Want to know the best Michael Caine movies? How about the worst Michael Caine movies? Curious about Michael Caine box office grosses or which Michael Caine movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Michael Caine movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
My father introduced me to Michael Caine (1933-) in the movie The Man Who Would Be King. Since that 1975 movie I have followed his career very closely. I am probably one of the few people on Earth who not only saw The Swarm at the theater but also Beyond the Poseidon Adventure at the theater. After years of struggling as an actor, in the mid 1960s he finally became a star with the British films Zulu, Alfie, and Ipcress Files. Since then he has starred in roughly 90 movies. Over the years Caine has received 6 Oscar® nominations and 2 Oscar® wins. Not only is he still popular after a 60 plus year career but he is still appearing in some the biggest movies out there (Inception, Batman trilogy). Currently he is director Christopher Nolan’s good luck charm. Caine has appeared in the last 7 Nolan films (he has an uncredited voice role in 2017’s Dunkirk).
His IMDb page shows over 170 acting credits since 1956. In the table below, Ultimate Movie Rankings ranks his movies in 6 different sortable columns. Television roles, cameos, shorts and straight to DVD movies were not included in the rankings.
Michael Caine Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Michael Caine Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort Michael Caine movies by movie titles and trailers
- Sort Michael Caine movies by co-stars of his movies
- Sort Michael Caine movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Michael Caine movies by yearly dometic box office rank
- Sort Michael Caine movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Michael Caine movie received.
- Sort Michael Caine movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
- Blue Link in Co-Star column will take you to that star’s UMR movie page
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | The Dark Knight (2008) | Charlize Theron & Paul Rudd |
533.30 | 800.8 | 1,506.00 | 1 | 95 | 08 / 02 | 99.7 | |
| 3 | Dunkirk (2017) AA Best Picture Nom Voice Only |
Tom Hardy | 190.10 | 228.4 | 633.70 | 14 | 89 | 08 / 03 | 99.7 | |
| 2 | Inception (2010) AA Best Picture Nom |
Leonardo DiCaprio & Tom Hardy |
292.60 | 399.7 | 1,127.90 | 6 | 86 | 08 / 04 | 99.6 | |
| 4 | Alfie (1966) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Shelley Winters | 21.20 | 208.3 | 208.30 | 11 | 79 | 05 / 00 | 98.8 | |
| 4 | The Dark Knight Rises (2012) | Christian Bale & Tom Hardy |
458.10 | 620.4 | 1,482.20 | 2 | 88 | 00 / 00 | 98.7 | |
| 5 | Interstellar (2014) | Matthew McConaughey & Anne Hathaway |
188.00 | 248.1 | 890.80 | 16 | 81 | 05 / 01 | 98.3 | |
| 8 | The Man Who Would Be King (1975) | Sean Connery & Christopher Plummer |
33.30 | 175.3 | 175.30 | 16 | 87 | 04 / 00 | 97.9 | |
| 6 | Batman Begins (2005) | Christian Bale & Liam Neeson |
205.30 | 345.9 | 627.80 | 8 | 82 | 01 / 00 | 97.9 | |
| 10 | Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Supp Actor Win |
Woody Allen & Maureen O'Sullivan |
35.40 | 102.8 | 102.80 | 30 | 90 | 07 / 03 | 96.1 | |
| 9 | A Bridge Too Far (1977) | Gene Hackman & Robert Redford |
56.80 | 274.4 | 274.40 | 9 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 95.1 | |
| 12 | The Cider House Rules (1999) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Supp Actor Win |
Charlize Theron & Paul Rudd |
57.50 | 122.6 | 188.60 | 41 | 76 | 07 / 02 | 93.8 | |
| 13 | Sleuth (1972) AA Best Actor Nom |
Laurence Olivier | 17.40 | 110.5 | 110.50 | 23 | 89 | 04 / 00 | 93.5 | |
| 15 | Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) | Samuel L. Jackson & Colin Firth |
128.30 | 169.2 | 546.70 | 23 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 93.3 | |
