The Italian Job

Blue Danube
A missing scene was uncovered by a Channel 4 documentary on the film in 1998. The scene showed the Coopers being chased onto an ice-rink by the Police, and the two pursuers and pursued then engage in a surreal waltz to the "Blue Danube". (Possibly satirizing Stanley Kubrick's 2001) before the Coopers race off again. The scene was shot and cut together, but was cut out of the chase because it dissipated the tension of the chase.

Coopers escaping after waltzing with the Alfas

During the filming of the chase sequence, the crew shot a scene known as the 'Blue Danube' in an exhibition hall in Turin, usually used for the Turin Motor Show. The three Coopers waltzed with three Alfa Romeo Italian Police Cars on ice. The backdrop and music was supplied by the Turin Symphony Orchestra, who performed the 'Blue Danube'.

Writer Troy Martin Kennedy was outraged when he heard about the extra scene as he thought it would slow down the fast pace of the getaway chase. Producer Michael Deeley agreed and the scene ended up on the cutting floor, even though he and many of the crew thought it worked out above and beyond what they expected. 2nd Unit Director Phillip Wrestler disagreed and thought that it was a magical piece of filming that slowed the pace down only to enhance the rapid pace of the remaining of the chase. Wrestler obviously convinced Deeley to keep the scene in and the final cut of The Italian Job actually included the scene.

Film editor John Trumper and Michael Deeley took this final cut to Rome to show the Head of Production, Robert Evans. He ordered that the controversial scene be cut stating that it was pure directional indulgence!

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Rolls Accident
Another scene that was never completed was one where a Rolls Royce skids around a gravel circle. Unfortunately on the first take a clapper boy, David Wynn-Jones, was hit by the Rolls when it skidded out of control. Wynn-Jones was thought to have simply broken legs, but it turned out that he was in a worse state than anyone thought. Eventually he had over a dozen internal operations and took over a year to recover. Many of the crew visited him whilst he was in hospital including Collinson and Caine. Following the accident, which didn't involve any of Remy Julienne's drivers, Remy was put in total charge of all vehicle stunt work to ensure nothing like this happened again.
Wynn-Jones made a full recovery and went on to be a director in his own right.
www.davidwynn-jones.com

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The controversial Blue Danube Scene

Filmed in an exhibition hall in Turin

The escape from Lorna

Girls Fleeing
Another scene that ended up on the cutting room floor was that of the girls in Charlie's flat escaping over a wall onto Portobello Road when Lorna came home and wasn't too impressed.
The shot which showed a number of swinging sixties lovelies clambering over a balcony half dressed was filmed on location in Notting Hill. The flat belonged to Christopher Louge, a friend of writer Troy Kennedy Martin. The stunts were choreographed by Derek Ware, who played Rozzer and his stunt company Havoc. There has been no official reason as to why the scene was cut, although Ware has stated that it may have been because there wasn't many females in the stunt business at the time and the shot may have come across as clumsy.