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BBC 'Why do we love the Mini'

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Visit the Mini curiosities on this site by following the links or clicking on images.

The Mini on-line Museum has ceased to exist!

Visit the Gallery and see the above popular design by Jessy in its full splendour!

Fashionable Mini as an icon amongst icons like Chanel and Mary Quant!

Honestly, how can you lose a Mini for 36 years? Click on the tax disc to find out!

Television and film fame

For more pictures of the Doctor Who Mini click on the image above.

Thanks to the team for keeping my car going for the past few years, although sad to say, the business is now defunct owing to the ill-health of the owner. See My Mini and take a look at the Surf Blue Mini page on which the name of the garage was based.

From the Daily Telegraph (online)

The Mini has been voted the greatest British car of all time, ahead of the Range Rover, Jaguar E-type, Land Rover and McLaren F1.

That’s according to a poll carried out by Autocar in response to news that British car manufacturing output is set to eclipse its highest ever level by 2015, when more than two million cars are expected to be built. At present the record stands at 1.92 million cars in 1972.

Last year 1.34 million cars were produced in Britain (more than 80 per cent of which were exported), as increasing numbers of foreign car makers have invested in manufacturing facilities. These include Nissan, which built 480,485 cars at its Sunderland Plant, Land Rover (238,237 at Halewood and Solihull) and BMW Mini (191,474 at Oxford).

Despite many newer, faster and more expensive cars being made in Britain, it was the original Mini that grabbed the title of the country’s greatest car in the Autocar poll. Launched in 1959, the Austin Mini was designed by Alec Issigonis, who had joined BMC from Alvis in 1956. BMC chairman, Leonard Lord, wanted somebody who could design a vehicle to beat the new wave of bubble cars that were appearing in Britain as a result of the petrol rationing caused by the Suez petrol crisis. Issigonis had previously overseen the development of the Morris Minor, and it was a miniature version of this car that Lord had requested.

Working with a small team, which included Jack Daniels, Chris Kingham and Charles Griffin, Issigonis set about sketching designs for the new car, which would use a transverse-mounted engine and front-wheel drive in a body that was no more than 10-foot long and yet would be able to seat four adults.

Within the design were some completely new ideas, such as running the four-cylinder engine and gearbox on the same sump oil (the gearbox was mounted in the sump) to save space, and the rubber cone suspension, designed by Alex Moulton. Later, a cheaper, fluid-based hydrolastic system, also designed by Moulton, would replace the rubber cones.

The finished car used front and rear subframes to improve refinement (until they rusted away in wet weather) and was, without doubt, a triumph of packaging. Eventually it would notch up 5.4 million sales in a 41-year-old production run, although initial take-up was slow. It wasn’t, in fact, until famous faces began using the little Mini that the public really began to take notice, the initial interest boosted as success followed on the motorsport circuit, both on track and rally stages. Meanwhile, its role in The Italian Job (1969), ensured its place in popular culture forever.

Commenting on the Mini's victory, Steve Cropley, Autocar’s editor-in-chief said: “The Mini had many faults and was never profitable, but it rewrote the rules and had the biggest impact on Britain’s car industry that any car has had.

“It was one of the most remarkable cars ever built, what with its seating for four plus a decent boot in its mere 10-foot length, revolutionary drive-train and gearbox and its ultra-compact suspension.

“Then there was the whole Mini Cooper thing, and the enormous driving pleasure. The Mini’s influence is highly visible in every VW Golf or Ford Focus today, and the legend will live forever.”

