CrimeDramaMusic

The Harder They Come

- With a Piece in His Hand He Takes on the Man!

Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills. He deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status. Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts.

Release Date : 1972-09-01

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : International Films

Production Country : Jamaica

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin

Original Name : Jimmy Cliff

Gender : Male

Character Name : Elsa

Original Name : Janet Bartley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jose

Original Name : Carl Bradshaw

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pedro

Original Name : Ras Daniel Hartman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Preacher

Original Name : Basil Keane

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hilton

Original Name : Bob Charlton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Detective Ray Jones

Original Name : Winston Stona

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mother

Original Name : Lucia White

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pushcart Boy

Original Name : Volair Johnson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Housewife

Original Name : Beverly Anderson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Market Woman

Original Name : Clover Lewis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Longa

Original Name : Elijah Chambers

Gender : Male

Character Name : DJ at Dance

Original Name : Prince Buster

Gender : Male

Character Name : Photographer

Original Name : Ed 'Bim' Lewis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fitz

Original Name : Bobby Loban

Gender : Male

Character Name : Barmaid

Original Name : Joanne Dunn

Gender : Male

Character Name : DJ

Original Name : Don Topping

Gender : Male

Character Name : Freddie

Original Name : Karl Leslie

Gender : Male

Character Name : Girl

Original Name : Sandra Redwood

Gender : Male

Character Name : Elsa Friend

Original Name : Ula Fraser

Gender : Male

Character Name : Elsa Friend

Original Name : Carol Lawes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Drunk

Original Name : Aston 'Bam' Winter

Gender : Male

Character Name : Himself

Original Name : Toots Hibbert

Gender : Male

Character Name : Editor

Original Name : Adrian Robinson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Django (archive footage)

Original Name : Franco Nero

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-09-03

Firstly, a quick shout out for the new Garden Cinema in Holborn, London where I saw this recently. A small cinema, but it's great to see a new venue opening so give it a go if you are nearby. To the film, well that sees Jimmy Cliff as "Ivan" - a would-be reggae singer who manages to get himself a record deal with a fairly unscrupulous local producer. The song does OK, but he gets a pretty measly share. Frustrated - and broke - he takes to dealing dope and soon falls foul of the law. Pretty soon he is almost in the Robin Hood sphere of infamy. Despite the persistent efforts of the police - who, admittedly, couldn't hit a barn door with an howitzer - he manages to evade captivity and he quickly becomes Jamaica's most wanted. This has a great soundtrack - "You Can Get It if You Really Want It" features a little too repetitively, but "Many Rivers to Cross" and the eponymous title track along with an edgy and engaging characterisation from Cliff keep it entertaining enough. Technically, the film itself is pretty poorly hung together with some very basic production, editing and the dialogue - authentically using a patois that could maybe have been subtitled? - is pretty difficult to make out as the audio mix is not the best. It ends as history tells us it does, and though I didn't hate it - I think it is more remarkable for it's place in cinema history being the first feature made locally than it will ever be as a notable film.