| 14 | Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) | Mike Myers | 213.30 | 396.5 | 551.40 | 7 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 93.0 | |
| 16 | Dressed to Kill (1980) | Angie Dickinson | 34.80 | 144.4 | 144.40 | 23 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 92.1 | |
| 17 | California Suite (1978) | Jane Fonda & Richard Pryor |
42.90 | 197.7 | 197.70 | 13 | 55 | 03 / 01 | 91.9 | |
| 17 | Cars 2 (2011) Voice Only |
Owen Wilson | 191.50 | 260.3 | 764.10 | 8 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 91.1 | |
| 18 | The Ipcress File (1965) | Nigel Green | 8.10 | 85.7 | 85.70 | 35 | 85 | 00 / 00 | 88.8 | |
| 20 | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) | Steve Martin & Glenne Headly |
42.00 | 110.3 | 110.30 | 24 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 88.7 | |
| 22 | Miss Congeniality (2000) | Sandra Bullock | 106.80 | 213.6 | 425.50 | 21 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 88.4 | |
| 21 | The Prestige (2006) | Scarlett Johansson & Hugh Jackman |
53.10 | 87.0 | 179.70 | 61 | 81 | 02 / 00 | 88.2 | |
| 22 | Children of Men (2006) | Clive Owen & Julianne Moore |
35.60 | 58.2 | 114.60 | 87 | 90 | 03 / 00 | 88.1 | |
| 23 | Now You See Me (2013) | Morgan Freeman & Woody Harrelson |
117.70 | 156.1 | 466.40 | 27 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 86.4 | |
| 25 | Tenet (2020) | John David Washington & Robert Pattinson |
57.90 | 68.0 | 425.10 | 8 | 77 | 02 / 01 | 84.4 | |
| 24 | Zulu (1964) | Stanley Baker & Richard Burton |
4.00 | 46.2 | 46.20 | 71 | 86 | 00 / 00 | 84.2 | |
| 26 | Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) Voice Only |
Emily Blunt & Jason Statham |
100.00 | 135.9 | 263.70 | 31 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 83.4 | |
| 26 | Secondhand Lions (2003) | Robert Duvall & Haley Joel Osment |
42.10 | 75.2 | 85.60 | 69 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 82.0 | |
| 28 | Gambit (1966) | Shirley MacLaine | 6.20 | 61.2 | 61.20 | 44 | 74 | 03 / 00 | 81.6 | |
| 27 | Educating Rita (1983) AA Best Actor Nom |
Julia Walters | 14.60 | 50.1 | 50.10 | 49 | 77 | 03 / 00 | 81.3 | |
| 30 | The Italian Job (1969) | Noel Coward | 6.60 | 49.9 | 49.90 | 41 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 81.1 | |
| 31 | Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) | Dwayne Johnson | 103.90 | 140.7 | 454.00 | 30 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 80.1 | |
| 31 | The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) | Muppets | 27.30 | 70.9 | 70.90 | 47 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 79.6 | |
| 32 | Get Carter (1971) | Britt Ekland | 3.90 | 25.7 | 25.70 | 73 | 82 | 00 / 00 | 78.1 | |
| 34 | The Quiet American (2002) AA Best Actor Nom |
Brendan Fraser | 13.00 | 24.1 | 51.40 | 135 | 80 | 01 / 00 | 76.4 | |
| 33 | Mona Lisa (1986) | Bob Hoskins | 5.80 | 16.8 | 16.80 | 98 | 82 | 01 / 00 | 76.4 | |
| 36 | Deathtrap (1982) | Christopher Reeve & Dyan Cannon |
19.30 | 70.7 | 70.70 | 38 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 75.6 | |
| 38 | Now You See Me 2 (2016) | Mark Ruffalo & Woody Harelson |
65.10 | 81.1 | 417.40 | 49 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 73.3 | |
| 39 | Battle of Britain (1969) | Laurence Olivier & Christopher Plummer |
5.70 | 43.4 | 43.40 | 44 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 71.0 | |
| 37 | Quills (2000) | Kate Winslet & Joaquin Phoenix |
7.10 | 14.1 | 36.00 | 132 | 76 | 03 / 00 | 70.4 | |
| 40 | Funeral in Berlin (1966) | Guy Doleman | 4.40 | 42.9 | 42.90 | 59 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 70.1 | |
| 42 | The Eagle Has Landed (1976) | Robert Duvall & Donald Sutherland |
13.60 | 69.0 | 69.00 | 49 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 69.9 | |
| 41 | Last Orders (2001) | Helen Mirren & Bob Hoskins |
