10 Infuriating Movie Cliffhangers That Nobody Bothered To Wrap Up

2. What Was Charlie Croker's "Great Idea"? - The Italian Job

The Cliffhanger: And now for a cliffhanger that is both literal and figurative, as Charlie Croker (Michael Caine) and his buddies escape with their precious gold in a minibus. However, their overzealous nature leads to the van skidding and ended up perilously hanging on the edge of a cliff, with Croker unable to reach the gold and sending it ever closer to the back-edge of the van when he tries. Croker then lets out the classic final line, "Hang on a minute lads, I've got a great idea" just before the movie ends. What Probably Happened: There are a number of suggested endings to the film's hilarious predicament, with a Making Of documentary favouring the use of a helicopter to hoist the minivan to safety, while Michael Caine claimed that Croker would simply turn the engine on and wait for the petrol to run out, which would sufficiently shift the equilibrium of the vehicle back onto firm ground, though the gold, however, would tumble over the cliff and be stolen by the Mafia, setting up the sequel. Other solutions from amateur scientists involve complex pulley systems, though each cannot be substantiated because...we didn't see it happen. The petrol idea is so hilarious, though, that we'd like to choose to believe that one.