Caprice: A Bad Day for Doris

The 1960s was an uneven decade for Doris Day, beginning with some of her best films and ending with some of her worst. The former include Lover Come Back, That Touch of Mink, and The Thrill of It All. The worst include Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? and the subject of today's review: Caprice (1967).

Set near the height of the 1960s spy craze, Caprice casts Doris as Patricia Foster, an industrial designer for a cosmetics company sent on a mission to infiltrate another cosmetic company to steal a secret formula for a water-repellent hair spray. At least, that's what the plot initially appears to be. It turns out that Patricia's real name is Felippa Fowler and her goal is to discover who killed her father, an Interpol agent on the trail of a narcotics ring.

Co-star Richard Harris.

Richard Harris is on hand as Christopher White, a suave ladies man who appears to be a double agent working for both cosmetics companies. He spends most of his time, though, wooing and rescuing Patricia.

One suspects that the makers of Caprice were going for a Charade vibe, with Doris Day playing the innocent opposite Richard Harris's handsome rake, whose true intentions are nebulous. The comparison with Charade, though, serves only to highlight that Caprice is a dud in every way. The script seems to have been written on the fly. The on-location filming clashes with the cheesy rear screen close-ups of the stars. Scenes end abruptly, especially a ski chase in which Harris nabs Doris as she sails over a snow-covered cliff. And Doris wears one of the worst wigs of her career. However, its greatest offense may be that it wastes a good supporting cast in Ray Walston, Edward Mulhare, and Lilia Skala.

Michael J. Pollard.

There is one amusing scene in Caprice, which finds Doris's industrial espionage agent following a model and her boyfriend into a movie theater. The film playing is Caprice, only the opening credits now feature Doris singing the title song. As Doris tries to cut a lock of the model's hair, the boyfriend (Michael J. Pollard) assumes that Doris is interested in him. So, he starts flirting with Doris as he makes out with his girl. It's the kind of broad humor that Ms. Day plays well and Pollard is quite amusing.

After reading the screenplay to Caprice, Doris Day stated she did not want to make the movie. She then learned that her then-husband and agent, Martin Melcher, had already signed a contractual obligation on her behalf. Always the professional, Doris Day gives an energetic performance in Caprice, but that can't disguise the fact that it's awful movie. She appeared in three more movies before retiring from the big screen at age 46.