David Rodigan,

OD, MBE:

I first saw The Harder They Come at the Lewisham Odeon in south London 50 years ago. It had a profound impact on me because it brought me closer to Jamaica than I had ever been in my life; I was transposed into another dimension of music and film artistry.

The characters were so real that I almost felt I was watching a documentary. I would later learn that virtually the whole cast were not actors at all: the character of Mr Hilton played by Bob Charlton, for example, was in the insurance business ! But what a brilliant performance he gave as indeed did the star Jimmy Cliff and the entire ensemble.

The passage of time has allowed the film to mature in such a way that it is even more enjoyable to watch now than before which is testimony to the genius of Perry Henzell and Trevor D Rhone.

Addendum: One of my favourite scenes in the film is when the drunken man, played by Aston “Bam” Wynter, is being scolded by his wife, who is out of shot; I still laugh at the sheer comic brilliance of the scene for although he is totally innocent of what she suspects of him doing, there is obviously no way that he can prove it.