Caprice (1967)

 

Caprice - 1967

Our next film is 1967's "Caprice", a movie about a woman who is a double agent spy for dueling cosmetic companies.  Her role, however, drastically changes when she discovers that someone she knows very well within one of the companies has ties to her father's murder and now she knows too much.

The film's cast includes Doris Day, Richard Harris, Edward Mulhare, Ray Walston, Lilia Skala, Irene Tsu, Jack Kruschen, Michael Romanoff, Lisa Seagram, Michael J. Pollard, and Fritz Feld.

In Paris, France, cosmetic company industrial designer named Patricia Foster reads of the murder of an INTERPOL agent in Switzerland.  Saddened, she heads off to an appointment.

The appointment is with the owner of a rival cosmetic company.  She sells him some plans for a new product.  Patricia is caught and fired.  Her boss reprimands her, "Don’t you realize the enormity of your crime?  You were caught in the act of trying to sell the top-secret plans for our new roll-on underarm deodorant!"

After being fired, Patricia is hired by the rival company whom she was attempting to sell secrets to.  She tells her new boss that she won't be divulging any more secrets to him.

Patricia is courted by her new boss's right hand man, Christopher White.  Over the course of their early relationship, Christopher administers a truth serum to Patricia in an effort to find out information.  However, she is fully on to his antics and feeds him false info.

We later find that Patricia's firing and subsequent hiring was all a ruse to infiltrate this cosmetic company in order to find out about a secret formula for a new water repellant hairspray.  Sitting in a well-appointed private jet, Patricia says to her boss, "Sir Jason, you didn’t tell me you had a 707-superjet private office."  "It's only a charter," he shrugs.  (I mean, look at this thing.  It's got chandeliers, a giant movie screen, and a travel piano!)

At a lunch in California, Christopher tells Patricia that he is really working for Sir Jason, just like she is.  She, however, does not trust him one bit.

And things take a totally different turn when Patricia finds some narcotics involved in the whole cosmetic business.

Over the course of the film, Patricia finally breaks down and tells Christopher her real history.  Her father was on the trail of a narcotics ring when he was murdered in Switzerland.  She's trying to find out exactly what happened and who is responsible.

So, off they go to Switzerland, where Patricia is able to get her hands on a bottle of that water repellant hairspray.

She's also very interested in the exact spot where the INTERPOL agent was killed.  The proprietor of the inn she is staying out points her in the right direction.

There on the slopes of the Swiss Alps, Patricia is pursed by a person in black.  To make matters worse, they are actively shooting a gun at her while they zoom across the mountains.

Christopher arrives with help in the nick of time.  She goes careening off a sharp precipice when he is able to grab her hand and pull her to safety.

Naturally, Christopher and Patricia fall in love and begin a relationship.  But Patricia is determined to find out what happened to her father.

And Patricia can't believe it when she discovers exactly who is responsible for the crime.

Things get pretty dire for Patricia.  She's forced to fly solo in a helicopter, and she's got no idea how to land it.  She does, though, on top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris!

Cast rundown:

   Doris Day.....................................Patricia Foster

   Richard Harris...............................Christopher White

   Edward Mulhare............................Sir Jason Fox

   Ray Walston.................................Stuart Clancy

   Lilia Skala....................................Madame Piasco

   Irene Tsu.....................................Su Ling

   Jack Kruschen..............................Matthew Cutter

   Michael Romanoff..........................Butler

   Lisa Seagram................................Mandy

   Michael J. Pollard...........................Barney

   Fritz Feld......................................Swiss Innkeeper

And that's all for Caprice.  Doris Day named this as one of her least favorite films in her autobiography.  She was reading the script when she expressed her dissatisfaction to her husband and manager, Martin Melcher, but her told her that he had already committed her to the project.  Richard Harris reportedly hated working on the film so much that he refused to see the finished product.  It's definitely not one of the better Doris Day films, but film students today have expressed renewed appreciation for it because of its satire, slapstick comedy, and action sequences.

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Out To Sea (1997)

Out To Sea - 1997

Our next film is the fantastically funny "Out To Sea".  This 1997 film stars two of comedy's greatest legends and features them as they join a cruise as dance hosts.  The two guys find two gals to fall in love with and a riotous time is had by all.

