Factual error: While Bridger is watching the film of the Mafia boss following Beckerman he signals for the film to be stopped so he can look at the close up shot of the man. He is watching a 16mm film shown through a bog standard projector - stop a film like that for more than two seconds without closing down the projector shutter (this doesn't happen - if it did the screen would darken instantly) and it will melt and catch fire. This doesn't happen.
The Italian Job (1969)
Directed by: Peter Collinson
Starring: Michael Caine, Benny Hill, Raf Vallone, Noel Coward
Plot hole: Why on earth do they drive the Minis up the ramps into the bus while it is moving? They are on a long, straight, relatively quiet stretch of road, but there are cars and buildings about. That ramp is going to make a noise like the sky coming down (we see sparks as it scrapes on the road) and they put on a display anyone would be, frankly, amazed to see. Don't they think one single person would call the police? Don't they think that reports of three brightly coloured Minis will be connected with the recent robbery? They cannot possibly think they have to load the Minis on the run in order to elude the police; they have lost the police cars and are no longer being pursued. Why not just park the bus on the hard shoulder and drive the Minis sedately up that ramp? An unusual sight, maybe, but nowhere near as clumsy, obvious and attention-getting as the way they do it. They are asking to be pulled over and arrested.
Revealing mistake: When the police car crashes through the grating that was dropped down in front of it at the end of the tunnel, the occupants are dummies - they just bounce about in the same upright position whilst the car drives into the river.
Trivia: The film is primarily about cars and driving. Star Michael Caine could not drive at the time the movie was made. Charlie Croker is assumed to be driving when he picks up his Aston Martin at the garage but in the next shot, we see it arrive outside a hotel. Caine only gets out of the stationary Aston Martin. In other scenes, including the trip to Turin and the gold heist, Caine is a passenger. However, he is seen driving his E-type Jaguar into the Turin building where the Minis are being modified. The DVD confirms that Caine couldn't drive, but could just about manage the basics.
Trivia: The radio operator in the gang is actually Michael Caine's brother in real life.
Trivia: Croker has just come out of prison and is met by Lorna who has stolen a Daimler to drive him home in. Croker finds a flag in the car and says "this car belongs to the Pakistani ambassador" which was true, in real life that car did belong to the Pakistani High Commission in London and was hired by the film company.
Charlie Croker: You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!
Charlie Croker: It's a very difficult job and the only way to get through it is we all work together as a team. And that means you do everything I say.
Question: What happened at the end? How did they get out of that fix?
Answer: Michael Caine himself once suggested in an interview that all they had to do was wait until the bus, the engine of which was still running, ran out of fuel. The fuel tank was at the rear of the bus, hanging over the cliff and so adding weight at that end. As it emptied, the balance would shift to the front and they would be able to move the gold forward. How they could then get it off the bus, or transport it from the roadside is another matter.
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Answer: We may never know. The ending was originally a set-up for a sequel, but the sequel never materialized.
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