From the Birmingham Mail (online)

Sir Michael Caine backs Birmingham display as city wins gold at Chelsea Flower Show
By Brett Gibbons May 23 2012
THIS Mini’s motoring on flower power – with the backing of movie legend Sir Michael Caine.
The actor, no stranger to the classic car after his turn in The Italian Job, gave Birmingham’s Chelsea Flower Show display his seal of approval.
And the accolades kept on coming, with the exhibit handed a gold award at the prestigious event.
Council parks staff joined forces with sponsors Retail Birmingham to create a spectacular chunk of the city in the capital, featuring replicas of the Town Hall, the Bullring bull, a canal barge, lock gates and Selfridges along with the Mini. The authority’s strategic director environment and culture Sharon Lea said: “Sir Michael saw the Mini and decided to come along for a closer look at our wonderful display.
“To follow that with a gold award is fantastic. Birmingham has taken over a corner of Chelsea this week and yet again our team has made its mark on a world famous stage. With support from Retail Birmingham we’ve produced another spectacular display that will now add a splash of colour to the city centre and attract visitors from across the UK.”
Jonathan Cheetham, chairman of Retail Birmingham and general manager at The Pallasades shopping centre, said: “Retail Birmingham is proud to be sponsoring such a wonderful display this year. It showcases the breadth of what Birmingham has to offer on an international stage.”

For more colour swatches click here

What became of The Italian Job mob? As the cult film turns 50, we reveal the cast's VERY colourful lives - including Noel Coward's lover, a disgraced BBC star and a screen idol who left his wife for a young fan

Original film The Italian Job was first released on June 2nd 1969 to rave reviews
Directed by Peter Collinson, film cemented Michael Caine's status as screen idol
The movie follows crook Charlie Croker (Caine) as he attempts to steal a heist of gold ingots in Italy, leading a gang of criminals looking to get rich quick
Caine led an ensemble Italian and English cast including names such as Benny Hill, Noel Coward and even his little brother Stanley, who played 'Coco'
While Caine's career soared following the film's release, other cast members didn't fare so well, with tumultuous love lives, mental health problems and alcohol addiction affecting some of the stars

By Jo Tweedy For Mailonline |Published: 5th June 2019 | Updated: 6th June 2019

It's 50 years this week since The Italian Job first hit screens in June 1969.

The comedy caper, directed by Peter Collinson, left cinema-goers on the edge of their seats with its nerve-jangling cliff-edge crescendo, and for some of the cast the real life drama continued long into the future.

English actor Graham Payn starred alongside his real-life lover Noel Coward in the film, and the pair went on to spend 30 years together, with Payn helping playwright Coward throw his famous naked pool parties at their lavish home in Jamaica.

Meanwhile, Italian actor Rossano Brazzi (Roger Beckerman), ended up leaving his wife for an infatuated German fan.

Many of the film's stars have already ascended to the great cinema in the sky, with those still alive almost all now octogenarians. Here's how their lives off-screen played out.

KEATS : PLAYED BY: GRAHAM PAYN

Payn played the confidant of powerful crime lord Mr. Bridger, who was portrayed by his real-life lover Noel Coward. It was to be his final film role, but the former child star still found lifelong fame - only it was thanks to his life off-screen. He and Noel spent 30 years together and Payn was privy to the excesses enjoyed by Coward, including his 'bathing suits banned' pool parties at his Jamaican home. Famous faces including Bette Davis, Errol Flynn and Claudette Colbert became friends of the couple. But Coward 's contemporaries felt Payn 'cynically used' him in order to advance his acting career. Even the Queen Mother - a close friend of Coward - advised him not to help Payn anymore, telling him 'never to allow your emotions to become entangled in your career'. As the romance died between Coward and him, it seems that their relationship fizzled out into a platonic friendship. Following Coward's death in Jamaica in 1973, Payn ran his partner's estate for the next 22 years. He died aged 87 in November 2005.

