The Harder They Come

About The Harder They Come

Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills.

Perry Henzell's The Harder They Come is a 1972 crime music film. Jimmy Cliff takes the lead as Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin, Janet Bartley as Elsa, Carl Bradshaw as Jose, and Ras Daniel Hartman as Pedro.

It runs 103 minutes and was released in August 1972. Written by Perry Henzell and Trevor D. Rhone.

Shelv files it under marijuana, cinema on cinema, record producer, and disc jockey. American members can watch it on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, and Criterion Channel. It scores 6.6 out of 10 from 130 TMDB voters and it carries a R rating.

Straight Outta Compton, Killing Them Softly, and We Own the Night make useful companions to The Harder They Come, all filed under gangster and recording contract.