You Were Only Supposed To Blow The Bloody Doors off

A signed, hand carved, hand pressed, Linocut print of national treasure, English actor Sir Michael Caine, limited to 100 editions.

I have portrayed Michael Caine in one of his most iconic roles: that of Charlie Croker, the leader of a London gang intent on going to Italy to steal a haul of gold bullion using three red, white and blue minis as getaway vehicles in the classic 1969 film, The Italian Job. Without question this film was one of the most seminal roles of Caine’s career, as was his famous line "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" which was voted the best movie one-liner in a 2003 poll. 

Maurice Joseph Micklewhite was born on 14 March 1933, and apart from a period of wartime evacuation he grew up in my old stomping ground of Southwark, South-East London. He was named after his father of the same name, but his stage name was a snap decision which took direct inspiration from the movie The Caine Mutiny, which was showing at the Odeon whilst on a call to his agent from a phone box in Leicester Square.  

Caine has appeared in more than 130 movies in a career spanning eight decades, including classics such as The Ipcress File, Get Carter, The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Eagle has Landed, Zulu, Battle of Britain,and one of my all-time personal favourites, The Man Who Would Be King. At the tender age of 90 he finallyannounced his retirement, shortly after the release of his final movie, The Great Escaper, in 2023. 

ITEM SPECIFICS:  

This design is a signed, hand-carved, hand-pressed, Linocut print, limited to 100 editions. As with all handmade items, each one will vary slightly, making it completely unique. It is printed with black Schminke water-based ink onto Ho-Sho, an off-white mid-weight 90g Japanese printmaking paper which is made from the bark of kozo (paper mulberry). The image itself is approximately A4 in size.