InRO Weekly — Volume 1, Issue 6

THE
HARDER
THEY
COME
Perry
Henzell
The post-independence era was a turbulent
one for the small island nation of Jamaica.
Having gained freedom from the British in 1962,
the following decade of economic growth was also
marked by increased inequality and escalating urban
violence. It’s against this backdrop that writer-director Perry
Henzell and co-writer Trevor Rhone decided to bring the story of
notorious Jamaican outlaw Ivanhoe Martin — known by his nickname Rhyging
(the Jamaican Patois word for "raging") — to the screen. After being shot dead by police
In 1948, Rhyging, who is often described as the original "rude boy," grew into a sort of folk
legend for many poor Jamaicans who found in him a rebellious antihero who stood up against the
colonial and capitalist order — a complex admiration not dissimilar to the one enjoyed by early-20th-century
European illegalists like Jules Bonnot.
Henzell and Rhone's script — which began life under the working title Rhyging before they settled onthe implicit fatalism of The Harder
They Come — updated the rudy's story to the 1970s, and the two decided to cast reggae singer Jimmy Cliff in the lead role. Cliff, who
had no prior acting experience outside of school plays, had seen his star rise throughout the back half of the '60s, and his 1970 single
"Vietnam" even earned the praise of Bob Dylan, who called it the best protest song he’d ever heard. The musician's natural charisma in
the lead role wouldn't be the only thing to contribute to the first Jamaican feature film's lasting legacy, however, as its iconic
soundtrack — featuring tracks from Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, and Cliff himself — is widely credited with popularizing
reggae music internationally.
Composed for the film, Cliff's infectious title song formed a defiant yet grim counterpoint to the aspirational "You Can Get It If You
Really Want," which plays over the opening credits, anticipating the tragic end to the badman protagonist's nihilistic rebellion. "So as
sure as the sun will shine / I'm gonna get my share now, what's mine / And then the harder they come / The harder they fall, one and all,"
goes the song's chorus, the fictionalized Ivanhoe Martin — "Ivan" for short — unwittingly prophesying his eventual downfall during a