BRITAIN: It was cinema's greatest cliffhanger - but now Michael Caine has blown the gaff on the ending of The Italian Job.
More than three decades after the release of what has become a cult film, the star has solved the riddle playing on the minds of many fans: what exactly happened after the credits rolled as his gang's getaway coach teetered on a precipice?
"Hang on a minute, lads. I've got a great idea," Caine's Cockney rogue blurts as the robbers' £4 million haul of gold bullion threatens to send them over the side of a mountain.
In a BBC1 documentary to celebrate his 70th birthday, the actor has revealed that the gang were meant to escape.
"The next thing that happens is you turn the engine on," he said. "You all sit exactly where you are till all the petrol has run out, which changes the equilibrium. We all jump out and the gold goes over the cliff.
"And at the bottom are the French mafia, sitting waiting for the gold."
Far from being a masterpiece of suspense, the ending was intended merely to pave the way for a sequel.
Once the gang has escaped, "we are off trying to get it back and that is the next movie," Caine told the Hollywood Greats documentary, to be screened on March 11th.
"[The sequel\] was never made, because the film didn't do well in America."
Nevertheless, The Italian Job has gone on to be seen to epitomise its era, thanks to its style, sassiness and jaunty Quincy Jones soundtrack.