2.30 | 4.4 | 13.10 | 175 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 67.2 | |
| 43 | Victory (1981) | Sylvester Stallone | 10.90 | 42.1 | 42.10 | 72 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 65.8 | |
| 45 | The Island (1980) | David Warner | 15.70 | 65.2 | 65.20 | 51 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 65.7 | |
| 43 | The Great Escaper (2023) Limited Release |
Glenda Jackson | 0.10 | 0.1 | 6.00 | 270 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 65.5 | |
| 44 | Little Voice (1998) | Brenda Blethyn & Ewan McGregor |
4.60 | 10.6 | 10.60 | 149 | 74 | 01 / 00 | 64.9 | |
| 45 | Youth (2015) | Jane Fonda | 2.70 | 3.5 | 30.70 | 156 | 75 | 01 / 00 | 63.4 | |
| 50 | Going In Style (2017) | Morgan Freeman & Alan Arkin |
45.00 | 54.1 | 102.10 | 60 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 62.9 | |
| 47 | The Wrong Box (1966) | Peter Sellers | 0.90 | 8.7 | 8.70 | 127 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 62.4 | |
| 49 | Too Late The Hero (1970) | Cliff Robertson & Henry Fonda |
2.60 | 17.9 | 17.90 | 95 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 61.2 | |
| 51 | Hurry Sundown (1967) | Jane Fonda & Faye Dunaway |
10.10 | 90.2 | 90.20 | 29 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 60.3 | |
| 53 | On Deadly Ground (1994) | Steven Seagal | 38.60 | 102.0 | 102.00 | 37 | 42 | 00 / 00 | 60.0 | |
| 51 | The Last Valley (1971) | Omar Sharif | 2.30 | 15.2 | 15.20 | 108 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 59.2 | |
| 52 | A Shock to the System (1990) | Samuel L. Jackson | 3.40 | 8.7 | 8.70 | 132 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 55.8 | |
| 56 | The Fourth Protocol (1987) | Pierce Brosnan | 12.40 | 34.3 | 34.30 | 77 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 54.7 | |
| 55 | The Weather Man (2005) | Nicolas Cage | 12.50 | 21.0 | 32.10 | 141 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 54.4 | |
| 57 | Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) | James Caan & Diane Keaton |
13.90 | 70.5 | 70.50 | 48 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 54.1 | |
| 57 | Mandela and de Klerk (1997) Showtime Movies |
Sidney Poitier | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 281 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 53.4 | |
| 59 | Bewitched (2005) | Shirley MacLaine & Nicole Kidman |
63.30 | 106.6 | 221.40 | 41 | 37 | 00 / 00 | 53.2 | |
| 58 | Harry Brown (2009) | Emily Mortimer | 1.80 | 2.6 | 2.60 | 183 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 51.5 | |
| 59 | Pulp (1972) | Mickey Rooney | 2.70 | 17.3 | 17.30 | 98 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 49.4 | |
| 62 | Without a Clue (1988) | Ben Kingsley | 8.50 | 22.4 | 22.40 | 99 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 48.9 | |
| 61 | Play Dirty (1969) | Nigel Green | 1.40 | 10.8 | 10.80 | 126 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 48.1 | |
| 63 | Sweet Liberty (1986) | Lillian Gish & Alan Alda |
14.20 | 41.3 | 41.30 | 58 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 47.4 | |
| 65 | Noises Off... (1992) | John Ritter | 2.30 | 5.9 | 5.90 | 146 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 42.5 | |
| 66 | Is Anybody There? (2008) | Bill Milner | 2.00 | 3.0 | 3.00 | 191 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 41.1 | |
| 67 | Flawless (2007) | Demi Moore | 1.20 | 1.9 | 10.70 | 208 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 36.0 | |
| 69 | Billion Dollar Brain (1967) | Karl Malden & Donald Sutherland |
3.80 | 33.4 | 33.40 | 66 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 34.9 | |
| 68 | Medieval (2022) | Ben Foster | 1.40 | 1.4 | 4.30 | 117 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 34.8 | |
| 69 | The Whistle Blower (1986) | John Gielgud | 1.50 | 4.4 | 4.40 | 158 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 34.4 | |
