Product Code Database
Michael Tommy Hodges (29 July 1932 – 17 December 2022) was a British screenwriter, film and television director, playwright and novelist. His films as writer/director include Get Carter (1971), Pulp (1972), The Terminal Man (1974) and Black Rainbow (1989). He co-wrote and was the original director on . As director, his films include Flash Gordon (1980) and Croupier (1998).
After that, Hodges 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 (1971), which has been described as "one of the great British gangster films of all time." Hodges worked with Carter star Michael Caine again in Pulp (1972), before proceeding to make films such as the Michael Crichton adaptation The Terminal Man (1974) and the space opera Flash Gordon (1980). Some of Hodges' later films include A Prayer for the Dying (1987), Croupier (1998) and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003).
Interspersed with Hodges's cinema work are some critically successful television films, including The Manipulators (1973), Squaring The Circle (1984; scripted by Tom Stoppard), Dandelion Dead (1994; scripted by Michael Chaplin), and The Healer (1994; scripted by G. F. Newman). Hodges also collaborated on the English language version of Federico Fellini's And the Ship Sails On (1983).
Hodges wrote and narrated the biographical documentary All At Sea, which was in post production in 2022.
Hodges died from heart failure at his home in Dorset on 17 December 2022, at the age of 90.
Theatre and radio
Hodges's theatre plays included Soft Shoe Shuffle (1985) and Shooting Stars and Other Heavenly Pursuits (2000), which was adapted for BBC radio. Other radio plays included King Trash (2004). His first novel, Watching The Wheels Come Off, was published first in French by Rivagse/Noir (Quand Tout Se Fait La Malle) in 2009 then in English in 2010. In 2018 his trio of novellas ('Bait', 'Grist' & 'Security') was published by Unbound.
Personal life and death
Hodges was married twice. His first marriage was to Jean Alexandrov; they had two sons and later divorced. He then married Carol Laws.
Recognition
Hodges was awarded the degree of 'Doctor of Letters' by the University of the West of England, Bristol in 2005.
Selected filmography
Feature films
1971 Get Carter 1972 Pulp 1974 The Terminal Man Also Producer 1978 Damien - Omen II 1980 Flash Gordon 1985 Morons from Outer Space 1987 A Prayer for the Dying 1989 Black Rainbow 1998 Croupier 2003 I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Television
Further reading
External links
Categories: 1932 Births, 2022 Deaths, 20th-century Royal Navy Personnel, British Film Directors, British Male Screenwriters, British Science Fiction Film Directors, British Television Directors, Deaths From Congestive Heart Failure In The United Kingdom, Film People From Bristol, Military Personnel From Bristol, People From Salisbury, Royal Navy Sailors
|
|
