Modesty Blaise, Joseph Losey’s 1966 offbeat, spoof, comedy caper, is a far cry from his other work: The Servant, The Go-Between, The Damned, Accident etc. But it does have a script by Harold Pinter (in part) and Dirk Bogarde who transformed himself from a matinée star for the Rank Organisation into a Losey favourite portraying more complex, often darker, characters. I reckon Bogarde did Modesty B for the money – 20th Century Fox coughed up $6million, the largest budget of Losey’s career – as he doesn’t have to act.
I watched it again after reading Terence Stamp’s obituary. It is a blaze of pop art, music by Johnny Dankworth, suits by Doug Hayward, a cliff top castello in Sicily, bonkers gadgetry, some good ties (OE, MCC, one I couldn’t identify – minor public school ?), a crackers plot. It references Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Lawrence of Arabia and probably other films. Losey had fun making this cult classic. I always enjoy it though he made a mistake casting Monica Vitti as Modesty. She was rightly acclaimed for her roles directed by Antonioni but does not capture the spirit of Modesty as realised by Losey; it was her first English-language film and she didn’t make another until 1979. Doug Hayward needs no introduction.
“Douglas Hayward was a sartorial wizard and as synonymous with his era as any of his illustrious client list. He dressed a constellation of stars both privately and on screen in some of the most iconic outfits in Hollywood history, was the inspiration for Alfie and The Tailor of Panama, rubbed shoulders with royalty and literally created the stylish look which defined the Swinging Sixties. Someone once quipped his waiting list was so long that some of his celebrity clients went out of fashion before their second fitting. As another remarked ‘Doug was a legend and will never be forgotten.’
Deliberately staying away from what he considered the stuffy formality of Savile Row he moved into a studio on Mount Street found for him by Terence Stamp, introduced a more romantic Italian style to the classic British tailored look and with it created the iconic 60’s and 70’s silhouettes you see in The Italian Job, The Thomas Crown Affair, Get Carter, Roger Moore’s James Bond and many more.“ (Douglas Hayward)
I once met Terence Stamp but that’s for another time.