Set-jetting
Michael’s movie marathon After an acting career spanning eight decades, Sir Michael Caine announced his retirement this year at 90 after 160 films, 100 TV dramas, two Oscar wins, a Bafta and a Golden Globe. And it’s little wonder locations where he’s filmed are popular with tourists.
It was his role as an officer in Zulu, the epic retelling of the 19th century battle in South Africa between British soldiers and Zulu warriors, that first highlighted his talents.
The real mission depot at Rorke’s Drift, alongside the Buffalo River where the battle took place had changed beyond recognition when the film was shot in 1964. So it was recreated beneath the natural amphitheatre in South Africa’s Drakensberg Mountains in the Royal Natal National Park.
Caine went on to play Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File (1965) and the title role in Alfie (1966). But it was his famous line in The Italian Job, as cockney scamp Charlie Croker planning to nick gold bullion by creating a traffic jam in Turin, that is still quoted by fans today: “You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!”.
Locations to visit from the flick include the hairpin bends of the Great St Bernard Pass, high up in the Alps, and the then Fiat factory (now the Doubletree by Hilton Turin Lingotto, after being transformed by architect Renzo Piano), where the Minis flew between buildings.
The remarkable Lingotto Racetrack on the roof, which was once used to test cars, is also open to the public.
Michael’s poignant final movie, The Great Escaper, is in cinemas now. He portrays Bernard Jordan, a Royal Navy veteran who escaped from his Sussex nursing home in 2014 to attend the 70th anniversary of the D-day celebrations in Normandy. With 2024 marking the 80th anniversary of D-day, history buffs can follow in the footsteps of Bernie.
Leger Holidays offers a five-day Great Escaper tour, visiting the landing beaches, Pegasus Bridge, Mulberry Harbour, the Bayeux War Cemetery and the British Normandy Memorial, from £649pp with coach travel, hotel accommodation, breakfasts and excursions. leger.co.uk