Maybe he nearly failed to make that movie?

I believe the answer is:

alfie

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'he nearly failed to make that movie?' is the definition.
'Alfie' can be an answer for 'he'. I'm not sure about the remainder of the definition.

I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for alfie that I've seen before include "well-known film" , "Nineteen sixty six Michael Caine film" , "Early Michael Caine film" , "Boy" , "1966 Michael Caine film" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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