The Harder They Come
“With a Piece in His Hand He Takes on the Man!”
Synopsis
Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, in search of work and, after facing some initial difficulties, secures a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but following a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, he begins to turn to petty crime to support himself. He engages in marijuana dealing, kills several abusive police officers, and becomes a local folk hero. At the same time, his record reaches the top of the charts.
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How many hands made this film
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Principal cast & crew: 38
These are the principals we have on file — the full crew ran to the hundreds. Every film this size was made by far more hands than any credits list ever names.
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Reicland AndersonShot by Peter JessopScored by Jimmy Cliff
Also known as
- Tout, tout de suitefr
- Più duro è, più forte cadeit
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Cast & Crew
38 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Jimmy Cliff
as Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin
Janet Bartley
as Elsa
Carl Bradshaw
as Jose Smith
Ras Daniel Hartman
as Pedro
Basil Keane
as Preacher
Bob Charlton
as Hilton
Winston Stona
as Detective Ray Jones
Lucia White
as Mother
Volier Johnson
as Pushcart Boy
Volair Johnson
as Pushcart Boy
Beverly Manley Duncan
as Housewife
Beverly Anderson
as Housewife
Supporting cast
15Clover Lewis
as Market Woman
Elijah Chambers
as Longa
Prince Buster
as DJ at Dance
Ed Bim Lewis
as Photographer
Bobby Loban
as Fitz
Joanne Dunn
as Barmaid
Don Topping
as DJ
Karl Leslie
as Freddie
Sandra Redwood
as Girl
Ula Fraser
as Elsa Friend
Carol Lawes
as Elsa Friend
Aston Bam Winter
as Drunk
Toots Hibbert
as Himself
Adrian Robinson
as Editor
Franco Nero
as Django (archive footage)
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
1Other crew
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Live · bot-verified- The Criterion ChannelStream
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