FRANK - PLAYED BY: JOHN FORGEHAM

Actor John Forgeham, who died at the age of 75 in 2017, played blonde-haired radio operator Frank in The Italian Job, who was tasked with listening in on the Turin police. He only hit the mainstream in the UK with his role in eighties soap, Crossroads. Appearing at the height of the show's success, he became a household name playing characterful mechanic Jim Baines. Fans of nineties trash telly might also recognise him as Frank Laslett in Footballer's Wives. He also appeared in films including Mean Machine and Crossroads and dramas such as Doctors, The Bill and Casualty. Born in the West Midlands, he fell into acting after joining an am-dram group which led to a RADA scholarship. His family revealed that the actor had struggled with serious mental health issues in the four years prior to his sudden death. After Footballers' Wives stopped running in 2006, he struggled to get work and fell into a deep depression and would sit in his flat 'staring at the wall'. His daughter said at the time of his death: 'He had psychotic tendencies and was put under section. He spent a year in a mental institution.'

MR BECKERMAN : PLAYED BY: ROSSANO BRAZZI

One of the few Italian actors in the film, Rossano Brazzi played Roger Beckermann, a convict who met a grisly end in the Italian Alps, after it was discovered he was planning a robbery in Turin.
Off screen, there was colour galore too in Brazzi's own life. A genuine Italian film star of the fifties, the Bologna-born actor made it big in Hollywood with roles in Summertime opposite Katherine Hepburn and Three Coins in the Fountain. One of his best known roles was as Emile De Becque in South Pacific. In 1940 her married an Italian baroness, Lidia Bertolini, whom he stayed with until her death of liver cancer in 1981. After her death, Brazzi fathered a son with a 20-year-old named Llewella Humphreys, the daughter of American gangster Murray Humphreys, known as The Camel or The Hump. Llewella later changed her surname to Brady, an anglecised version of Brazzi. However their relationship was not to last. Brazzi found love with their housekeeper, Ilse Fischer, a German fan whom the film had met when she was just 24. The couple married in 1984 and remained together until Brazzi's death on Christmas Eve 1994 at the age of 74.

ALTABANI : PLAYED BY: RAF VALLONE

The Italian star had already enjoyed a richly varied career before he appeared on screen as mafia boss, Altabani. After murdering Croker's pal Roger Beckermann, he warns the the thief that he knows about the gang's intentions to carry out the heist palled by their late pal. He smashed up their Jaguar E-Type cars and sends Croker's personal Aston Martin DB4 drophead off a cliff. Vallone was a lawyer and professional footballer before World War II broke out, and became editor of the culture section of L'Unita, which was then the official newspaper of the Communist Party, and a film critic for La Stampa, a Turin-based newspaper. During the war, he served with the Communist resistance and made his first screen appearance in 1942 as a sailor in We The Living. By the time The Italian Job came around, he'd starred in almost 50 films and had become a big star in the '60s, and went on to appear in several dozen more. He was often cast as a priest or other religious figure in films and one of his later role was playing a cardinal who became Michael Corleone's confessor in The Godfather Part 3 (1990).

MISS PEACH : PLAYED BY: IRENE HANDL

After taking up acting at the age of 36, The Italian Job came relatively late in Irene Handl's career. She starred in over 100 British films, and was known for usually playing the supporting role of an eccentric landlady, relative or servant. Although she was never the leading lady, she appeared in notable films such as Brief Encounter and The Belles of St Trinian's. In the Italian job, she played a small role as Professor Peach's (Benny Hill) sister. Her last role was in 1987, when she appeared on In Sickness And In Health, shortly before she died at the age of 85.

'SHIRTMAKER' : PLAYED BY: SIMON DEE

Real-name Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd, Simon Dee took on the cameo role of a shirtmaker... but his acting roles didn't get much bigger when the cameras stopped rolling on The Italian Job. It didn't matter, though, for Dee - one of the first DJs on pirate radio station Radio Caroline - forged a glittering career as a presenter. Hailed Britain's 'first celebrity chat-show host', Dee was given his own prime-time show on the BBC, Dee Time, that was regularly watched by 15 million people. He interviewed everyone from Sophia Lauren to Sammy Davis Jr, and in the programme's memorable closing credits, he swept away in a soft top car with a woman in a mini skirt. However once he moved to ITV, Dee soon a swift change in his fortunes. Like many of The Italian Jobs characters, the father-of-four ended up doing porridge himself after falling into heavy debt and being unable to pay the rent on his Chelsea pad. An act of vandalism also blotted his copybook. Outraged that singer Petula Clark's face had been put on a loo seat, he promptly defaced it...and found himself back in court. Dee died from bone cancer aged 74 in 2009.

