The Italian Job Poster, 1969

An action-packed Japanese B2 poster for the 1969 British crime caper The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine as cockney criminal Charlie Croker, fresh out of prison and planning a heist in Italy. Consistently voted one of the greatest ever British movies, the quintessential sixties film has become a cult favourite and a classic of the heist genre, while Caine's famous one-liner You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off! has taken on a life of its own. Despite receiving a Golden Globe nomination for Best English-Language Foreign Film, The Italian Job was not a success in America at the time of its release. Caine blamed its failure on a misleading marketing campaign, explaining to Empire magazine that the US poster ...was a naked woman and me. And I said, 'This is for kids. There aren't any naked women in it! We're going to get a load of old guys coming in to see naked women and they're going to be pissed off, and mums aren't going to bring their children.' They said, 'We're not going to change the poster,' so I got on a plane and came home. While utilising the same elements as the US poster in a more diminutive form, this superb Japanese poster places its focus on the real stars of the movie - the red, white and blue Mini Coopers - in their iconic car chase through the streets of Turin. Celebrating 50 years of The Italian Job and 60 years of the Mini in 2019, Caine commented: Of course, the great star of the movie, which we didn’t know, was the Mini. We just used Minis because it was a new car out and it became a worldwide success. Condition Excellent (A-) Unfolded, not backed. Minor creasing to corners and edges. A few light horizontal pressure creases. Image and colours excellent. Close full details Japanese B228⅝ x 20½ in. (73.5 x 52 cm.) Unfolded, not backed