Caprice (1967) starring Doris Day, Richard Harris, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, Edward Mulhare directed by Frank Tashlin Movie Review

Caprice (1967)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Doris Day and Richard Harris in Caprice (1967)

Duplicity Day

Patricia Foster (Doris Day) is a corporate spy in the world of cosmetics who works for manufacturer Sir Jason Fox (Edward Mulhare). With a rival company having come up with a hair spray which prevents hair from getting white Patricia has made herself available to the rival company run by Matthew Cutter (Jack Kruschen) in an intricate double cross. But Cutter is a careful man and he has employed corporate spy Christopher White (Richard Harris) to keep an eye on Patricia and make sure she doesn't get what she wants. But are things as simple as they seem and who can and cannot be trusted.

When you consider the popularity of Doris Day alarm bells have to ring when you learn that "Caprice", the movie which she made with Richard Harris in 1967, didn't get a domestic release on DVD until 2007. Then again those who are fans of Doris Day will know that "Caprice" was one of those movies which she didn't want to make but was signed up to by her late husband and will also probably be aware that both Harris and Day were not happy with the end product with Harris reportedly disowning it despite having enjoyed working with Day.

Doris Day in Caprice (1967)

So having watched many of Doris Day's movies I finally tackled "Caprice" knowing that there was a good chance it would disappoint me and sadly it is a case that it did disappoint. The trouble is that it is a movie of parts but none of those parts working together starting with the actual counter espionage story which is surprisingly more complicated than you expect for a comedy. And whilst not completely unfollowable it is a movie which you need to watch twice so that the second time you can watch without trying to make sense of it all.

But then there is the comedy and unfortunately as a spoof spy movie it lacks the sharpness or daftness to make it come to life with jokes which frequently fail to make you even smile let alone laugh. When Christopher is trying to be a smooth operator whilst Patricia is covered in dirt having just slipped down a mud track it just doesn't work and you wonder what went wrong. It is the same when it comes to Harris and Day as both try to play comical characters but it is all so weak and disjointed with a real lack of chemistry between them.

What this all boils down to is that "Caprice" is sadly a disappointment and even as a Doris Day fan I found it incredibly hard work as it doesn't really come together to be a spy spoof which plays to Doris's strengths.


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