Alfie (Burt Bacharach song) version of "Alfie" was released at the end of June 1966 almost two months prior to the film's US premiere (August 25, 1966); Sonny Bono's production showcased the song à la Phil Spector. Despite being the follow-up to the #2 hit "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", "Alfie" rose no higher than #32. It was also a top 40 hit in Canada, reaching #36. The versions of "Alfie" by both Cilla Black and Cher were released in Australia in July 1966, with Black's becoming the major hit at #22; the Cher version's Australian chart peak was #96. "Alfie" was
Michael Caine Brain" (1967), "Bullet to Beijing" (1995) and "Midnight in Saint Petersburg" (1995). Caine made his first film in Hollywood in 1966, after an invitation from Shirley MacLaine to play opposite her in "Gambit." During the first two weeks, whilst staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel, he met long-term friends John Wayne and agent "Swifty" Lazar. Caine starred in the 1969 comedy caper film "The Italian Job" as the leader of a cockney criminal gang released from prison with the intention of doing a "big job" in Italy to steal gold bullion from an armoured security truck. The line "You're only