LORNA : PLAYED BY: MARGARET BLYE

Margaret, known as Maggie, played beautiful blonde Lorna, the groovy girlfriend and partner-in-crime to Caine's lovable criminal Charlie Croker. Born in Houston in 1942, Maggie studied at the University of Texas before moving to Los Angeles to study at UCLA. She landed her first role in the Tennessee Williams adaptation, Summer And Smoke, in 1961 at the age of 18 after being spotted by an agent in Los Angeles. The film was later nominated for an Oscar, boosting the young actress' profile. Maggie went on to have a career spanning 50 years and starred in some 53 films and television shows, appearing opposite some of Hollywood's biggest stars. She appeared in Hombre with Paul Newman; Hard Times with James Coburn and Charles Bronson; Waterhole #3 with Coburn and Carroll O'Connor; The Entity with Barbara Hershey and Ron Silver; Diamonds For Breakfast with Marcello Mastroianni, and Man In The Chair with Christopher Plummer. But despite her on screen magnatism, Maggie never married. She died of cancer in March 2016 at the age of 73 at her home in West Hollywood after a two-year battle.

CAMP FREDDIE : PLAYED BY: TONY BECKLEY

Southampton-born Beckley appeared in the Italian Job as Camp Freddie, who looked after Mr Bridger's operations outside of jail. The role is typical for Beckley, who carved out a niche for himself playing characters with a villainous streak in more than 1,000 plays, films and TV shows. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Beckley appeared in classics including Romeo and Juliet, War and Peace and Julius Caesar for the BBC. Two years after The Italian Job, Beckley was reunited with Michael Caine on the set of 1971s Get Carter, in which he played Peter the Dutchman. His life ended at the age of just 50 at a hospital in Los Angeles and the official cause was listed as cancer. However, his close friend Sheila Hancock speculated that he had possibly succumbed to an AIDS-related illness. His final role before his death was in An Inspector Calls in 1979. Off-screen, Beckley enjoyed a 15-year relationship with film producer Barry Krost.

ARTHUR : PLAYED BY MICHAEL STANDING

Arthur was a jobber in the film, who gave rise to perhaps the most famous line. After he totally destroyed a van with gelignite, Michael Caine's character Croker observed that he was 'only supposed to blow the bloody doors off'. He went on to appear in the BBC children's sci-fi series, The Tomorrow People, in 1973, and Aftershock a sci-fi film, which he also wrote, in 1990. While living in America, he was briefly married to Sherri Spillane, the ex-wife of crime novelist Mickey Spillane. Now 79, he is retired and believed to be living in London.

PROFESSOR SIMON PEACH : PLAYED BY: BENNY HILL

Professor Peach, a deaf computer expert was tasked with creating an almighty traffic jam by gang leader Charlie Croker. He also couldn't resist a curvaceous woman. The role was played by British funnyman Benny Hill, who by the time The Italian Job premiered was already a household name thanks to The Benny Hill Show, which first aired in 1955. Hill, known for his slapstick, risqué humour, was drawn to showbiz from a young age but his blossoming theatre talents were initially cut short by the Second World War. After serving in the British Army he was drawn to the bright lights of London, where he appeared in variety shows and first adopted the stage name Benny Hill. It was his talent for impressions that gave him his first big TV break with Hi There in 1949. The success of The Benny Hill Show - which was exported around the world and ran for almost 40 years - made Hill a multi-millionaire and led to him being offered cameos in Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machine and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But Hill was by all accounts a troubled soul, riddled with insecurities about his self-worth and had a morbid fear of spending money - he didn't own a property, preferring to just rent. He remained single despite proposing twice, and rumours circulated that he was gay...something that Hill always denied. He died in April 2002.

