Image: TMDB
About This Quiz
This 1969 film, starring Michael Caine as a dapper thief chasing a small fortune, remains one of the U.K.'s favorite crime films -- with a considerable following in the rest of the world! Relive the thrills with our quiz!
Who is responsible for Roger Beckerman's fatal car crash?
his wife
the Italian police
the Mafia
Beckerman smashes into an earthmover at high speed, coming out of a tunnel in the Alps. The Mafia soldiers, who parked the earthmover in his way, then use it to shove his car (and body) down a ravine into a river. For good measure, they even throw a funeral wreath after it.
half a dozen limoncellos
Where is Charlie Croker when we first see him?
in America
in London
in prison
The first scene with Charlie was shot in Kilmainham Gaol, in Dublin, Ireland. Its exterior, though, was the disturbingly-named Wormwood Scrubs prison, outside London.
in a coma
When Lorna picks Charlie up from prison, whose car is she driving?
Charlie's
her own
the Pakistani ambassador's
Lorna stole the ambassador's car, or someone stole it for her. She wanted to make sure that Charlie went home in style.
a Mini Cooper
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What kind of car does Charlie drive?
an Aston Martin
It was Roger Beckerman who drove a Miura, one of the first Italian "supercars." The filmmakers threw a wrecked old Miura down the hillside in the opening scene. To use a viable Miura might have caused a riot in Italy.
a Lamborghini Miura
a Mini Cooper
a Maserati
What does Charlie keep under the bonnet (hood) of his car?
drugs
a gun
money
After his release from prison, Charlie gets his car out of the storage garage and retrieves the money. Pro tip: Do not actually hide anything you value under the hood of a car that's NOT in storage -- high temperatures and moving parts are bad for money, and even worse for live ammunition!
a Brazilian passport
To what hotel does Charlie go after getting his Aston Martin?
the Lord Nelson
the Ritz
the Royal Lancaster
An interesting sidenote about this scene: Michael Caine isn't driving when Croker arrives in his Aston. Caine couldn't drive at the time the car-centric "Italian Job" was made. This required a quick cutaway, so that the driver could get out and Caine in, and then Croker is seen exiting the car from the driver's-side door.
the Savoy
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Beckerman's message to Charlie comes via what medium?
a letter
film that Charlie plays on a projector
This is a low-key, charming moment in an otherwise high-adrenalin movie. Beckerman talks directly to Charlie on the black-and-white film, and Charlie, alone in his hotel room, answers - "Sure, Roger" - as though his friend can hear him.
a tape Charlie plays on a reel-to-reel recorder
a message his widow memorized
Beckerman had an idea for a heist in which Italian city?
Florence
Modena
Rome
Turin
Turin is well-known as the home of Fiat automobiles. Fiats are often seen in "The Italian Job," although the film's makers insisted on British Mini Coopers having the "starring" role in the chase through the city.
How does Beckerman's widow greet Charlie?
by having a delicious meal laid out for him
by pointing a gun at him
There doesn't seem to be any reason for this: she arranged the meeting, and shortly afterward, gets into bed with him. The "gunpoint" greeting just seems to have been a way to create short-term narrative tension.
by kissing him on both cheeks, Continental-style
she stands him up
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What is the key to the heist plan's success?
causing a massive traffic jam
Beckerman's plan, taken over by Croker, is to hack the new computerized system and bring traffic to a standstill. Then, crack drivers in small, nimble cars will make their escape.
causing a massive power outage
getting the city's police force to strike
buying off police officer and Mafia foot soldiers alike
China's $4 million payment to Fiat is being delivered in what currency?
yen
lire
U.S. dollars
gold bullion
Bars of gold are excitingly visual on screen, but really, was this realistic? The times are modern enough that Turin has a computerized traffic system, but China couldn't deliver paper currency ... or better yet, wire the funds?
Gangland boss Mr. Bridger runs his empire from where?
a country house
prison
Bridger is treated like a king in jail. He has a spacious room that doesn't resemble a cell, and he is shown deference by all the guards.
Paris
Rome
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Noel Coward, who played Bridger, is best known for what other kind of work?
film criticism
teaching drama
writing plays
Coward is best known as a playwright. However, he could also sing, dance and act.
singing
After Bridger refuses to be a part of Croker's heist plan, what does he do?
asks a guard if he made the right decision
picks at his noonday meal
sends Croker a case of beer for thinking of him
has Croker beaten up
Three goons turn up at Croker's flat, telling him they're there "with Mr. Bridger's compliments." Charlie, no dummy, knows what that means.
Which character did comic Benny Hill play?
Bridger's right-hand man
Beckermann
Professor Peach
Professor Peach is needed to interfere with Turin's traffic computer. This computer relies on big reel-to-reel magnetic tapes, very like the ones in "The Imitation Game," which is why when Croker refers to jamming the "Turin computer," you can be forgiven for thinking he's saying, "Turing computer."
the mafia boss Altabani
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What colors are the three Mini Coopers?
red, white and blue
It was the van which carried the other heist members that was patriotic in its design. A bold graffito outside announced "England for the Cup!" and inside, the guys were disguised as rabid football (soccer) fans.
red, blue, and green
red, blue, and Union-Jack patterned
all three are white
Which of the following is NOT one of Charlie's crew?
Birkinshaw
Big William
Oliver
The heist requires more than a dozen people. This might have been realistic in terms of the crime, but in the film, it meant a lot of actors getting very little screen time.
Rozzer
What is the song "Getta Bloomin' Move On" better known as?
