Pulp (1972 film)

Pulp
Pulp
	US film poster
Directed by	Mike Hodges
Written by	Mike Hodges
Produced by	Michael Klinger
Starring	Michael Caine ; Mickey Rooney ; Lionel Stander ; Lizabeth Scott ; Nadia Cassini
Cinematography	Ousama Rawi
Edited by	John Glen
Music by	George Martin
Production; company	Three Michaels Film Productions
Distributed by	United Artists
Release dates	16 August 1972 (London); November 1972 (limited); 8 February 1973 (New York City);
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Pulp is a 1972 British comedy thriller film, directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Mickey King, a writer of cheap paperback detective novels.^[1] The film features the final screen appearance of Lizabeth Scott.

Pulp, originally titled Memoirs of a Ghost Writer, was almost entirely shot on the island of Malta.^[2] Facilities were provided by the then Malta Film Facilities and Intermed Sound Studio, later known as Britannia Film Sound Studios.

Plot

Writer Mickey King lives in Malta churning out a string of violent, sexually charged hardboiled pulp fiction novels under an array of lewd pen names like "S. Odomy".

King is offered an abnormally large sum to ghostwrite the autobiography of a mystery celebrity. The intrigued King agrees and is transported to a remote island, during which time he will make contact with a representative for the celebrity. King meets a man named Miller, who identifies himself as an English professor. King assumes Miller is the mysterious contact—until discovering Miller dead in his bathtub after a hotel room mix-up.

Finally arriving on the island, King meets his subject: Preston Gilbert. A retired movie star, Gilbert is known for portraying gangsters and notorious for hanging out with real-life mobsters off the set. Now suffering from cancer, the pompous, vain Gilbert wants King to immortalize his life story before he dies.

Gilbert is planning a fancy birthday celebration. Among the attendees is Princess Betty Cippola, a man-hungry social climber who seems to have a sordid history with Gilbert. However, after the party is underway and Gilbert has staged a practical joke, Miller returns, now dressed as a Catholic priest. Sensing danger, King flees as Miller opens fire, killing Gilbert. The partygoers assume it's another prank, and applaud as Gilbert dies.

Gilbert's death leaves King with no conclusion to his tale. Playing detective like the heroes of his stories, King pieces together the mystery. He learns that Gilbert's proposed autobiography has alarmed several of the actor's erstwhile associates, who worry their schemes and crimes might be exposed.

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 The Englishman
Al Lettieri as Miller
Leopoldo Trieste as Marcovic
Amerigo Tot as Partisan
Robert Sacchi as The Bogeyman
Ave Ninchi as Fat Chambermaid

References

^ Greenspun, Roger (9 February 1973). "Screen: Mike Hodges's 'Pulp' Opens:A Private Eye Parody Is Parody of Itself". The New York Times.
^ "Selected Filmography - Filmed in Malta | Visit Malta". www.visitmalta.com. Retrieved 2 May 2019.

External links

Pulp at IMDb
Pulp at the British Film Institute^{[better source needed]}
Pulp at Rotten Tomatoes

[N-1] Greenspun, Roger (9 February 1973). "Screen: Mike Hodges's 'Pulp' Opens:A Private Eye Parody Is Parody of Itself". The New York Times.

[2] "Selected Filmography - Filmed in Malta | Visit Malta". www.visitmalta.com. Retrieved 2 May 2019.

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