| 70 | How to Murder a Rich Uncle (1957) | Charles Coburn and Wendy Hiller | 0.10 | 2.8 | 2.80 | 210 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 33.6 | |
| 71 | Stonehearst Asylum (2014) | Ben Kingsley & Kate Beckinsale |
0.10 | 0.1 | 4.20 | 302 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 32.9 | |
| 72 | Blood and Wine (1996) | Jack Nicholson | 1.10 | 2.7 | 2.70 | 197 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 32.6 | |
| 73 | Best Sellers (2021) Limited Release |
Aubrey Plaza | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.40 | 244 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 31.9 | |
| 77 | Mr. Destiny (1990) | James Belushi | 15.40 | 39.2 | 39.20 | 80 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 31.5 | |
| 76 | Woman Times Seven (1967) | Shirley MacLaine & Peter Sellers |
2.20 | 20.0 | 20.00 | 91 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 30.4 | |
| 75 | Last Love (2013) | Jane Alexander | 0.10 | 0.1 | 2.60 | 305 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 29.0 | |
| 78 | Curtain Call (1998) Starz! |
Maggie Smith | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 342 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 27.4 | |
| 80 | The Magus (1968) | Anthony Quinn | 2.90 | 23.5 | 23.50 | 97 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 26.2 | |
| 82 | The Romantic Englishwoman (1975) | Glenda Jackson | 2.80 | 14.7 | 14.70 | 91 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 24.7 | |
| 79 | Shiner (2000) | Martin Landau | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.20 | 267 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 24.4 | |
| 84 | The Wilby Conspiracy (1975) | Sidney Poitier | 3.00 | 15.9 | 15.90 | 87 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 24.2 | |
| 81 | The Destructors/The Marseille Contract (1974) | Anthony Quinn & James Mason |
0.50 | 2.7 | 2.70 | 145 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 24.2 | |
| 84 | Sherlock Gnomes (2018) Voice Only |
Johnny Depp & James McAvoy |
43.20 | 51.2 | 102.80 | 69 | 41 | 00 / 00 | 24.0 | |
| 85 | Deadfall (1968) | Giovanna Ralli | 1.00 | 8.2 | 21.20 | 148 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 23.8 | |
| 86 | King of Thieves (2018) | Michael Gambon | 0.10 | 0.1 | 9.50 | 379 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 23.3 | |
| 86 | Half Moon Street (1986) | Sigourney Weaver | 1.10 | 3.3 | 3.30 | 171 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 22.5 | |
| 87 | Beyond the Limit (1983) | Richard Gere | 6.00 | 20.5 | 20.50 | 81 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 21.2 | |
| 89 | X, Y and Zee (1972) | Elizabeth Taylor | 5.00 | 31.4 | 31.40 | 64 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 19.2 | |
| 89 | The Debtors (1999) | Randy Quaid | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 331 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 18.8 | |
| 92 | Peeper (1975) | Natalie Wood | 2.40 | 12.7 | 12.70 | 108 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 18.6 | |
| 91 | Kidnapped (1971) | Trevor Howard | 1.10 | 6.9 | 6.90 | 154 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 18.4 | |
| 93 | Blue Ice (1992) HBO Movie |
Ian Holm | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 226 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 18.2 | |
| 93 | The Jigsaw Man (1983) | Laurence Olivier | 0.50 | 1.7 | 1.70 | 142 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 17.6 | |
| 95 | Sleuth (2007) | Jude Law | 0.30 | 0.5 | 7.60 | 258 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 15.4 | |
| 96 | Four Kids And It (2020) Voice Only |
Matthew Goode | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.90 | 194 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 15.2 | |