The film's cast includes Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Dyan Cannon, Gloria DeHaven, Brent Spiner, Elaine Stritch, Rue McClanahan, Hal Linden, Donald O'Connor, Edward Mulhare, Estelle Harris, Sean O'Bryan, Alexandra Powers, and Esther Scott.

Charlie (Matthau) and Herb (Lemmon) are two brothers-in-law who couldn't be more different.  Charlie convinces Herb to go on an all expense paid cruise with him in an effort to bring him out of the sad state he's been in since his wife's death.

Things don't go well when they find their airplane seats are in the last row.  Herb figures they are the seats used to transport criminals.  In front of them, they have a baby that throws up.

Once on the cruise ship, the two guys poke around a very expensive stateroom.  There, they run into Liz LaBreche and her mother, Mavis, who is not very happy that the guys are there.  "I have been on a plane for three hours.  I have been in a taxi for an hour and a half.  I need to take a crap and a nap and I do not need an audience!" says Mavis.  To which Herb quips, "Sounds like a party we can miss."

Once they get to their own stateroom deep in the bowels of the ship, Herb begins to suspect that something is up.  "A good fart will give you a concussion," he says as he looks around.  Charlie has to explain to him that the reason that everything is paid is because they are working the cruise as dance hosts.  Herb is furious, but there's nothing he can do.  It's either work or pay the full price.

They meet their boss later that night.  A strict guy named Gil Godwyn.  "I'm your worst nightmare," he says to Charlie and Herb, "A song and dance man raised on a military base."

As they watch his absurd opening number, Herb leans in to Charlie and asks, "What could his parents ever have done to him?"

Appearances on the boat are important, because the ship's owner, Mrs. Carruthers, is aboard.

Charlie gets out of dancing (because he complains of "taking on a lot of water in the forward compartment") and heads off to the casino where he meets up with Liz LaBreche.  The two have an instant chemistry.

Herb meets Vivian while dancing.  The two also hit it off and spend a good portion of the evening dancing and talking.

The next day Charlie and Liz spend even more time together when he gets out of dancing again and heads into port with her.

Of course, Gil Godwyn corners Charlie and threatens his job.  Charlie's got to dance or pay.  Charlie prevails upon Herb to teach him the finer points of dancing.

When the time comes for him to dance, Charlie sets his sights (unknowingly) on Mrs. Carruthers, who accepts his invitation gladly.

When Liz comes into the ballroom, Charlie has to maneuver his way around the room without her finding out that he's a dance host.  Poor Mrs. Carruthers finds herself in the middle of some unconventional dance moves.  When she asks Charlie the name of a particular dance step, he says, "This is called the Brazilian Creep.  In Brazil, of course, it's just called The Creep."

After fortifying herself with a drink, Mrs. Carruthers returns to Charlie and says, "I feel ravaged...thank you."  Gil is shocked, because he's seen the way that Charlie and Mrs. Carruthers were "dancing".

Also dancing that night are Herb and Vivian.  An earlier misunderstanding causes Vivian to behave icily towards Herb, but they soon patch up their troubles.

A hilarious moment in the film comes when Mavis LaBreche enters the ballroom.  She points to the dance host of her choice and tells his partner to "take a hike".

The two then proceed to do a rather aerobic dance routine, much to the delight of the other passengers.

Troubles abound for both of our couples during the course of the film.  The two guys even have to commandeer a lifeboat and shoot off flares to signal a plane that the ladies have chartered to take them away.  Will they succeed?  Will love conquer all?

Cast rundown:

   Jack Lemmon............................Herb Sullivan

   Walter Matthau..........................Charlie Gordon

   Dyan Cannon.............................Liz LaBreche

   Gloria DeHaven..........................Vivian

   Brent Spiner...............................Gil Godwyn

   Elaine Stritch.............................Mavis LaBreche

   Rue McClanahan.........................Ellen Carruthers

   Hal Linden.................................Mac Valor

   Donald O'Connor.........................Jonathan Devereaux

   Edward Mulhare.........................Cullen Carswell

   Estelle Harris.............................Bridget

   Sean O'Bryan.............................Allan

   Alexandra Powers.......................Shelly

   Esther Scott..............................Maria Collins

And that's it for Out To Sea.  An interesting fact concerns Elaine Stritch and Dyan Cannon.  Although they play mother and daughter, Elaine Stritch was only twelve years older than Dyan Cannon.  This was the final film appearance of Donald O'Connor and Edward Mulhare.

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