MRS BECKERMANN : PLAYED BY: LEILA GOLDONI

Mrs Beckermann was the wife, later widow, of Roger Beckermann, the convict who met a grisly end in the Italian Alps. She was played by Leila Goldoni, now 82. Born in New York in 1936, her career began with a series of cameos in a flurry of 1940s film roles including Joseph L. Mankiewicz's House of Strangers and John Huston's We Were Strangers. Her role in The Italian Job was fleeting but still made enough of an impression to warrant a song being penned about her character, entitled Oh Mrs Beckerman. Following the film, her career peaked with roles in Invasion of the Bodysnatchers and Martin Scorcese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Married to actor Bob Carruthers, the couple divorced in 1960. Leila has one son, Aaron, who followed his mother into film, albeit behind the scenes.

UNNAMED OFFICER/INMATE : PLAYED BY: FRANK KELLY

Frank Kelly played a bit part in The Italian Job, although there is a dispute over whether this is an 'unnamed officer' who escorts Charlie Croker out of prison, or an unnamed inmate in the prison. Born in Dublin in 1938, Kelly landed his first role in the movie aged 31, and led a successful acting career following its release. In Ireland, Kelly made a name for himself with the children's show Wanderly Wagon and rose to fame with his work on Hall's Pictorial Weekly. But perhaps the role Kelly is best known for is Father Jack Hackett on the sitcom Father Ted. Kelly played the irreverent - and often drunk - clergyman from 1995 to May 1998. Later on, Kelly appeared on Emmerdale for 43 episodes in the role of Dermot Macey between 2010 and 2011. On top of his acting work, Kelly was also a successful stage and voice actor and published author. In 1982, he reached 8th place in the the Irish charts with his song 'Christmas Countdown,' which peaked in 24th position in the UK charts two years later in 1984. The actor, who also suffered from Parkinson's Disease, died of a heart attack on 28 February 2016. Kelly had seven children with his wife Bairbre, to whom he was married to for 51 years.

'YELLOW' : PLAYED BY: ROBERT POWELL

Yellow was a young upstart jobber in the film. The role might have been small but it still kick-started a career for Robert Powell that has endured 50 years. His biggest role would come less than a decade after playing Yellow, with a loftier role - playing the Lord in Franco Zeffirelli's mini series Jesus of Nazareth in 1977. In the eighties, Powell, now 75, teamed up with comedian Jasper Carrott to make The Detectives and starred in hospital soap Holby City for six years. Married to former Pans People dancer Babs, the couple live in West London and have two grown-up children, Kate and Barney.

FAMILY AFFAIR: A CAMEO FOR CAINE'S LITTLE BROTHER...

Hanging on to the coat-tails of his older brother who was by the late Sixties a fully fledged movie star, Stanley Micklewhite bagged himself a part in the comedy. Playing 'Coco' in the film, Stanley's own career never quite reached the heady heights of his sibling but he did appear in Billion Dollar Brain and Play Dirty. Eventually, he took a job at Selfridges before turning his hand to writing. Stanley died in 2008 at the age of 77 after battling leukaemia.

THE RECEPTIONIST : PLAYED BY: VALERIE LEON

Screen siren Valerie Leon played the receptionist at the Royal Lancaster hotel that Croker checked into after being released from prison. Born in November 1943 in Hampstead, Leon managed to score small roles in several high profile films, including seven of the Carry On films, including Carry on Christmas: Carry on Stuffing, in which she is credited as 'Serving Wench.' Her attractive looks no doubt helped when it came to bagging roles in two different James Bond films. Leon appeared in 1977s The Spy Who Loved Me as a receptionist and returned to the franchise six years later as another bit part, Lady in Bahamas, in Never Say Never Again. On the personal side, Leon was married to the television comedy producer Michael Mills from 1974 until his death in 1988. They had two children together, Leon, born in 1975 and Merope, born in 1977. Valerie now conducts Q&As and takes part in film events, as documented on her Twitter account.