| 97 | Dear Dictator (2017) | Katie Holmes & Odeya Rush |
0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 302 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 14.4 | |
| 99 | The Swarm (1978) | Richard Widmark & Olivia de Havilland |
17.10 | 78.8 | 78.80 | 41 | 25 | 01 / 00 | 13.2 | |
| 98 | Come Away (2020) | Angelina Jolie | 0.20 | 0.2 | 0.70 | 78 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 13.1 | |
| 99 | The Holcroft Covenant (1985) | Anthony Edwards | 0.40 | 1.2 | 1.20 | 170 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 12.4 | |
| 103 | Blame it on Rio (1984) | Demi Moore | 18.60 | 59.8 | 59.80 | 56 | 31 | 00 / 00 | 12.3 | |
| 100 | The Last Witch Hunter (2015) | Vin Diesel | 27.40 | 35.0 | 187.90 | 83 | 38 | 00 / 00 | 12.0 | |
| 102 | The Black Windmill (1974) | Donald Pleasance | 1.60 | 9.2 | 9.20 | 116 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 10.2 | |
| 104 | Bullseye! (1990) | Roger Moore & John Cleese |
0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 247 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 9.9 | |
| 105 | Around the Bend (2004) | Christopher Walken & Glenne Headly |
0.20 | 0.3 | 0.30 | 254 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 8.0 | |
| 106 | Ashanti (1979) | William Holden | 1.70 | 7.3 | 7.30 | 126 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 7.7 | |
| 107 | Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979) | Sally Field | 5.50 | 23.7 | 23.70 | 78 | 37 | 01 / 00 | 7.7 | |
| 108 | Twist (2021) | Rafferty Law | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.60 | 243 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 6.5 | |
| 109 | The Statement (2003) | Tilda Swinton | 0.80 | 1.4 | 1.40 | 195 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 6.3 | |
| 111 | Jaws: The Revenge (1987) | Lorraine Gary | 20.80 | 57.2 | 143.00 | 53 | 24 | 00 / 00 | 5.3 | |
| 110 | Water (1985) | Valerie Perrine | 0.50 | 1.5 | 3.80 | 165 | 41 | 00 / 00 | 4.8 | |
| 112 | Get Carter (2000) | Sylvester Stallone | 15.00 | 29.9 | 38.80 | 114 | 29 | 00 / 00 | 3.6 | |
| 113 | Surrender (1987) | Lorraine Gary | 5.70 | 15.7 | 15.70 | 100 | 32 | 00 / 00 | 2.8 | |
| 114 | Silver Bears (1977) | Martin Balsam & Jay Leno |
0.90 | 4.6 | 4.60 | 136 | 33 | 00 / 00 | 1.7 | |
| 115 | The Hand (1981) | Directed by Oliver Stone | 2.40 | 9.5 | 9.50 | 109 | 30 | 00 / 00 | 1.3 |
Our Personal Top Ten Michael Caine Movies
Adjusted Michael Caine Adjusted Worldwide Box Office Grosses
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
(Visited 7 times)
BOB to STEVE Reply Part 2
June 16, 2020 at 9:43 am
But look: do we really want a bland site where all is sweetness and light and nobody disagrees? However an argument turns out surely friendly closely-contested debate and controversy add extra ‘meat’ to the site? Oh how I miss John!
Anyway I can see no ‘happy ending’ to the MD debate. If you and WH are correct and Sir Maurice isn’t in it how can we be sure in future that Wiki and IMDB and others are reliable sources of information?
CURRENT PRODUCTION NOTES on WIKIPEDIA
“Morning Departure (released as Operation Disaster in the United States) is a 1950 British naval drama film about life aboard a sunken submarine, directed by Roy Ward Baker, and starring John Mills and Richard Attenborough. It is based on a stage play of the same name by Kenneth Woollard, which had also been shown as a live TV play by the BBC both in 1946 and 1948. It was the feature film debut of Michael Caine.”
On the other hand if it transpires that Sir M IS in it WH will maybe want to throw at him the grosses of not just that movie but could also give him a cut/Split of the Brando and Charley Bill Stuart whopping big gross for Teahouse of the August Moon as a member of my amateur claims to have seen the young Sir M running around with a tray in that movie too.
