Editing Michael Caine (section)

=== 1964–1975: Stardom and acclaim ===
[[File:Michael-caine-trailer.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Caine in the trailer for ''[[Zulu (1964 film)|Zulu]]'' (1964)]]
When this play moved to the [[Criterion Theatre|Criterion]] in [[Piccadilly]] with [[Michael Codron]] directing, he was visited backstage by [[Stanley Baker]], one of the four stars in Caine's first film, ''A Hill in Korea'', who told him about the part of a Cockney private in his upcoming film ''[[Zulu (1964 film)|Zulu]]'', a film Baker was producing and starring in. Baker told Caine to meet the director, [[Cy Endfield]], who informed him that he already had given the part to [[James Booth]], a fellow Cockney who was Caine's friend, because he "looked more Cockney" than Caine did. Endfield then told the 6'2" Caine that he did not look like a Cockney but like an officer, and offered him a screen test for the role of a snobbish, upper class officer after Caine assured him that he could do a [[posh accent]]. Caine believes Endfield offered him, a Cockney, the role of an aristocrat because, being American, he did not have the endemic British class-prejudice. Though he tested poorly, Endfield gave him the part that would make him a film star.<ref>{{cite book|last=Caine|first=Michael|title=The Elephant to Hollywood|year=2011|publisher=Henry Holt & Co.|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8050-9390-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780805093902/page/50 50–52]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780805093902/page/50}}</ref>

[[File:Michael-Caine-in-Helsinki-1967-c.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Caine during filming in 1967 in his third outing as crook-turned-spy [[Harry Palmer]]]]
Location shooting for ''Zulu'' took place in [[Natal (Province)|Natal]], South Africa, for 14 weeks in 1963.<ref>''The Two-Headed Spy'', Turner Classic Movies Film Article at www.tcm.com. Retrieved 12 January 2012</ref><ref>Zulu War 1879 Discussion and Reference Forum (A Small Victorian War in 1879) in www.1879zuluwar.com/t3518-films-of-michael-caine. Retrieved 14 January 2012</ref><ref>Extract from ''The Elephant to Hollywood'' in Reader's Digest Australia at www.readersdigest.com.au. Retrieved 14 January 2012</ref> According to his 2010 autobiography ''The Elephant to Hollywood'', Caine had been signed to a seven-year contract by [[Joseph E. Levine]], whose [[Embassy Pictures|Embassy Films]] was distributing ''Zulu''. After the return of the cast to England and the completion of the film, Levine released him from the contract, telling him, "I know you're not, but you gotta face the fact that you look like a queer on screen." Levine gave his contract to his ''Zulu'' co-star James Booth.<ref>Caine p.62</ref> Subsequently, Caine's agent got him cast in the BBC production ''[[Hamlet at Elsinore]]'' (1964) as [[Horatio (character)|Horatio]], in support of [[Christopher Plummer]]'s [[Prince Hamlet|Hamlet]]. Horatio was the only classical role which Caine, who had never received dramatic training, would ever play. Caine wrote, "...I decided that if my on-screen appearance was going to be an issue, then I would use it to bring out all Horatio's ambiguous sexuality."<ref>Caine p.63</ref>

