Caprice (1967 film)
| Caprice | |
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_poster.jpg)
original film poster
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| Directed by | Frank Tashlin |
| Produced by |
Aaron Rosenberg Martin Melcher |
| Written by | Jay Jayson Frank Tashlin |
| Starring |
Doris Day Richard Harris |
| Cinematography | Leon Shamroy |
| Distributed by | 20th Century-Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4,595,000 |
| Box office | $4,075,000 |
Caprice is a 1967 comedy-thriller film directed by Frank Tashlin starring Doris Day and Richard Harris. This film and In Like Flint (1967) were the last movies made in CinemaScope, with most studios moving to Panavision and other widescreen processes.
In the Swiss Alps, a skier shoots and kills another skier down a mountain slope. Cut to a woman picking up a newspaper in Paris, the headline story telling of yet another Interpol agent killed in Switzerland.
That woman is Patricia Foster (Doris Day), an industrial designer for Femina Cosmetics, owned by her boss, Sir Jason Fox (Edward Mulhare). She is caught trying to sell a secret Femina cosmetics formula for an underarm deodorant to a rival company, May Fortune, owned by Matthew Cutter (Jack Kruschen). After her arrest, her subsequent release, and her firing from Femina, Patricia is hired by Cutter to work for him in their Los Angeles operation, but she nonetheless states she will not divulge any of Femina's other secrets as part of this employment. However, this selling of secrets was a scheme devised by Sir Jason for Patricia to steal a secret formula for a new water-repellent hairspray from Cutter, the formula invented by Dr Stuart Clancy (Ray Walston), May Fortune's head chemist.
Patricia is wooed by Cutter's right-hand man, Christopher White (Richard Harris), who drugs her with truth serum to get her to divulge Femina's other secrets to him, which he passes along to Cutter. Patricia, however, was aware of what Christopher was trying to do; she only pretended to be drugged and passed along false information.
While she cannot get the formula from Cutter or Clancy, Patricia learns that the formula can be obtained through analysis of a lock of hair from the one person known to have used the hairspray, who turns out to be Clancy's secretary, Su Ling (Irene Tsu). As Patricia goes to work trying to cut off a lock of Su Ling's hair, Christopher spots her. Patricia is unable to get that lock of hair, but Christopher tells her that he too is truly working for Sir Jason, and has the proof to back up his claim.
Later, just before a lunch rendezvous at a restaurant with Patricia at which they will discuss how to proceed in getting the hairspray formula, Christopher is seen setting up surveillance, which includes speaking to Cutter via hidden microphone, Cutter stating that it will be good to see an undercover agent of Sir Jason's caught red-handed trying to steal his formula. Patricia sees what Christopher is doing, although she is assured by Sir Jason that Christopher indeed does work for him and not Cutter. Patricia still does not trust Christopher as she enters the lunch date with him. She does whatever she can to thwart the surveillance that Christopher has set up, much to Christopher and Cutter's chagrin.
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