Pulp

Robert Sacchi and Lizabeth Scott in Pulp

Mike Hodges' Pulp, released in New York in early 1973, is a detective spoof that is neither fish nor fowl. It is funny in its peculiarity, but does not induce much laughter. Because it does not take its plot seriously, the mystery elements of the film have little impact. The film was a star vehicle for Michael Caine and reunites him with the director of the more brutal and successful Get Carter. Caine plays Mickey King, a bounder who has deserted his wife and kids back in England and fled to the south of Italy where he makes a living churning out pulp fiction. He becomes embroiled in a murderous plot after agreeing to ghost write the memoirs of a George Raft type Hollywood star, memorably played by Mickey Rooney.

Rooney and Caine are both superb here and are the main reason to see the film. Caine's narration ties together this shambolic film. However, the quality of the other performances varies greatly. Dennis Price (Kind Hearts and Coronets) and Al Lettieri ( The Godfather and The Getaway and very memorable in fourteen other film credits before dying too soon at 47 in 1975) are effective and well utilized. Nadia Cassini, an actress unknown to me, is a washout as the female lead. She has zero chemistry with Caine, but gets to show off her gorgeous gams in some of the funky fashions of the day: mini-skirts and hot pants. Lizabeth Scott, who appeared in a number of memorable noirs in the late 40s and early 50s, seems very ill at ease here. Her performance is alternately stiff and shaky, but Hodges, at least, makes her an effectively spectral presence. This was to be her last film appearance. Robert Sacchi, who specialized as a Humphrey Bogart imitator, is on hand as a henchman. The stunt nature of the casting is indicative of the half-assed spoof elements of the film, most of which fall flat. 

One element of the film I did find interesting was its political engagement. Rooney's character, Preston Gilbert, has fallen in with a bunch of local oligarchs who are backing the candidacy of a neo-fascist. These black shirts are juxtaposed with the salt of the earth locals King meets who are largely communists. It is implied that Gilbert had communist leanings and was obliged to leave his Hollywood career behind because of the blacklist. Lionel Stander, a veteran actor and actual victim of the blacklist, is on hand as Gilbert's aide-de-camp. He has a number of pungent turns, especially one while lounging in a pool drinking a dark and stormy. The milieu of the film is too cartoonish to take its political themes entirely seriously, but the recent ascendancy of Ms. Meloni to the premiership of Italy gives it some extra resonance in 2022.

Pulp was shot on the isle of Malta. Its camp version of noir and Mediterranean setting reminded me of another curious and not entirely successful film, John Huston's Beat the Devil. I am a big fan of pulp detective stories, my favorites are Chandler, Jim Thompson and Charles Willeford, so I did appreciate the loving tributes to the genre contained in Pulp. However, non-fans may be less indulgent because the film is a structurally a mess. Cinephiles will find much to pick apart, but this film's dizzy charm will be lost to most. It would go well on a double bill with Robert Altman's acerbic The Long Goodbye or Roman Polanski's even more bizarre What? .