Quick Facts
Biography
Michael Tommy "Mike" Hodges (born 29 July 1932) is an English screenwriter, film director, playwright and novelist. His films as writer/director include Get Carter, Pulp, The Terminal Man and Black Rainbow; as director, his films include Flash Gordon, Croupier and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.
His theatre plays include Soft Shoe Shuffle (1985) and Shooting Stars and Other Heavenly Pursuits (2000), which was adapted for BBC radio. Other radio plays include King Trash (2004). His first novel, Watching The Wheels Come Off, was published in 2010.
Life and work
After qualifying as a chartered accountant and serving out his two years' National Service on the lower deck of a Royal Navy minesweeper, Hodges got a job in British television as a teleprompter operator. This allowed him to observe the workings of the studios, and gave him time to start writing scripts. One of these was Some Will Cry Murder, written for ABC’s Armchair Theatre series. Although never performed, it served to get him enough writing commissions to quit his job as a technician.
After that, he quickly progressed to producer/director status, with series such as Sunday Break for ABC Television, World in Action for Granada Television and the arts programmes Tempo and New Tempo for Thames Television. He wrote, directed and produced two filmed thrillers, Suspect (1969) and Rumour (1970), again for Thames Television. These films formed the basis for the creation of Euston Films, the influential television production company that continued into the 1980s. These two films also led to Hodges being asked to write and direct Get Carter, which has been described as "one of the great British gangster films of all time", and Flash Gordon which has enjoyed cult status ever since.
Interspersed with his cinema work are some interesting and critically successful television films, including The Manipulators (1973), Squaring The Circle (1984; scripted by Tom Stoppard), Dandelion Dead (1993; scripted by Michael Chaplin), and The Healer (1994; scripted by G. F. Newman).
Selected filmography
Feature films
- Get Carter (1971)
- Pulp (1972)
- The Terminal Man (1974)
- Damien: Omen II (1977 – screenplay)
- Flash Gordon (1980)
- And the Ship Sails On (1983 – English version of Fellini's film)
- Morons from Outer Space (1985)
- A Prayer for the Dying (1987)
- Black Rainbow (1989)
- Croupier (1998)
- I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003)
Television
- The Tyrant King (1968)
- Rumour (1969)
- Suspect (1970)
- The Manipulators (1972)
- Missing Pieces (1982)
- Squaring the Circle (1984)
- W.G.O.D. (1985)
- Florida Straits (1986)
- Dandelion Dead (1993)
- The Healer (1994)
- Murder By Numbers (2001 – documentary)