Modesty Blaise

"Nothing can faze Modesty Blaise, the world's deadliest and most dazzlingly female agent!"

1966 2h 0m EN

😐

5.3

MID

★5.3TMDB · 75

ComedyCrimeActionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Modesty Blaise, a secret agent whose hair color, hair style, and mod clothing change at a snap of her fingers is being used by the British government as a decoy in an effort to thwart a diamond heist. She is being set up by the feds but is wise to the plot and calls in sidekick Willie Garvin and a few other friends to outsmart them. Meanwhile, at his island hideaway, Gabriel, the diamond thief has his own plans for Blaise and Garvin.

“Nothing can faze Modesty Blaise, the world's deadliest and most dazzlingly female agent!”

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Cast

Monica Vitti
Modesty Blaise
Terence Stamp
Willie Garvin
Dirk Bogarde
Gabriel
Harry Andrews
Sir Gerald Tarrant
Michael Craig
Paul Hagan
Clive Revill
McWhirter / Sheik Abu Tahir
Alexander Knox
Minister
Rossella Falk
Mrs. Fothergill

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joseph Losey
Writers: Evan Jones, Peter O'Donnell, Harold Pinter
Languages: German, Arabic, French, English, Italian, Dutch
Countries: United Kingdom

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Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

60 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 6 languages: German, Arabic, French, English, Italian, Dutch.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Modesty Blaise Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joseph Losey, shot by Jack Hildyard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Dankworth. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Reginald Beck shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Monica Vitti and Terence Stamp and Dirk Bogarde carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Nothing can faze Modesty Blaise, the world's deadliest and most dazzlingly female agent!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joseph Losey directs. Jack Hildyard behind the camera. John Dankworth scores. Reginald Beck cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in German, Arabic, French, English, Italian, Dutch.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

160 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 6 languages: German, Arabic, French, English, Italian, Dutch.
3Part of the "The Modesty Blaise Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Joseph Losey, shot by Jack Hildyard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Dankworth. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Reginald Beck shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Monica Vitti and Terence Stamp and Dirk Bogarde carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Nothing can faze Modesty Blaise, the world's deadliest and most dazzlingly female agent!".
9IMDB entry: tt0060708 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 75 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack Hildyard
Original score: John Dankworth
Editing: Reginald Beck
Production design: Richard Macdonald
Makeup / hair: Neville Smallwood
Runtime: 120 min · 2h 0m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Modesty Blaise (1966)

Part of

The Modesty Blaise Collection

Movies based on the characters created by Peter O'Donnell.

Also by

Joseph Losey

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-11-27
★ 6/10
With the evil, bleach-blonde, "Gabriel" (Dirk Bogarde) on the trail of a £50m cache of diamonds, it falls to the beleaguered British secret service to come up with some sort of plan to thwart him diverting them from their intended purpose. With their previous agents being less than competent (or alive), they alight on the dazzling charms of this eponymous character (Monica Vitti) who, together with her dapper partner "Garvin" (Terence Stamp) are to be recruited for this perilous task. It's all about oil concessions you see, and the loot is destined to prop up an Arab sheikhdom so suffice to say there's duplicity a-plenty over the next two hours as this sultry but savvy woman has her work cut out avoiding capture, torture (well, sort of) and betrayal. It's actually not that bad, but it's far too long and slow in too many places. The espionage elements could have been fun - it's got shades of "Thunderball" (1965) to it with a super-villain and his super-yacht living on an island amidst the beautifully azure sea with his black-clad henchmen, but Bogarde exudes a rather too annoying smugness as if to say "hey, I'm getting paid for this!". There's a bit of a twist to the tale towards the conclusion as it becomes clear that our spy and our sheik (Clive Revill) might have something unexpected in common, too, and there's a solid cast behind this as, for most part, it's tongue is firmly enough in it's cheek to make it watchable, if just a little predictably dull.

Production companies