PS: Good point about the exchanges belonging more to Sir Maurice’s page especially if the Work Horse loses. I’ll start transferring them across when I have a moment
BOB to STEVE Part One reply
June 16, 2020 at 9:29 am
HI STEVE: Thanks for your [as is normal observant] feedback. According to the quotes that WH produces Sir Maurice also says that when he made A Hill in Manchester he had never before had even a “speaking role on TV”. That suggests to me that he may have had a non-speaking role and if so all his filmographies indicate that chronologically it could have been in only Morning Departure which was made for TV in 1946 and released in cinemas in 1950.
WH may have hit the nail on the head when he said somewhere that teaboy Mike could have strayed onto the set with beverages and the still-filming camera caught him; but as he was not paid as an actor on the project and clearly had no real role in the movie [which he could anyway think of as a TV movie] he maybe doesn’t feel like dwelling on the matter when talking about his movie career. If so it is still important in my view to put in a marker that the teaboy appearance was his first sighting on both a TV and cinema screen.
Anyway so many respected sources [such as Wiki and IMDB] credit him with MD as his debut movie that you would think that [as any role in it was obviously obscure] at least ONE of them would have confirmed the matter by looking at the film itself as WH proposes to do when he gets his hands on a DVD. [He’ll be torn in two: he’ll want to be proven right; but will still be panting to catch a glimpse of Sir M in the throes of boyhood – win/win for him!] I just hope that when The Work Horse starts these arguments in future he doesn’t expect us all to be out a fortune buying DVDs to prove our point.
Steve Lensman
June 16, 2020 at 7:37 am
Hi Bob, interesting debate between you and Bruce concerning Michael Caine’s movie debut. I’ve looked at a couple of his books, Caine doesn’t mention playing a teaboy in ‘Morning Departure’ aka ‘Operation Disaster’, but he does say he was a teaboy at the studio while they were making that movie. So maybe someone somewhere assumed he was in the movie too?
“I was working as a tea boy for the producer Jay Lewis, who was making Morning Departure with John Mills. I’d never been to a film studio before and one day he took me with him to Pinewood. While we were there we ran into Walt Disney. As a little boy I was a huge fan of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto and it gives me such pleasure now to watch the cartoons with the next generation of our family, my two-year-old grandson.”
p.s. These chats would have been better placed at Caine’s page than Dickie’s.
BOB to BRUCE Reply
June 13, 2020 at 7:52 am
HI BRUCE:
While you are waiting. Further to recent exchanges on this site it seems that Sir Maurice Micklewhite made his credited [and possibly spoken] film debut in 1956’s Hell in Virginia; but that possibly Morning Departure which was originally a 1946 television movie and then released in cinemas in 1950 may have been the first sighting of him on TV and in cinemas.
One can google “IMDB Morning Departure TV movie” which shows him in the cast list of that movie and herald’s it as his debut albeit uncredited. In a side box on the same page all [ presumably] of Sir Mike’s films are listed and the first 7 mentioned are
Morning Departure – 1946 [TV] 1950 [Cinema release]
Teacher Beware aka Panic in the Classroom -1956/uncredited
Hell in Virginia [aka A Hill in Virginia]- 1956/uncredited
The Steel Bayonet -1957/uncredited
How to Murder a Rich Critic -1957/supporting
A Woman of Mystery -1958/uncredited
Carve Her Name with Pride-1958/uncredited. The Work Horse’s Greatest Box Office actresses tables follow that instruction!
The 128 movies listed in that side box should be of immense interest to ALL Micklewhite buffs as they describe many obscure pre-Zulu flics that he appeared in as a supporting and/or uncredited/cameo performer.
In those movies he plays ‘nothing’ Split-like parts to then-contemporary Greats of the British cinema such as Richard Todd/Jack Hawkins/Richard Attenborough [maybe again]. He was even in a silly Norman Wisdom comedy The Bulldog Breed. He is again uncredited there and maybe today he would welcome that!
Cogerson
June 13, 2020 at 7:27 am
Hey Bob….I guess we will chalk this up to “we agree to disagree”….at least until my Morning Departure arrives in the mail. So it is me and Sir Michael versus you….I like my odds…..lol. WoC and I are rebuilding a fence in our backyard….and I thought I was on vacation.