Michael Caine, who celebrates his 92nd birthday today, has an incredible back catalogue of films from across the decades to be proud of.
But there is one that left him feeling seriously disappointed due to the reaction it received.
The movie in question is 1971’s The Last Valley, in which Caine stars as a mercenary leader during the Thirty Years’ War of the 17th century.
Based on the novel of the same name, the acting legend’s Captain and Omar Sharif’s teacher discover a German valley untouched by the conflict, as they collaborate to preserve peace and harmony there.
In his authorised biography 70 not out, Caine lamented The Last Valley as “the most disappointing picture I ever made. Disappointing not from the finished picture, but the reaction to it. It is a performance of which I’m particularly proud, one of the best performances I ever gave, as a matter of fact. For a start, it was anti-religious war at the time of Northern Ireland. I did the film to show what I felt about all the religions. But it meant absolutely nothing to the public, the critics were extremely unkind, and it was a terrible thing for me because everybody was sure it would be a big hit — and so was I.”