The Italian Job 1969 ( Austin Mk Mini Cooper S -1275 ) 1967
The Italian Job 1969
The Italian Job is a 1969 British caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley and directed by Peter Collinson. Subsequent television showings and releases on video have established it as an institution in the United Kingdom.
Theme Tune
Get A Bloomin Move On Lyrics – Italian Job
This is the self-preservation society
This is the self-preservation society
Go wash your German bands, your boat race too
Comb your Barnet Fair we got a lot to do
Put on your Dickie Dirt and your Peckham Rye
Cause time’s soon hurrying by
Get your skates on mate, get your skates on mate
No bib around your Gregory Peck today, eh?
Drop your plates of meat right up on the seat
This is the self-preservation society
This is the self-preservation society
Gotta get a bloomin move on
Babadab-babadabadab-bab-ba
Gotta get a bloomin move on
Babadab-babadabadab-bab-ba
Jump in the jam jar gotta get straight
Hurry up mate – don’t wanna be late
How’s your father?
Tickety boo
Tickety boo
Gotta get a bloomin move on
Self-preservation society
This is the self-preservation society
Put on your almond rocks and daisy roots
Wash your Hampstead Heath and wear your whistle and flute
Lots of lah-di-dahs and cockneys here
Look alive and get out of here
So get your skates on mate, get your skates on mate
No bib around your Gregory Peck today, eh?
Drop your plates of meat right up on the seat
This is the self-preservation society
This is the self-preservation society
Quote
Keats: They say he’s going to do a job in Italy.
Mr. Bridger: Well, I hope he likes spaghetti. They serve it four times a day in the Italian prisons.
Trivia
BMC (British Motor Corporation), the owners of the Mini, refused to donate any cars to the film. The boss of Fiat Motors, offered to donate all the cars they needed, including Fiat 500s in place of the Minis. The director, however, decided that, as it was a very British film, it should be British Minis. Fiat’s boss still donated scores of cars for filming, as well as the factory grounds, and even though the authorities refused to close the roads, the Italian Mafia stepped in, and shut whole sections of Turin down for filming, so the traffic jams in the film are real, as are people’s actions during it.
Quote
Charlie Croker: Just remember this – in this country they drive on the wrong side of the road
Trivia
The roof to roof jump was filmed on the roof of the Fiat factory. Some crew members walked off, for fear it would end in a fatality, and the Italian Fiat workers made the sign of the cross to the stuntman.
Cast
Michael Caine … Charlie Croker
Noël Coward … Mr. Bridger
Benny Hill … Professor Simon Peach
Raf Vallone … Altabani
Tony Beckley … Freddie
Rossano Brazzi … Beckerman
According to the director’s commentary on the DVD, despite the publicity the film would give to the Mini, Austin Mk Mini Cooper S the car’s maker, BMC, only provided a token fleet of Minis and the production company had to buy the rest at trade price. Fiat offered the production as many super-charged Fiat cars as they needed, several sports cars for the Mafia confrontation scene, plus $50,000, but the producers turned down the offer because it would have meant replacing the Minis with Fiats.
The Minis seen on screen carry registration numbers HMP 729G (Red), GPF 146G (White) and LGW 809G (Blue). As at July 2012, a DVLA query indicates that two of these plates may still be registered; these, however, are not the cars used in the film as the film cars had ‘future dated’ plates to make them current with the release date of the film, and as such would not be allowed to use them on the road. There were also numerous detail differences between the Minis used during filming and the launch of the ‘G’ year suffix. According to the ‘making of’ DVD extra, the Minis used in the chase scenes were all destroyed in accidents while filming the sewer sequence.
Quote
Charlie Croker: You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!
Trivia
The road used for the climactic cliffhanger 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 (76 meters). By the time the shot was completed, the crew had to sweep snow from the road.
Quote
Dominic: Shouldn’t we synchronise our watches?
Charlie Croker: Nuts to your watches! You just be at the Piazza at a quarter to…
Charlie Croker: Hang on, lads; I’ve got a great idea.
Trivia
HOW THEY COULD HAVE SOLVED THE END
First, the coach needed to be stabilised. This involved smashing out the windows on the part of the coach overlooking the drop and smashing them inward at the front end to improve the weight ratio slightly.
One of the bullion raiders is then lowered outside and deflates the wheels to stop the coach from rocking.
Second, its weight distribution needs to be changed, particularly over the rear of the coach which is overlooking the drop. This involves emptying the fuel tank which John Godwin discovered was at the rear of the coach. This, he estimated, would contain 140kg of fuel
Third, he would allow a member of the team to leave the coach and bring rocks in to the front of the vehicle to ensure it was stable and the gold could be removed
Info
Cinematography | Douglas Slocombe |
---|---|
Edited by | John Trumper |
Music by | Quincy Jones |
Production
company |
Oakhurst Productions
|
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
5 June 1969 |
Running time
|
99 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $3 million |
Box office | $113,867 |
Trivia
During the opening sequence, most of the shots from inside the car show a cloudy day with no shadows, yet most of the exterior views show a sunny day.
QUIZ 1
What was the Name of The Red Sports Car seen during the opening Titles ?
A. Lamborghini Countach
B. Lamborghini Islero
C. Lamborghini Miura
D. Lamborghini Espada
Press for Answer
C. Lamborghini Miura
Scroll Down for More
QUIZ 2
Which British TV comedy actor in The Italian Job has a cameo as a Prison Governor ?
A. Benny Hill
B. John Le Mesurier
C. Harry Secombe
D. Arthur Lowe
Press for Answer
B. John Le Mesurier
Scroll Down for More
QUIZ 1
What was the Name of The Red Sports Car seen during the opening Titles ?
A. Lamborghini Countach
B. Lamborghini Islero
C. Lamborghini Miura
D. Lamborghini Espada
The red sports car seen during the opening titles is a Lamborghini Miura which, with a top speed of 170 mph (270 kph) , was one of the fastest cars available at the time.
The silver Aston Martin DB4 thrown off the cliff by a Mafia bulldozer was a fake car. The red Jaguar E-Type (smashed up in the same scene) was restored in the 1990s and featured in a UK classic car magazine. The Lamborghini Miura, which featured in the opening scenes, was recently discovered in a secret car park in Paris and bought by a collector in Wales.
QUIZ 2
Which British TV comedy actor in The Italian Job has a cameo as a Prison Governor ?
A. Benny Hill
B. John Le Mesurier
C. Harry Secombe
D. Arthur Lowe
John Le Mesurier‘s best known role is Sgt. Wilson in the British TV Comedy “Dad’s Army”.
Arthur Lowe was, of course, his commanding officer, Captain Mainwairing,
Benny Hill Benny Hill a British comedian singer & actor from England, Played The Toy Maker in Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. Benny Hill played Professor Simon Peach in The Italian Job
Sir Harry Secombe was a Welsh comedian, actor and singer. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme The Goon Show.
Famous Cars from TV, Film ( www.gadgetshowprizes.co.uk ) is unofficial and for information only. It is in no way linked to any official companies. All Amazon Links are linked directly to an official Amazon associates affiliated website ( www.amazon.co.uk )Info from IMBCd, Wilkipedia, IMdb, and Video from YouTube . Make ,Model and Year are for Reference ONLY and may not match the Movie Date, Cars are in No Particular Order