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 Damien: Omen II. As director, his films include Flash Gordon (1980) and Croupier (1998).

Early life

Hodges was born in Bristol on 29 July 1932, and was raised in Salisbury and Bath.^[1][2] He qualified as a chartered accountant and spent two years of national service on the lower deck of a Royal Navy minesweeper.^[3]

Career

Hodges found a job in British television as a teleprompter operator. The job allowed him to observe the workings of the studios, and gave him time to start writing scripts.^[1] One of these scripts was Some Will Cry Murder, written for ABC's Armchair Theatre series. Although never performed, it served to get him enough writing commissions to quit his job as a technician.^{[citation needed]}

After that, he quickly progressed to producer/director status, with series such as Sunday Break for ABC Television, World in Action^[4] for Granada Television and the arts programmes Tempo^[5] 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."^[6] 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).^[1]

Interspersed with his 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).^[7] Hodges also collaborated on the English language version of Federico Fellini's And the Ship Sails On (1983).^[8]

He wrote and narrated the biographical documentary All At Sea in post production 2022.

Theatre and radio

His 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.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life and death

Hodges was married twice. His first marriage was to Jean Alexandrov; they had two sons and later divorced.^[1] He then married Carol Laws.^[2]

Hodges died from heart failure at his home in Dorset on 17 December 2022, at the age of 90.^[1][9]

Recognition

He was awarded the degree of 'Doctor of Letters' by the University of the West of England, Bristol in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Selected filmography

Feature films

Television

• The Tyrant King (1968)
• Rumour (1969)
• Suspect (1970)
• The Manipulators (1972)
• Missing Pieces (1982)
• Squaring the Circle (1984)
• W.G.O.D. (1985)
• Florida Straits (1986)
• Dandelion Dead (1994)
• The Healer (1994)
• Murder by Numbers (2001 – documentary)