THE GOVERNOR : PLAYED BY: JOHN LE MESURIER

Simply known as the Governor, John Le Mesurier played the Prison Govenor at Mr Bridger's prison. Starring in over 120 films, the actor, who died in 1983, was perhaps best known for his roles in classic film Ben Hur (1959), and as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in Dad's Army. Le Mesurier started acting as a young man before enlisting in the Armed Forces during the Second World War. He was posted to India as a captain with the Royal Tank Regiment. But he returned to acting before the end of the world and made his film debut in 1948, starring in the feature comedy short Death in the Hand, opposite Esme Percy and Ernest Jay. The actor appeared mostly in comedies and usually in roles of authority - as seen in both Dad's Army and The Italian Job. His private life was almost as tumultuous as his varied screen roles. He was married to Hattie Jacques, and later Joan Malin, both of whom started affairs with other men during their relationships with Le Mesurier. Malin became involved with actor Tony Hancock who would eventually take his own life over his tangled private life. A battle with alcohol saw Le Mesurier diagnosed with liver problems and ordered not to drink. He eventually lost his life in 1983 after failing health. His final words were 'It's all been rather lovely' and he even penned his own death notice in The Times.

STUNT DOUBLE/DAVE : PLAYED BY: JOHNNY MORRIS

Johnny Morris was not credited for his role in the Italian Job however, he had one of the most important tasks of all: Being Michael Caine's body and stunt-double. He also claims he played a bit-part character called 'Dave', although no details are known about him. Morris, who was raised in Shepherd's Bush, London, was not just Caine's stand-in, he was also his minder, fixer for and friend. And while filling in for one of the 1960's most lucrative actors may sound exciting, Morris' big break came thanks to another giant of pop culture: John Lennon. Morris worked as the Beatles' body double on a Hard Day's Night. Taking Lennon's place on stage, he would help the lighting and camera crews get their angles just right. The stunt double took a risk by leaving Lennon for Caine and worked with the beloved actor for most of the 1960's until they parted way in 1973. In 2015, Morris published his book The Fall Guy, where he reminisced about his time working with Caine and Lennon. In a 2017 interview with the Express, Morris revealed that his favourite Caine Movie was still The Italian Job, because of the scene with the Mini Coopers.

CROKER : PLAYED BY: MICHAEL CAINE

Born and raised in poverty in London in the 1930s, Caine's career soared after he played the charismatic lead role in Alfie in 1966, by which time he had already starred in a string of blockbusters including Zulu (1964) and The process File (1965). Arguably the biggest star from the film, Caine, who's now 86, has continued to be a box office hit, with major movie roles in every decade including Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), Little Voice (1998) and The Dark Knight (2008). The actor has won two Oscars - for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and The Cider House Rules (1999), both for Supporting Actor - and been nominated for six, taking in turns in Alfie, Sleuth (1973), Educating Rita (1984), and The Quiet American (2002). Recently, Caine has formed a close working relationship with Christopher Nolan, appearing in the director's films The Prestige (2006), Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014), in addition to The Dark Night. He is set to appear next in Christopher Nolan's Tenet, due for release in 2020. The star's first marriage, to fellow actor Patricia Haines, produced a daughter, Dominique but the couple separated in 1962. In 1973, he wed current wife Shakira, after he spotted her in an advert for Maxwell House coffee. The couple, who have one daughter, Natasha, have enjoyed a successful marriage and live mostly at their home in Leatherhead, Surrey.

What about these characters?

Noel Coward - Mr Bridger

Noel Coward, who played Mr Bridger in the cult movie died four year after the Italian Job's release. He was one of the biggest playwrights before the second World War but his works failed to pick up the same success after the international conflict ended. He passed away on 26 March 1973 of heart failure

Fred Emney - Birkinshaw

Fred Emney played Birkinshaw, the man who put electronic gadgets in bins to knock out the traffic cameras during the Italian Job. Emney was mostly famous on the circuit scene, and starred in the Peter Collinson movie aged 69. He died eleven years later aged 80.

