MiniWorld June 2019 89
As the fi l m , The Italian Job, celebrates its golden
anniversary, author Ma hew Field shares some of the
secrets he has uncovered while preparing his new book:
The Self Preservation Society: 50 Years of The Italian Job.
M
ix together three Mini
Coopers, a coach-load of
gold bullion, a classic car
chase and Michael Caine’s
band of cockney rogues and you have
the best British comedy caper of all time.
Funny, sharp and stylish, the fi lm has
been enjoyed by successive generations
since it was fi rst released in 1969.
Ultimately The Italian Job is a car
junkie’s dream. From the opening
scene, in which a Lamborghini
Miura P400 is destroyed by the Mafi a,
to Michael Caine zipping around
swinging London in an Aston Martin
DB4 Convertible, the fi lm also takes
in Fiat Dinos and two Jaguar E-Types
along the way. But we all know it was
the three Minis that became the stars,
even outshining Michael Caine. The
15-minute fi nale, in which the red,
white and blue Austin Mini Cooper
Ss escape the Italian police through
the palazzos, gallerias and rooftops
of Turin, has become one of the most
famous car chases in cinema history.
20 years ago I set out to write a book
about the making of the fi lm. It was
published in 2001 and was moderately
successful. Since then I have tracked
down more people associated with
The Italian Job and discovered many
more facts. With this wealth of new
material, and hundreds of never before
seen photographs and documents,
it was inevitable that I would re-
visit the subject one more time. In
my new book I have discovered so
much more about the Minis and
put to bed some urban myths.
The Italian Job was written by the
late Troy Kennedy Martin, who, from
day one, built the concept of a getaway
in Minis into the heart of his script. “I
decided to use the Mini because it
was ‘the’ icon, it really was, what made
the 60s the 60s. It was full of character,
it was very British. I was attempting to
show this [modern] young Britain and
the Mini was right at the centre of it.
They [were] egalitarian – a prince or
The Italian Job turned the
Mini into a movie star.They [were] egalitarian – a prince or »