TheLittleSongbird Have always loved Doris Day since forever and would see anything with her in it. Not all her films were great, a few of them not even good, but Day was an incredibly talented performer, was always watchable and always gave her all even in her lesser films.Despite being her lowest rated film (as of now) on IMDb, critical reception not being kind to it at the time and even Day herself (Richard Harris apparently too) disliking it, while a long way from a flawless film and the weaker of the two films Day did with director Frank Tashlin (the other being 'The Glass Bottom Boat), 'Caprice' to me wasn't that bad. Again from personal opinion, it is not Day's worst film, that distinction goes to 'Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?' and 'Lucky Me' and 'Starlift' are not far behind. She has certainly done much better, especially 'Calamity Jane' and 'Pillow Talk' for films and both of those and 'Love Me or Leave Me' for performances.'Caprice' certainly could have been much better. Its most problematic element is the often hopelessly convoluted (things get so complicated at times figuring out what was going on was not always easy) and daft story that was in more need of excitement and suspense overall. The script suffers from the same problems, and, while there are some undeniably funny and thrilling moments, tonally it felt muddled. It didn't seem to know whether it wanted to be a comedy or spy/espionage thriller, instead trying to do both with varying results, and when to be. The comedic elements fare much better, with some witty dialogue and some wildly entertaining set pieces, while the thriller elements only work in spurts with the lack of suspense and the convolution working against it.Richard Harris is a rather ill-suited leading man. Very like Richard Widmark in 'The Tunnel of Love', Harris does step out of his comfort zone, which is laudable, but there is a real sense that he was completely out of his depth, to say that comedy isn't his forte is being generous. He plays the role too heavily and broadly instead of the lightness of touch and urbane charm needed here. It also was rather hard to take him seriously with the blue eye shadow and he visibly looked embarrassed wearing it, it just looked strange even in this particular context.On the other hand, Day is a warm and natural presence and she shows a gift for a deft balance of comedy and drama, her chemistry with Harris had some nice moments. There is effortless support from Ray Walston, Edward Mulhane and Michael J. Pollard, and Tashlin's direction is both restrained and witty on the most part.'Caprice' looks great too, apart from some cheap multi-layered gauze, the eye shadow and some obvious back projection. The cinematography is one of the film's biggest merits, full of ravishing colours and an atmosphere that one wishes was matched in the story. Production design is similarly audacious, and the clothes are like their own characters (worth seeing 'Caprice' for them alone).Music score is quirky and slinky while also with an understated ominous touch, also loved the title song and it is beautifully sung by Day. As said, 'Caprice' does sport some fine moments. They are the chase sequence in the apartment complex that's entertaining and thrilling, the hilarious elevator scene (genius comic timing by Day) and especially the delightful scene in the theatre. The film could have done with more kick sometimes but was never what one would call "boring" (highlighted seeing as it has become one of my most hated words to its overuse and how it's constantly abused on the internet).In summary, not great (couldn't help thinking of 'Charade', also with a mix of comedy and thriller-mystery, and how much better that was) but a long way from a disaster. 6/10 Bethany Cox

JohnHowardReid It's pleasing to note that after the disappointing Spy in Lace Panties, director-writer Frank Tashlin has now returned to form with this madcap, screwball comedy-thriller about industrial espionage in the cosmetic business. Doris Day's efforts to cut off a lock of Chinese hair, her inspired attempts to sabotage a listening device and her being the subject of an unwanted attention in a cinema are three of the funniest scenes I've seen in any movie. To have all three together as here, is value for money indeed. Yet in addition to these outstanding comedy sequences, Tashlin presents a triple climax of thrills rivaling those of Hitchcock himself. The superb aerial photography by Nelson Tyler also deserves commendation here! As for the acting, it is never less than excellent. Ray Walston in particular imparts a delightful edge to his performance. Available on an excellent 20th Century Fox DVD.

Uriah43 While skiing an Interpol agent is shot and killed in the Alps of Switzerland. Not long afterward, "Patricia Foster" (Doris Day) is caught red-handed trying to sell industrial secrets from the cosmetics firm she is employed with to a rival company. She is immediately terminated and subsequently hired by the rival American firm to become an industrial designer for them. This results in her working with a man named "Christopher White" (Richard Harris) who is actually a secret agent employed by the same firm that initially fired Patricia. Or so it all seems. What follows is a complicated story involving industrial espionage, double agents, secret formulas and murder. Anyway, as I said before this is a complicated story and in order to fully understand it a person has to see this movie all the way to the end. Along with that I think a person needs to take into consideration the fact that this movie was filmed in 1967 and as a result some of the action may seem rather basic by today's standards. Likewise some of the humor may seem a bit tame as well. Even so, although some of it seems quite mild it was an enjoyable movie for the most part. Doris Day and Richard Harris do a decent enough job and Irene Tsu (as "Su Ling") looks quite nice even if her role was somewhat limited. All things considered then, I rate this as about average.

pete36 Silly plot has something to do with industrial espionage in the world of cosmetics but main reason why I watched this movie was Frank Tashlin, one of the best ever US directors of comedies.But this is a very poor effort of him and sadly announces his decline. He would only make one feature-length movie, "Sgt o'Farell" with old pal Bob Hope, but it is even worse than Caprice."Caprice" is pretty bad. His direction and timing of gags is in most cases completely of the mark and the guidance of the actors seems to be inexistent. Only a couple of scenes still carry the Tashlin trademarks : the one with the microphone hidden in a sugar cube and Doris day attempting to cut some hair of a model.But what happened to Doris Day ? She is very wooden, hidden behind layers of make-up, a weird hairstyle and mostly totally overdressed.What a contrast with her sexy appearance in 'The Glass bottom boat", Tashlin's previous effort, a much funnier movie. It still has Tashlin's trademark of zaniness, madcap style and his great feeling for slapstick.It is a pity that Tashlin had to end his career on clunkers as Caprice. Instead try to see his works with Bob Hope or Jerry Lewis ( or Jayne Mansfield !) which show off his talents for madcap comedy : "Will success spoil Rock Hunter ?", "The Disorderly Orderly" and , in my mind, still one of the best comedies of all time, "Son of Paleface" with Hope and Jane Russel.