Derek Ware - Rozzer

While he played Rozzer in the Italian Job, Ware's business flourished thanks to his stunt man work. Prior to the Italian job, he worked with the BBC on several projects, and contributed to the stunt work on early seasons of Doctor Who. After the 1969 movie Ware enjoyed a good career, which included work on Eastenders. He died on 22 September 2015.

George Innis - Bill Bailey

Innis played Bill Bailey in the Italian Job, Croker's number 2. He enjoyed an accomplished career after the movie and is still an active actor today, aged 81 although his last movies, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Stardust, were filmed in 2007.

Tony Beckley - Camp Freddie

As criminal Freddie, Beckley's job was to look after Bridger's operations outside the nick in the Italian Job. And this infamous image stuck with throughout his career, as he tended to e cast in villainous roles in the 1960's and 1970's. Classic Doctor Who fans will recognise him as Harrison Chase, the villain in a six-part Dr Who serial The Seeds of Doom. The circumstances surrounding his death in 1980 are mysterious to this day. It was reported he died of brain cancer, but a close friend said he could have also died of AIDS.

Harry Baird - Big William

Harry Baird - the brother of Michael Caine's wife Shakira, played Big William in the Italian job He became blind following a glaucoma diagnosis in the 1970's and sadly died in 2005 from cancer.

Richard Essame - Tony

After playing Tony, the cooper driver in the Italian Job, Richard went back to his modelling career. He was offered a role in the Italian Job by chance, having driven the reg jag 848 CRY featured in the movie. It is unknown whether he is still alive.

Frank Jarvis - getaway car driver

The driver of Croker's getaway car went on to enjoy a prolific acting career after the 1969 and until his sudden death, aged 69 in 2019. He made a name for himself throughout the 60's and 70's in crime movies. Later in life he blossomed as a stage actor. He died on 15 September 2010.

See which cinemas showed this Classic in its Anniversary year by visiting ModCulture.co.uk

The Italian Jab

(cont) ...

