Modesty Blaise (20th Century Fox) (1966)

PRODUCTION STAFF PEOAUCOM is airs s dc kcdacaes ees 008ORR Jannt DISOCtOS i ov cow ce sia dene thccesspOsepn Losey SCPGGHD LAF s6-0. 66s bs 6 oes vee eee VAN JONES Based on the "Evening Standard" comic strip created by.Peter O'Donnell Jim Holdaway Director of Photography......Jack Hildyard Camera Operator...............Gerry Fisher Associate Producers.........Norman Priggen Michael Birkett Production Managers..........Mara Blasetti Ed Harper Assistant to Producer.......John Goldstone Personal Assistant to Directors .cccsccesess at i@ Lagericstt lst Assistant Directors.......Gavrik Losey Claude Watson Production Designer .....Richard MacDonald Art DirectOFrs'scsscecsuseccess s0GCk Shampan Music composed and conducted by............John Dankworth PUBLICITY CAST Modesty Blaise..........Monica Vitti Willie Garvin..........Terence Stamp Gabriel .. ..covseeeseneseDi rk Bogarde Sir Gerald Tarrant.....Harry Andrews Paul icsstocsceescvecss.MLcnael Craig Minister.............eAlexander Knox Mrs. Fothergill.........Rosella Falk MOLLAR evs ce stecevens GCLLIAa Gabel WENG Ce csecsccecsesese ss Michael Chow CEOViG? 0s saa nen se wst< cage 008: Melia POGEL 1G 5 6 oe cv ca inns kv nce sae eeee: Urki Nicole. sssccssesesseoetina Marquand Tattooed Man........Oliver MacGreevy HAnS..cceccccccccccccess Jon Bluming Walter. .icesisbeeseceeece sex Schoorel StrauS6,.ecicveeesseMarcello Turilli Friar......2e.e..eGiuseppe Paganelli Handsome..........Wolfgang Hillinger Enrico..s.0se8seee26senObetto Bisacco CLOG cect sees wonecusseoul BATISER if pS ee ee Pee eee ee eee eee tt eT Songs performed by David and Jonathan Songs: "Modesty" lyrics by......Benny Green wk RE* "We Should Have" lyrics DV ccc cseeevencacs ens so 62 0VaN Ones Benny Green Make-up..ssccccesccecess Neville Smallwood HOSA COGOT sick ccdivae « 12cd0 cP OOeL Tipeldi Costume Supervisor...........Bumble Dawson Wardrobe Mistress.............Evelyn Gibbs BGLC0OL .cctn tata eves sos tues eeanee BeCe SOUM | Fitdcewew ects ct evar eeoraan Daniel GCABEINEG «as nccsas cece cues s cote tam Sricionan Cont inte ii 5 sk nc cs cscvee esas cake Skint PRODUCED BY MODESTY BLAISE LTD. FOR 20th CENTURY-FOX Color by DeLuxe SYNOPSIS (Not for Publication) The British government is giving 50 million pounds worth of diamonds to Sheikh Abu Tahir in return for vital Middle East oil concessions. There are rumors of a plot to steal the jewels, so Secret Service Chief, Sir Gerald Tarrant (HARRY ANDREWS) hires the dazzling adventuress Modesty Blaise (MONICA VITTI) to outwit the plotters and insure the safety of the gems. Because Tarrant doesn't trust Modesty completely, she and her sidekick, Willie Garvin (TERENCE STAMP), are given only part of the government's plan...they are told the jewels are being transported by jet plane out of Amsterdam. This ruse is also designed to mislead the gang after the diamonds, whose leader is the arch-criminal Gabriel (DIRK BOGARDE). Actually the diamonds are traveling by sea on board a freighter. Modesty and Willie survive several attempts on their lives in Amsterdam, and the R.A.F. jet departs, ostensibly with the diamonds on board. The jet, however, is shot down by Gabriel, and both he and Modesty discover the jet was a decoy. Modesty, on learning of the British government's deception, decides to get the gems for herself. She and Willie fly to Naples, the ship's first stopover. There, she is contacted by Gabriel who offers a partnership. When he's refused, he captures Modesty. With her as a hostage, he blackmails Willie into helping him hijack the diamonds. In Gabriel's specially designed submarine, Willie and Gabriel's henchmen cut through the hull of the freighter and steal the gems. Then Gabriel, Modesty, Willie and the diamonds go to Gabriel's island fortress where the criminal genius offers Modesty her life if she'll give up Willie and join him. She declines, and he consigns her and Willie first to separate prison cells and eventually to the sadistic hands of his psychopathic aide, Mrs. Fothergill (ROSSELLA FALK). But Modesty seduces and then kills her guard and tempts an aged friar into her cell. She steals the friar's frock and hat and, in this disguise, visits Willie's cell, bringing "bread and water," then overpowers his guard. Embedded in Willie's back, concealed by false skin, is a store of miniature gadgets, including parts for a transmitter and an inflatable "sonic" seagull which the pair assemble. The radio distress signals are picked up by Tarrant in Naples and by the Sheikh in his palace. Now free, Modesty and Willie locate the jewels in the: island's chapel, but, as they emerge, Modesty comes face-to-face with Mrs. Fothergill. The two women engage in a to-the-death struggle. They fight beside a builder's pulley on which Modesty finally hangs her opponent after a vicious battle. Gabriel spots Mrs. Fothergill and sounds the alarm as Modesty and Willie make their way down the rocks toward the sea. They are cornered by Gabriel and his men, bullets whistle all around them and the situation appears hopeless, Just then more shots ring out. Sheikh Abu Tahir's army, answering Modesty's beacon, invades the island. Gabriel's men are routed, the arch-villain is taken prisoner and the jewels are delivered to the Sheikh. (Running time: 119 minutes)