Michael Caine explains the reasons why 'The Italian Job' (1969) was a flop in America:
"'The Italian Job' (1969) was a fun picture aimed at kids of all ages. It was very well made and became popular in Britain and Europe when it was released, but it flopped in America. This may have been partly because the game involved at the centre of the plot was soccer — virtually unknown in America at the time — but I think the advertising campaign they dreamed up over there was really to blame.
When I arrived in Los Angeles to promote the picture I was stunned to open a newspaper and see an image of a naked woman sitting on the lap of a gangster who was holding a machine gun. The genius who thought that up was sending such a wrong signal about this G-rated caper that I knew immediately that 'The Italian Job' was doomed, so I got on the next plane and came home to England. After months of hard work, sweat and tears, it can sometimes only take one small mistake like that to screw the whole thing up."
('What's it all about? Michael Caine An Autobiography', Michael Caine, 1992)