As the Mail said yesterday, the EU is acting like a rogue state, not a family of nations. The Commission has been prepared to rip up international law and ride roughshod over commercial contracts. In a fit of pique, which has blown up in their faces, European leaders cynically trashed the perfectly safe Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, scaring millions of their own people into refusing it. Heaven knows how many Covid victims will die unnecessarily as a direct consequence. The leaders of the European Commission should be arrested, charged with conspiracy to commit corporate man- slaughter and put on trial in cages at the International Court in the Hague — like one of those famous Mafia showtrials in Sicily. Throughout, they have tried to demonise post-Brexit Britain to distract attention from their own leaden-footed failure to secure enough vaccines for their own population. First, they tried to shut the Irish border, in contravention of both the Brexit withdrawal deal and the Good Friday Agreement. When that backfired they moved to stop the export of millions of doses manufactured at a factory in Belgium, part-financed by Britain and set up with British expertise. They're also seeking to halt exports from another plant in the Netherlands. This week, Brussels ordered a smash-and-grab raid on a factory in Italy, which was suspected of sending AstraZeneca vaccines to the UK. It was reported that officers discovered 29 million doses ready to be shipped to Britain. Turns out not a single vial was coming our way. It was all destined for other EU nations and parts of the Third World, under the international COVAX scheme, designed to expedite drugs to poorer countries. But such is the level of anti-British paranoia in Brussels, the EU has gone on a vaccine war footing. The most ludicrous aspect of all this is that there are tens of millions of AstraZeneca jabs sitting in fridges across the EU, ready and waiting to be injected. Yet because of the unwarranted scare campaign stirred up by their leaders, thousands of people across Europe are saying 'thanks, but no thanks' to the AZ vaccine. They'd rather take their chances. Some desperate EU countries are already turning to Russia for supplies of the Sputnik vaccine. Good luck with that. Russian technology isn't all it's cracked up to be. The Sputnik jab shares its name with the first Russian space satellite, which orbited for three weeks before the batteries ran out and it plummeted back to Earth. Call me risk-averse, but I'd rather stick with the Oxford vaccine. If it's good enough for Chief Inspector Morse, it's good enough for me. We are assured that despite Brussels' obstructionism, Britain will have more than adequate supplies of the AZ jab to complete the vaccination programme on schedule. But what if those Italian stockpiles had been bound for the UK? How would we beat the blockade? Fortunately, there are some areas where Britain still leads the world. Daylight robbery, for instance. We have the expertise to recover the goods. We could send for Charlie Croker and his boys to intercept The Italian Jabs as they leave the factory. With a trio of red, white and blue Mini Coopers and a vintage Harrington Legionnaire coach, we could liberate what is rightfully ours from under the noses of the Italian carabinieri and the EU Cosa Nostra. Provided the chaps remember that they are only supposed to blow the bloody doors off and take it easy on the bends, they could be back in Blighty before the bureaucrats in Brussels had finished their subsidised lobster suppers. Altogether now: We are the Self-Vaccination Society...
Computer says no chance All over-50s are being advised to book their first jab while they can, just in case some vaccine centres are forced to close because of a looming shortage of supplies. The NHS website will stop taking appointments on Monday. Let's hope they have more success than I've had so far trying to book my second. Having had Astra jab one at the end of January, number two is due around April 15. But while the physical vaccine roll out by NHS staff and volunteers has been magnificent, I'm afraid the technology is struggling. To be fair, I know people who have had no problem booking their second jab online. But for the past week, I've been banging my head against the NHS website. It keeps telling me I didn't turn up for my second jab, even though it isn't due and I hadn't made an appointment. Then it offered me a slot at a pharmacy in Reading 40 miles from my home in North London. Go figure. For the first shot, I had a choice of three centres no more than 20 minutes away. I've since tried again, two or three times some days, only to be told there aren't any available slots. Don't call us, we'll call you. Still, I've fared better than my wife, who keeps being told by the website that she's not eligible for a second jab, even though she had her Pfizer shot the day after me. I've just had an idea. I've got a close friend the same age as me who lives near Reading. If they offer him an appointment in North London, we could always swap. John Lewis has always been our first port of call when it comes to stuff for the home. So it is sad to learn that so many stores are closing. The High Street has been hit hard by Covid and the internet. Cutbacks were inevitable at traditional retailers. John Lewis has been expanding its online offering, but still has some way to go. This week, I went looking for a new footstool. John Lewis had just the job, but — a big but — said it wouldn't be delivered for 16 weeks. That's four months. Amazon had a selection of footstools available for overnight delivery. Frankly, I'd rather give my business to John Lewis. But if it is going to compete with the internet giants, it's going to have to raise its game, fast. Angela Merkel is no friend of Britain. Never has been. Germany first, EU second. That's an observation, not a criticism. I've never understood the Mutti-mania which infects some of our more rabid pro-Europeans. Her manipulation of the euro to suit Germany has ruined the economies of southern states such as Spain, Greece and Italy. She single-handedly threw open Europe's borders, causing the migration crisis. The only good news is, that piece of hubris precipitated the referendum and our long-overdue departure. Germany has helped screw up Europe's Covid response and Mrs Merkin championed useless Ursula von Undress, who has tried to ban exports of vaccine to Britain. Let's not forget that while Merkin presents as a Christian Democrat, she grew up in Soviet-era East Germany, where she said she enjoyed a 'comfortable' life under Communism. Coincidentally, the EU is increasingly coming to resemble the Soviet Union without the uniforms. Merkin has never been particularly animated. But until now, I hadn't noticed how much she resembles a ventriloquist's dummy. Will we wake up one day to discover that for the past 16 years, she's had Vladimir Putin's hand up her skirt, pulling her strings? Gottle o'wodka!