Caine's roles as effete-seeming aristocrats were to contrast with his next projects, in which he was to become notable for using a [[Regional accents of English|regional accent]], rather than the [[Received Pronunciation]] then considered proper for film actors. At that time his working-class [[Cockney]] speech stood out to American and British audiences alike, as did [[the Beatles]]' [[Liverpudlian]] accents. ''Zulu'' was followed by two of Caine's best-known roles: the rough-edged petty-crook-turned-spy [[Harry Palmer]] in ''[[The Ipcress File (film)|The Ipcress File]]'' (1965) and the titular womanising young Cockney in ''[[Alfie (1966 film)|Alfie]]'' (1966). In a 2016 interview Caine cited ''Alfie'' as his favourite film of his career, saying, "it made me a star in America as well, and it was my first nomination for an Academy Award".<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Michael Caine admits he has never seen the much-derided Jaws 4 |url=https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-news/sir-michael-caine-admits-he-has-never-seen-the-much-derided-jaws-4-34366505.html |work=[[Irish Independent]] |date=15 January 2016 |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref> He went on to play Harry Palmer in a further four films, ''[[Funeral in Berlin (film)|Funeral in Berlin]]'' (1966), ''[[Billion Dollar Brain]]'' (1967), ''[[Bullet to Beijing]]'' (1995) and ''[[Midnight in Saint Petersburg]]'' (1996).<ref>{{cite news |title=The Ipcress File: how a bespectacled 'anti-Bond' changed Michael Caine's life |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/ipcress-file-bespectacled-anti-bond-changed-michael-caines-life/ |work=The Telegraph |access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref> Caine made his first film in Hollywood in 1966, after an invitation from [[Shirley MacLaine]] to play opposite her in ''[[Gambit (1966 film)|Gambit]]''. During the first two weeks, whilst staying at [[the Beverly Hills Hotel]], he met long-term friends [[John Wayne]] and agent [[Irving Paul Lazar|"Swifty" Lazar]]. Wayne was a fan of Caine's performance in ''Alfie'' and suggested to Caine, "Speak slow and speak low". Caine was always grateful for that advice.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hamilton |first=Fiona |title=Best of Times Worst of Times Michael Caine |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article2006928.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616185212/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article2006928.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 June 2011 |work=[[The Times]] |location=London |date=1 July 2007 |access-date=5 April 2010}}</ref> Caine starred in the film ''[[The Magus (film)|The Magus]]'' (1968) which, although [[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA]]-nominated for Best Cinematography, failed at the box office.
[[File:Get-carter-trailer.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Caine in the trailer for ''[[Get Carter]]'' (1971)]]
Caine starred in the 1969 comedy [[caper film]] ''[[The Italian Job]]'' as Charlie Croker, the leader of a Cockney criminal gang released from prison with the intention of doing a "big job" in Italy to steal gold bullion from an armoured security truck. One of the most celebrated roles of his career, in a 2002 poll his line "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" was voted the second-funniest line in film (after "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy" from [[Monty Python]]'s ''[[Life of Brian]]''),<ref>{{cite news |first=Sarah|last=Womack|title=Life of Brian wins the vote for film's best laughter line |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385293/Life-of-Brian-wins-the-vote-for-films-best-laughter-line.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385293/Life-of-Brian-wins-the-vote-for-films-best-laughter-line.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |date=19 February 2002|access-date=19 August 2019 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and favourite one-liner in a 2003 poll of 1,000 film fans.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1424181/Caine-takes-top-billing-for-the-greatest-one-liner-on-screen.html | title = Caine takes top billing for the greatest one-liner on screen |first= Michael |last=Paterson | date = 10 March 2003 |work = [[The Daily Telegraph]] | access-date = 25 October 2017}}</ref> Culminating in a [[cliffhanger]], ''The Italian Job'' has one of the most discussed end scenes in film; what happened to the coachload of gold teetering over the edge of a cliff has been debated in the decades since the film was released.<ref>{{cite news |first=James |last=Brown |title='I had a better idea': writer's original finish for 'Italian Job' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/i-had-a-better-idea-writers-original-finish-for-italian-job-435666.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/i-had-a-better-idea-writers-original-finish-for-italian-job-435666.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |date=9 February 2007|access-date=19 August 2019 |work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Richard|last=Alleyne|title= At last Michael Caine reveals ending to the Italian Job|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/3533647/At-last-Michael-Caine-reveals-ending-to-the-Italian-Job.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/3533647/At-last-Michael-Caine-reveals-ending-to-the-Italian-Job.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|date=28 November 2008|access-date=19 August 2019 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

After working on ''The Italian Job'' with [[Noël Coward]], and a role as [[RAF]] fighter pilot [[squadron leader]] Canfield in the all-star cast of ''[[Battle of Britain (film)|Battle of Britain]]'' (both 1969), Caine played the lead in ''[[Get Carter]]'' (1971), a British gangster film. Caine also starred in a comedy thriller, ''[[Pulp (1972 film)|Pulp]]'' (1972). Caine continued with successes including ''[[Sleuth (1972 film)|Sleuth]]'' (1972) opposite [[Laurence Olivier]], and [[John Huston]]'s ''[[The Man Who Would Be King (film)|The Man Who Would Be King]]'' (1975) co-starring [[Sean Connery]], which received widespread acclaim.<ref name="king"/> ''[[The Times]]'' applauded the "lovely double act of Caine and Connery, clowning to their doom", while Huston paid tribute to Caine's improvisation as an actor: "Michael is one of the most intelligent men among the artists I've known. I don't particularly care to throw the ball to an actor and let him improvise, but with Michael it's different. I just let him get on with it."<ref name="king">{{cite book|first=William|last=Hall|date=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b4UxBwAAQBAJ&q=the+man+who+would+be+king+-+michael+caine+would+like+to+be+remembered+for&pg=PT201|title=Sir Michael Caine – The Biography|publisher=[[John Blake Publishing]]|location=London, England|isbn=9781784185350}}</ref> In 1974, Caine appeared in ''[[The Black Windmill]]'', co-starring [[Donald Pleasence]].