Day 82: The Harder They Come (1972)

In 1972, the music scene was changing. With “The Beatles” breaking up two years before and Jim Morrison of “The Doors” dying a year after that, a void had been left in the hearts of music lovers everywhere and they were looking for something fresh and different to fill it. Enter Perry Henzell’s “The Harder They Come” starring reggae singer Jimmy Cliff. Self proclaimed as “Jamaica’s very first feature length film” it took both the film and music world by storm that had never seen anything like it before.

In the film, Jimmy Cliff plays Ivanhoe Martin, a character loosely based on the folk hero Rhyging, Jamaica’s very own John Dillinger. As the story begins, Ivanhoe is a poor youth searching for a job anywhere he can find it, though there are very few opportunities available. Eventually, his mother suggests he help out a local preacher and, while there is work to be down at the church, Ivanhoe is more interested in the Preacher’s young female ward Elsa (Janet Bartley), who has also taken a shining to him to the Preacher’s great chagrin.

Though eventually kicked out of the church, Ivanhoe luck rebounds as he encounters a record producer who allows him to record a song in his studio entitled, “The Harder They Come.” While the song goes on to become a great hit, Ivanhoe is forced to sell the rights away to the producer for $20 just so it can get played and, once again, this young Jamaican finds himself without work or much promise.

Luckily, Jose (Carl Bradshaw), an old friend of Ivanhoe’s from when he first moved to Kingston, helps him out by offering him a job dealing marijuana and soon Ivanhoe finds himself falling deeper and deeper into a life of crime and into the Jamaican criminal underground. Before he knows it, he has killed a police officer and, as he goes on the run, he finally becomes known to the public and, because of it, his song takes of like a rocket, just as he’s always hoped. With his name in the papers and a gun at his side, Ivanhoe will either grow to become a legend, go out guns blazing or maybe just both.

Upon its American release at The Los Angeles International Film Exposition, the film was instantly lauded as a fresh new foreign film with a new style all its own. The ”Los Angeles Times” immediately picked it as one of the best of the entire festival and called it nothing short of amazing. With its festival praise, film distributor “New World” picked it up and it went on to become a massively successful cult film, gaining most of its audience at midnight showings.

But, even bigger than the film itself, was its soundtrack, made up mostly of songs by Jimmy Cliff and “Toots and the Maytals.” With its rhythmic ska melodies and its smooth island pace, it was deemed a major breakthrough for reggae music in the United States and is, to this day, considered one of the most memorable collections of Jamaican music ever recorded. Thanks to its popularity, Cliff became a huge music star and quickly left his record label, which, while seeking for a replacement, came across a young no-name called Bob Marley.

With it’s beautiful capturing of the Jamaican landscape, memorable performances by Cliff and his costars and, of course, the landmark of a soundtrack, “The Harder they Come” continues to be as fresh and fun as when it first hit the American silver screen so many years ago.

To learn more about “They Harder they Come,” check out Criterion’s page here.

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