"Charlie's Theme"
"As Assembly Such as This"
"Take the Money and Run"
"The Self-Preservation Society"
While "The Italian Job" is a British film, "The Self-Preservation Society" is twangy, folksy and upbeat -- seemingly inspired by American movies with car chases between bootleggers and cops.
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Professor Peach likes what kind of women?
big women
Croker tempts him by having two rather hefty women sit on the back of his Aston Martin and wave up at Peach. Later, this proclivity gets Peach into trouble, when he's arrested for harassing a generously-built Italian woman.
blondes
fiery, temperamental women
actually, he's into men
How does Bridger arrange to see and talk to all the heist members?
he arranges a "funeral" and gets a compassionate release
Honestly, Bridger's special status in the prison is so ridiculously over-the-top that they might as well have had him tell the prison guards he was going out for a long drive. Who's allowed to say no to him?
he has them brought in as a men's choir
he gets them to assemble under his window
he records a filmed message like Beckerman's
How do the Mafia try to dissuade Charlie and his crew from staying in Italy?
they have all the hotel owners refuse them lodging
they barricade the roads at the border
they destroy Croker's Aston Martin and two Jaguars
As when they killed Beckerman, Mafia soldiers in sharp black suits line the pass, holding guns. The boss, Altabani, is down on the road, where he chats urbanely with Croker as the cars are smashed by the earthmover.
they put a horse's head in Croker's bathtub
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What does Charlie threaten Altabani with?
drawing the Vatican's attention to Altabani's actions
reporting Altabani's role in Beckerman's death to the Rome newspapers
reprisals against England's quarter-million Italians
Croker warns that if harm falls to him, no Italian-run business will be safe. He says Mr. Bridger will "drive them (Italians) into the sea."
using Professor Peach's computer skills to screw up the Mafia's finances
Who jammed the signal from Turin's traffic cameras?
Birkinshaw
Birkinshaw has wrapped the jamming devices in newspaper and puts them in trash cans near the cameras. We then see the command center, where screen after screen of traffic cameras goes black.
Lorna
Peach
Rozzer
What is the last bit of advice Croker gives to his crew?
"Have fun."
"Drive safe."
"Don't look to the left or the right, just straight ahead."
"Here, they drive on the wrong side of the road."
This advice isn't as useful as it sounds. The Minis drive almost exclusively in places cars aren't supposed to be: the arcade of a shopping plaza, the steps of a church and so on.
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What does one of the Mini drivers steal from a diner at an outdoor cafe?
a beer
a locket
money
roast chicken
In a moment of caper-movie jauntiness, one of the lads sticks his hand out the window and snatches up what appears to be an entire miniature game hen. The three Mini Coopers are driving past an indoor-outdoor cafe at the time.
Which of the following is NOT something the Coopers drive through during the chase?
a church's front steps
a river spillway
a palazzo rooftop
a sewer
they drive through all of these
While everyone likes a car chase now and then, the one in "The Italian Job" seems determined to pack in every obstacle and feat imaginable. This, plus the foregone conclusion that the police are not going to catch them, makes it forgivable if the viewer's attention wanders at points.
What does Bridger do, upon hearing that the lads have completed the job?
dances a jig
passes out cigars
has a big celebratory meal
It would have been almost impossible for Bridger to dance a jig. Noel Coward was in poor health, and his walk down the stairs, even, had to be shot in several takes.
returns to reading his book
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What happens to the Minis at the end?
they are airlifted back to England
they are given a speedy repainting and driven off in different directions
the crew gives them to shocked, delighted rural Italians
they are shoved into ravines and destroyed
The three cars are first driven up a ramp into the long, empty motor coach. After the gold is unloaded, the Minis are shoved off one by one.
How does "The Italian Job" end?
with the crew triumphantly crossing into Switzerland
with the bus teetering on a cliff's edge
This is a famous ending. The studio didn't like any of the four proposed endings, so created one that clearly set up a sequel (which never happened). It was the novelization that ended with Mr. Bridger telling the crew to return the gold, as part of a deal struck with the Mafia to "divide Europe."
with the gold falling out the back of the bus
with Bridger telling the crew to return the gold to Italy
Who played Croker's girlfriend, Lorna?
Maggie Blye
The character of Lorna pretty quickly turns into a stock girlfriend, but she starts out with a bang. She picks up Charlie in a stolen car (from an ambassador!) and dismisses the idea that she should have come to see Charlie in prison, with all the other "wives and their howling kids." Not her thing, Lorna makes clear.
Julie Christie
Britt Ekland
Helen Mirren
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Who did Paramount's chief want to play Charlie Croker?
Robert Redford
Nowadays, this seems like blasphemy. Michael Caine fit the role to a T.
Steve McQueen
Paul Newman
Dennis Weaver
Who stepped into Charlie Croker's shoes for a 2003 remake?
Ben Affleck
Robert Downey Jr.
Aaron Eckhart
Mark Wahlberg
The U.S. movie doesn't borrow the plot of the U.K. original whole. Instead, the storyline involves a first job, a double-cross, and then a second job, in which the betrayed members of the crew plan a "revenge" heist.
What upset Michael Caine about the U.S. release of the film?
the theatrical trailer
the theatrical poster
The U.S. poster shows an apparently naked woman with a detailed map tattooed or painted on her back, kneeling in front of a mobster with a gun. Caine was reportedly so upset he cut short his promotional tour.
20 minutes were cut from the runtime
he lost top billing to Noel Coward
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Who played Bridger in the American remake?
Anthony Stewart Head
Robert De Niro
Harrison Ford
Donald Sutherland
To say that he played "Bridger" is a bit of a misstatement. The character seems to be based mostly on Beckerman: he planned the first heist and is dead by the time the second revenge op takes place.
You Got:
/35
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