Movie Reviews for Caprice

Caprice

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Movie Reviews of Caprice

Movie Review: campy classic 60's spy comedy/thriller
Summary: 4 Stars

The movie starts out with the murder of an interpole agent on a isolated ski slope. The action moves to Doris Day selling a top secret cold cream formula, and her arrest. Sporting a new mod look Doris Day does 60's comedy in the way that made her famous.Richard Harris costars and helps to make this movie a comedy thriller.

Movie Review: Clunky But Appealing In A Cult-Film Sort Of Way
Summary: 3 Stars

By her own admission Doris Day greatly disliked the script--but found to her horror that husband Marty Melcher had signed her to the project without her knowledge. Director Frank Tashlin and writer Jay Jason resculpted the script, altering plot lines and characters in an effort to win Day's confidence in the project--but she still didn't like it and is on record as considering CAPRICE the worst of her films.

It isn't difficult to see why. Released at the height of the "spy movie" craze of the 1960s, CAPRICE seeks to emulate such films as CHARADE with a mixture of wit and suspense, only to arrive at lackluster farce and a series of absurdly obvious plot-twists. The story concerns Patricia Foster (Day), who becomes an industrial spy for a cosmetics company in order to uncover her father's killer. Unfortunately, the elements never hang together in any consistent way: the movie is too eager to throw away plot points for the sake of a laugh. This might be forgiven if CAPRICE was actually funny, but the laughs involved are few, far between, and very slight indeed.

Script and plot aside, the film's other great failure is the mismatch of Day with leading man Richard Harris. Although she was a beautiful woman, she is obviously quite a bit older than Harris, who plays a womanizing counter-agent surrounded by nubile, sultry models; the romance between the two consequently has an awkward quality. More than this, Day and Harris come from two extremely different acting styles and traditions. Try as they might they never quite succeed in making them mesh. And the direction certainly doesn't help: although directed such memorable bits of fluff as THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT, Frank Tashlin is best remembered as the creator of numerous Jerry Lewis vehicles. To say it shows would be a significant understatement.

CAPRICE was alternately ignored and savaged by both critics and audiences in 1967. But a funny thing happened as time went by: it began to acquire cult status. The film is oddly appealing in a clunky sort of way. Doris Day bounces along in a series of Harlow-white wigs and pop-art dresses; Richard Harris' bed really swings (literally); models squirm, Ray Waltson snarls, women scream, popcorn is spilled, flowers are thrown. It has the same sort of "What on EARTH were they thinking?" appeal that graces such films as THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Consequently, CAPRICE isn't really as unentertaining as many would have you believe--it just isn't entertaining in the way its creators hoped it would be.

The DVD edition is surprisingly fine. The film has received a nice clean up; the colors are sharp and clear and the sound is generally good. And there are a surprising number of bonuses, ranging from an interview with costume designer Ray Aghayan to a profile of the Day-Melcher relationship to radio interviews Day and Harris gave to promote the film. There is also an audio commentary track by Pierre Patrick and John Cork. This is occasionally as unintentionally amusing as the film itself, for both are extremely, extremely uncritical of the film, but they do offer occasional bits of interesting insight along the way.

When all is said and done, CAPRICE will never challenge the likes of PILLOW TALK, but hardcore Doris Day fans will enjoy it--and every one else will enjoy looking at the eye-popping visuals and making fun of the rest.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Movie Review: DAY'S CAPRICIOUS FROLIC AMUSES
Summary: 3 Stars

"Caprice" was released by 20th Century Fox in the late spring of 1967. Spy films were at their peak. James Bond, Matt Helm, Flint and an assortment of other characters were running rampant on the big screen while "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "Secret Agent" were television staples.
In the midst of this blitz, "Caprice" was released to generally tepid reviews and a rather unenthusiastic response from the general public.
Starring Doris Day and directed by veteran Frank Tashlin who had scored a huge hit the previous year in MGM's "Glass Bottom Boat", the lukewarm response is hard to figure out since there were certainly worse films making a splash at the box-office and "Caprice" actually has moments of comic inspiration as well as scenes of moderate suspense.
Miss Day plays a counterspy for a cosmetics company who meets and becomes involved with Richard Harris. At one point Day notes that she is the "spy who came in from the cold cream" an amusing nod to the 1965 hit film, "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold". Day's performance is energetic and in keeping with her oft played role as a strong female with a career - in this case as an agent - and not merely window dressing as females in spy films were much more often than not.
The film is fast paced and Leon Shamroy films it with his usual skill and excellance. Certain set pieces are often hysterical including a scene where Miss Day goes to a theatre in Westwood, California to see "Caprice" starring Doris Day and Richard Harris.
Unfortunately the film seems unable to decide whether it is comedy or suspense film. There are moments of both but it also seems a film of some missed opportunities.
The supporting players include such capable talents as Edward Mulhare, Ray Walston and Jack Kruschen. The clothes are fashionably "mod" for the time and today the film plays better than in 1967 as an amusing time capsule of the times.
As is often the case, Miss Day is imminently watchable.
Due to be released on DVD in January, 2007, "Caprice", coupled with a big bowl of popcorn is a great remedy for warding off the winter chill.

Movie Review: Bit Disappointed
Summary: 3 Stars

Not the Doris Day movie I was hoping for.It was a bit too hokey for me, but fashion-wise, it was fabulous: great Doris Day outfits as usual. She really had an eye on how to dress for her movie roles.