Forgotten Classic: Pulp

I had the great pleasure of seeing this at part of last years Edinburgh International Film Festival’s After the Wave feature. Pulp, directed by Michael Hodges (The man behind Get Carter and Flash Gordon) follows Mickey King, a writer of cheap pulp fiction novels who is called to pen the autobiography of a now reclusive actor, Preston Gilbert (Mickey Rooney). However, Gilbert has several unsavory mafia connections which leads to his eventual murder – leaving King to solve the crime.

This is an incredibly tongue-in-cheek thriller is an underrated gem. Caine’s quick-witted performance, combined with his deadpan voice-over help make this one of his strongest roles. This could also be seen as one of Caine’s campest performances (alongside Deathtrap and California Suite) and you can tell he’s having a great time working on this. Pulp has a similar feel to Get Carter, and in my opinion is just as good – it’s a bit like Sleazy Get Carter in Malta. The film also features a stunning soundtrack from Sir George Martin, which is unfortunately incredibly difficult to get hold of. Mickey Rooney really sends himself up in this as the over-the-top Preston Gilbert, and Hart to Hart’s Max – Lionel Stander also appears.

Pulp on DVD is only about £3.99 which is a bargain for such an excellent film. It’s a quirky, fun piece of seventies cinema in which Michael Caine really shines.