Review of The Italian Job (1969) by Film C — 15 Nov 2008

The original Italian Job from 1969, stars Michael Caine in an early leading role as Charlie Croker, an ex-con who organizes a heist of millions in gold.

The film is a bit uneven, throwing laughs, action, and an endless car chase at the audience. The comedy is hit or miss and seems to be a bit dated. Benny Hill makes an appearance as a perverted professor who plays an integral role in the main heist. Some of the early scenes do play like an old Benny Hill episode, with Michael Caine caught up in sexual hi-jinks with multiple women, and I do mean multiple. The film's comedic tone is established early when the not-so-leading-man-looking Caine beds several women at one time.

Most of the film is a setup for the actual heist. Very little is revealed, however, of what should take place during the climactic caper. That's fine, but the first half drags a bit, and almost buckles under the weight of all of the characters involved and the murky heist plan. In the end, the film does enough to entertain, and leaves the audience hanging at the end with a clever climax that people will either love or despise. The locales in the Italian Job are fantastic, from crowded Italian streets to breathtaking mountains. The film also provides a neat time capsule of late sixties Europe.