Michael Caine is proud of a mural in his childhood neighborhood depicting him and his character from Get Carter. The building is scheduled for demolition, which will remove this symbol of hope for local children. In a new film, Caine portrays a veteran who takes justice into his own hands after his friend is murdered by gang members. Caine reflects on how the area has declined, with more violence and drugs, and worries that relocating residents will only spread the problems. He advocates for bringing back national service to give people direction and pride in their country.

1. HE has had an Oscar
nomination in every
decade since the 1960s
and collected two
Academy Awards.
But Hollywood legend Michael
Caine is more proud of a huge
mural in the tough south
London council estate near
where he grew up.
Painted on the wall of a red
brick tower block in Elephant And
Castle is a picture of a young Sir
Michael with his mother, and also
Jack Carter, his famous character
from 1971 movie Get Carter.
The building is scheduled for
demolition next year — bringing
down with it an image that acts
as a symbol of hope to kids on
the run-down estate who aspire to
a better life.
Sir Michael is immensely proud
of his local roots. The Italian Job
star grew up just around the cor-
ner from the Heygate Estate where
scenes from his gritty new film,
Harry Brown, were shot.
In the movie, out on
November 13, ex-service-
man Sir Michael plays a
retired Marine and widower
whose best pal is murdered
by a gang of thugs.
OAP Harry decides to take jus-
tice into his own hands when he is
left frustrated by the efforts of the
police.
It is, of course, fiction — but Sir
Michael says the reality is in many
ways worse.
In a frank interview about
Broken Britain, he says: “I’m 76
and don’t need to work but this
film was important to me.
“I thought the script was great
but more importantly I thought
there was a sort of message in it.
“It’s really a wake-up call for the
rest of Britain who don’t live in
those places. You can read about
them in the paper but this is what
it’s really like. I came from near
the estate where we shot the film.
On that very same estate, there’s a
mural with me on the wall.”
Sir Michael says of the area: “It
was always tough
but it’s shocking
how far it’s come.
“It’s all drugs
and guns now.
“Back in my day
it was alcohol and
punch-ups. Black
eyes, broken noses,
maybe lose a tooth,
kick someone up,
but that was that.
“Back then we
had our problems —
the Krays, the
Richardsons. I’m
not saying it was all innocent but
it wasn’t like today.
“You could get shot by the Krays
or killed by the Krays, but it was
for a very specific person, for a
specific thing that you’d specifi-
cally done, and you deserved it.
“Now down here it’s violence on
another level. Once you’ve got the
drugs problem, you get the guns
and knives problem and it’s all
over.
“We never had all that. I was in
a gang back then
but it was only to
protect ourselves
from the surround-
ing area.
“We were all
comedians, my ten
mates or so were the funniest guys
I’ve met until this day.
“We could make each other laugh
at the drop of a hat, but we knew
if we walked up the street on our
own that some gang would pounce
on us, so we became a gang. We
became a gang of what Harry
Brown is — a gang of victims.”
Much of the estate and the run-
down flats in Michael’s childhood
home will be knocked down next
year to make way for new housing.
The veteran actor reckons it is no
bad thing, though the demolition
creates a fresh set of problems.
He says: “In one way it brings
with it a sign of hope.
“But I’m not worried about the
buildings, I’m worried about the
people who were in them.
“I changed my mind a bit
through the course of this film.
“I don’t condone any behaviour
of a brutal kind, I don’t condone
drug addictions either.
“I used to have an attitude of
‘lock them up and throw away the
key’. But there is a bit of me that
feels some of these folk have been
let down by society. It’s partly the
class system. Working class people,
we’ll stick them in the smallest
possible subsidised housing. They
are tiny, some of the rooms.
“I was shocked by the
accommodation. At least
it’s all coming down. But
my main problem isn’t the
buildings – it is what they
are going to do with the
people.
“I spoke to someone from the
council when we were making the
film and they told me, ‘We move
them as far away from each other
as possible.’
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s
obviously to break up the gangs,
but are we just spreading the
problem about then?’ ” Sir Michael
laid much of the blame for what
he saw in Elephant And Castle at
the door of Labour politicians.
Now, as The Sun revealed
yesterday, he plans to switch to the
Tories at next year’s General
Election because he feels let down
by New Labour.
“The country is getting more
violent,” he told us. “I’ll probably
vote Conservative.”
When I ask him if the
Government should be intervening
in the violence, he blasts: “They
bloody well should be. We’ve had a
socialist government for 12 years
and we’re talking about working
class people. I know a lot of these
people shoot and kill, sell drugs
and are vicious. Yes, some are
beyond repair but I’m talking
about the salvageable ones. This is
about 70 to 80 per cent of them.
“For the unsalvageable ones, well,
you could say we need more police
or they should be armed because I
think they’re stretched too far, but
I just don’t know.”
One place Sir Michael reckons
we can start is bringing back Nat-
ional Service so people gain a bit
of pride in Britain.
He is fiercely proud of our
squaddies fighting overseas and
reckons his own time in the Army
serving in Korea taught him a lot.
He reflects: “I think the worst
thing that ever happened to this
country was when they stopped
National Service.
“But it shouldn’t have been two
years, that’s too long. It should
have been six months and no wars.
“You just learn to defend your
country and you are proud of it.
“That way you get a sense of
direction and a sense of belonging.
“I know four of the guys I went
into the Army with became truck
drivers because they learned how
to drive in the Army.
“I was an infantry men, I could
blow your brains out.
“That’s most of what I learnt. I
suppose I had to become an actor
after that.”
g.smart@the-sun.co.uk
A LIVE baby with TWO
HEADS has been found
abandoned in a ditch.
The tot, now in hospi-
tal, has one fully formed
head and another which
is smaller with only
partly-formed features.
Police discovered the
hours-old boy after being
alerted by crying in the
night at Hanzhuang,
Central China. They are
seeking the mother.
Carer Yuan Xianrong
said: “It is amazing the
baby survived. It is too
early to talk of surgery.”
RIGHT SPIRIT
Callum Cooper, 21, has
won a £1,800 US award
to study GHOSTS at
Northampton University.
X FACTOR or hex
factor? Judges Louis
Walsh and Simon
Cowell look Jeddie
to party with twin-
credible barnets.
We’ve doctored
the snap for a
funny look at how
celebs would fare
with the Grimes
boys’ hair. From
Gordon Brown to
David Beckham, see
more Jed heads at:
SCREENLEGENDMICHAELCAINEONBROKENBRITAIN2-heads
totfound
GOING BLUE . . . Sun yesterday
By GORDON SMART
Bizarre Editor
Pictures:DAVEHOGAN
WALL OF FAME
. . . mural with Sir
Michael, above,
and starring in
new thriller Harry
Brown, right
34 Tuesday, November 3, 2009 Tuesday, November 3, 2009 35