Caine became a co-producer of the film. Get Carter was Hodges' first feature film as director, as well as being the screen debut of Alun Armstrong. MGM was scaling back its European operations and the film became the last project approved before the American company closed its Borehamwood studios. The film is set in north-east England and was filmed in and around Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and County Durham.
The story follows a London gangster, the eponymous Jack Carter (Caine), who travels back to his hometown to discover more about the events surrounding his brother Frank's supposedly accidental death. Suspecting foul play, he investigates and interrogates, regaining a feel for the city and its hardened-criminal element; with vengeance on his mind, the situation builds to a violent conclusion.