The Italian Job (1969)

Director:

Peter Collinson

Writer:

Troy Kennedy-Martin (writer)

Release Date:

3 September 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Introducing the plans for a new business venture: "The Italian Job."

Plot:

Comic caper movie about a plan to steal a gold shipment from the streets of Turin by creating a traffic jam.

Plot Keywords:

Power Failure | Heist Movie | Cliffhanger | Airport | Hotel

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Charlie Croker
Noel Coward	...	Mr. Bridger (as Noël Coward)
Benny Hill	...	Professor Simon Peach
Raf Vallone	...	Altabani
Tony Beckley	...	Freddie
Rossano Brazzi	...	Beckerman
Margaret Blye	...	Lorna (as Maggie Blye)
Irene Handl	...	Miss Peach
John Le Mesurier	...	Governor
Fred Emney	...	Birkinshaw
John Clive	...	Garage Manager
Graham Payn	...	Keats
Michael Standing	...	Arthur
Stanley Caine	...	Coco
Barry Cox	...	Chris

Also Known As:

Charlie staubt Millionen ab (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Colpo all'italiana, Un (Italy) [it]
Dobar posao u Italiji (Serbia) [sr]
Listeia... ala italika (Greece) [el]
Olsz meló, Az (Hungary) [hu]
Or se barre, L' (France) [fr]
Riehakas ryöstö (Finland) [fi]
Trabajo en Italia, Un (Spain) [es]
Um Golpe à Italiana (Brazil) [pt]
Vilda biljakten, Den (Sweden) [sv]
Ville biljakten, Den (Norway) [no]

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-12 (original rating) | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (cinema version) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:U (original rating) | USA:G | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Oakhurst Productions

Trivia:

The road used for the climactic cliff-hanger sequence led only to a restaurant. The first day of shooting was a Saturday, brilliantly sunny and the shoot went off without a hitch. On the next day, however, a huge line of cars appeared at the bottom of the road - the restaurant was hugely popular on Sundays. Some disgruntled drivers eventually broke through the police cordon and the shoot had to be aborted. Over the next two weeks it rained steadily and the snowline came down the mountain by approximately 250 feet. By the time the shot was completed, the crew had to sweep snow from the road.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Lamborghini Muira is rammed by the snow plow and gets thrown off the cliff into the water, the engine lid opens and the engine is not there. This is because the Lamborghini used for this accident was already a wreck when it "met" with the snow plow.

Quotes:

'Camp' Freddie: But Mr. Bridger, what if the Professor's not bent?
Mr. Bridger: Camp Freddie, everyone in the *world* is bent!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Top Gear: (2004-12-19)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Something's Cookin'

Mamma Mia! Classic crime caper still looks good today.

Now this is more like it! Having bought this movie (and getting the 2003 remake free with it), I waited until last night before I refreshed my memory. And despite being more than thirty years older, it scoops up the remake in a snowplough and tosses it down the side of a mountain. This is the superior film and not just because of the whole "English" thing.

Michael Caine plays Charlie Croker, a loveable cheeky Cockney rogue who is given plans for the biggest gold heist of the century after being released for prison. Assembling his finest team of experts, the group head off to Italy to pull off the seemingly-impossible - steal $4'000'000 worth of gold from under the noses of the Italian Mafia and escape through the crowded streets of Turin and dash for the Swiss border. Only, it's not as easy as that...

Caine shines as Croker, turning what could have been a dark character into this almost comedic gem. He has all the best lines for the simple reason that nobody else comes close. Even the great Noel Coward seems to be sleep-walking in his role as Mr Bridger, Croker's Imperialistic mentor who's still behind bars. So the first half of the film belongs to Caine which is just as well because the Mini's steal the second half. Like "From Dusk Til Dawn", this is a movie with a definite switch halfway through as the cars take over and leave the audience struggling to remember anything from the first half.

And even so long after the initial release, the Mini Coopers are still mind-blowing to watch. By far and away the most inventive part of the film, the car chase is what everybody remembers and rightly so. It is a shame because the build-up to the heist is rather funny. This isn't a serious crime movie - no dour detectives or rainy city scenes here. This film is bright, colourful and a joy to watch, even if you will have forgotten the first half by the end of it. And what an ending, possibly the greatest cliffhanger of all time. Literally.

There is much to admire about "The Italian Job". It's an amusing crime caper, a family version of "Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels", which has plenty to involve young and old. It also harks back to a time when it was great to be British - we had won the World Cup, we had the Beatles and the Rolling Stones blazing a new trail throughout the world. We had flower power and the summer of Love. Watching this film, it is impossible for any Englishman to not feel his blood pumping in patriotic fervour. The characters, the story, the cars, the annoyingly catchy soundtrack - everything is geared towards celebrating England and poo-pooing the rest of the world. And quite frankly, it's about time too! Forget "Austin Powers" - this is the real Swinging Sixties and it's just groovy, baby!