The Italian Job - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[sophie]

The red sports car seen during the opening titles is a Lamborghini Miura which, with a top speed of one hundred seventy miles (two hundred seventy-four kilometers) per hour, was one of the fastest cars available at the time.

[carla]

The coach used in this movie was a Bedford VAL with Harrington Legionaire bodywork.

[michele]

It's a British movie where the three Mini stunt drivers are French - Rémi Julienne's team - and the three vehicles are blue, red and white colored. The colors of French and British flags.

[bernard]

The "in the sewer" scene was filmed near Coventry in Stoke Aldermoor, where several miles of the Birmingham-Coventry sewer was being constructed. The camera car was a Mini Moke that preceded the Coopers, and was driven by one of Rémy Julienne's team. Remy was excited about the scene, as he wanted to complete a 360 degree barrel roll, essentially getting the Cooper upside down on the ceiling of the sewer. Remy tried three times, but the slippery algae caused problems and the Mini ended up on its roof three times. The car was so badly damaged, that a forth attempt was ruled out. Sound Mixer John Aldred claims that Remy did complete a barrel roll on one rehearsal, but the cameras weren't rolling, and it was the only stunt in the finished movie to defeat Remy.

[russell]

The rooftop race track was an actual working part of the Fiat factory that was completed in 1923. The track measures 1,680 feet by 260 feet (512 meters by 79 meters). The five-story building has 16 million square feet (4,878 square kilometers) of floor space, and was once home to 6,000 workers.

[cassandra]

Believed to be the first time the word "camp" was used in a movie to describe a gay man.

[chris]

The "Chinese" plane delivering the gold to Turin airport is one of the rare (only fourteen ever built) Douglas C-74 Globemaster transport planes.

[toni]

The green police car used was an Alfa Romeo Giulia Super, favored by Italian police forces in the 1960s.

[oscar]

Paramount Pictures chief Robert Evans originally wanted Robert Redford to play the part of Charlie.

[carl]

Cilla Black was offered the role of Lorna, however her agent turned it down without her knowledge.

[sandra]

The ending was changed in order to leave the possibility of a sequel open.

[manuel]

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 two hundred fifty feet (seventy-six meters). By the time the shot was completed, the crew had to sweep snow from the road.

[christina]

It was confirmed by Sir Michael Caine on The Graham Norton Show (2007) that this movie ended with the criminals not escaping because the censors would not let them show criminals getting away with a crime.

[tammy]

Sir Michael Caine is one of the singing voices in the closing theme song "Get A Bloomin' Move On".

[sara]

The book has a completely different ending. There are no problems with the getaway, and they successfully get the gold back to England, and take it to Mr. Bridger, who tells them, "Now go and take it back to where you got it from!"