Michael Caine's busy career has been driven as much by practicality as by artistic endeavour. His selection of roles has seen him appear in some truly terrible films. But what is often ignored is that he can make even the most stuffed turkey an enjoyable experience to watch.

Sure, some of the humour is unintentional but he works hard on screen and throws himself into the part, treating it very much as a job that needs doing. It's summed up nicely by the cockney himself on accepting roles: "First of all I choose the great ones, and if none of those come, I choose the mediocre ones, and if they don't come, I choose the ones that are going to pay the rent. "

The landlord must have been threatening eviction for Caine to take on the role of a scientist in "The Swarm" (1978). Battling against killer bees, Caine shouts his way through the film, getting very angry at all around him. This is despite the fact that it's his hysterical decisions that keep wiping out hordes of people.

Still, at least his late 1970s American movies had a little glamour to them. His choice of British 1980s films was frighteningly poor. Such stodgy efforts as "The Jigsaw Man" (1983), "The Holcroft Covenant" (1985), and "Half Moon Street" (1986) were deadly dull. But Caine's seemingly grim determination to utter the pompous dialogue with some sincerity lent them an amusing watchability.

He is really always best in comedy duds. He's hysterically lecherous in "Blame it on Rio" (1983) and wonderfully desperate in "Surrender" (1987). Easily topping the pile though is his performance of über-ham proportions in "Bullseye" (1990). Teamed up with good mate Roger Moore, they form an unholy alliance of dreadful humour that in the right mood provides some very warped enjoyment.