murdered at a party, leaving King with no conclusion to his tale. Playing detective like the heroes of his stories, King pieces together a mystery involving Gilbert's past, his ex-wife, a transvestite who's supposed to be dead, and an Italian prince running for office. Though largely dismissed at the time of its release by fans and critics disappointed at its dissimilarity to Get Carter, Pulp (1972) was championed by a few and became something of a cult favorite over subsequent decades. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Mike Hodges
Genres: Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1972 Wide
On DVD: Apr 17, 2007

Critic Reviews

Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Hodges avails himself of the private-eye genre's deaths, sex and homophobia, yet comedy loosens his nihilism
Sean Axmaker, MSN.com
Director Mike Hodges reunited with his "Get Carter" star Michael Caine for this follow-up, a lighthearted take on the genre...
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
A sempre presente narração em off é um dos muitos problemas do filme - especialmente se considerarmos que o narrador é justamente um escritor medíocre.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Had some fun in it.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

I caught this on TV, and I didn't understand it at all, then I saw it again from the beginning, and I still couldn't quite understand what was all going on. This movie is confusing and stupid. I wouldn't recommend this movie.
jay n

Ordinary crime caper with the conceit of trying to bring pulp novel conventions to screen with only middling results. Lizabeth Scott has a small secondary role here, her last screen appearance.
Stephen E

Let's just say that "Pulp" isn't quite the Mike Hodges we're akin to; the Mike Hodges that made great films such as "Croupier" or "Get Carter". It's fairly sub-par for a director of his magnitude, and is lacking in many of the major… More
Let's just say that "Pulp" isn't quite the Mike Hodges we're akin to; the Mike Hodges that made great films such as "Croupier" or "Get Carter". It's fairly sub-par for a director of his magnitude, and is lacking in many of the major areas that are required for a film to be considered "good". The plot is confusing and is never really made clear, and we spend half the time trying to figuring out the importance of the any of the characters. We meander from scene to scene, never really knowing what's happening. Half of the scenes are really quite unnecessary. Eventually, the story picks up with twenty minutes left to go, but by then we don't care. I won't necessarily say that "Pulp" is a "bad" film though. It certainly tries hard to be what it's not, and while you can certainly spot the influences here, "Pulp" never really pulls anything off. What we're left with is a forgettable neo-noir that could make for an enjoyable watch on any given night. It's not perfect, but it's a forgivable attempt.

Cast

            Michael Caine as Mickey King

            Mickey Rooney as Preston Gilbert

            Lionel Stander as Ben Dinuccio

            Lizabeth Scott as Princess Betty Cippola

            Nadia Cassini as Liz Adams

            Dennis Price as Mysterious Englishman

            Janet Agren as Silvana

            Joe Zammit Cordina as Santana

            Cyrus Elias as First Guide

            Anne Louise Lambert as American Tourist

            Al Lettieri as Miller

            Ave Ninchi as Chambermaid

            Luciano Pigozzi as Del Duce

            Robert Sacchi as Jim Norman

            Amerigo Tot as Sotgio

            Leopoldo Trieste as Marcovic

            Kate Sullivan as Joan Crawford

            Maria Cumani Quasimodo as Senora Pavone

            Giulio Donnini as Office Manager of Typing Pool

            Louis Caruana as Toni

            Iver Gilborn as Bus Tourists

            Werner Hasselman as American Tourist

            Roy Marmara as Mario

            Victor Mercieca as Prince Cippola

            Cettina Borg Oliver as Gilbert's Mother
See full cast

Pulp (1972)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

jay n

Stephen E

Cast