A seedy writer of sleazy pulp novels is recruited by a quirky, reclusive ex-actor to help him write his biography at his house in Malta.
Acting
Rooney's unhinged has-been energy devours every scene.
Writing
Hodges' script loves and loathes paperback crime equally.
Direction
Malta locations that feel cheap, gorgeous, and threatening.
Director
Mike Hodges
Michael Caine
Mickey King
Mickey Rooney
Preston Gilbert
Lionel Stander
Ben Dinuccio
Lizabeth Scott
Princess Betty Cippola
Nadia Cassini
Liz Adams
Dennis Price
The Englishman
Al Lettieri
Miller
Leopoldo Trieste
Marcovic
Amerigo Tot
Partisan
Robert Sacchi
The Bogeyman
Giulio Donnini
Typing Pool Manager
Luciano Pigozzi
Clairvoyant
Maria Cumani Quasimodo
Office Manageress
Liù Bosisio
Typist #1
Cristina Gaïoni
Typist #2
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hodges made this immediately after Get Carter, deliberately subverting audience expectations of another grim British crime thriller.
This was Lizabeth Scott's final film role—her character's faded glamour mirrors her own Hollywood exit.
GB
