Modesty Blaise (1982) (TV)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Writer:

Peter O'Donnell (characters)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman

Cast

Ann Turkel	...	Modesty Blaise
Lewis Van Bergen	...	Willie Garvin
Keene Curtis	...	Sir Gerald Tarrant
Sab Shimono	...	Weng
Douglas Dirkson	...	Jack Fraser
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leonard Bremen	...	Sun Bather
Jeff Chayette	...	Bartender
Charles Cioffi	...	Leo Bazin
Hector Elias	...	Placido
Richard Marion	...	Solitary Man
Sarah Rush	...	Emma Woodhouse
Carolyn Seymour	...	Debbie DeFarge
Pearl Shear	...	Mrs Turner
Jan Van Reenen	...	Narvick
Larry Vigus	...	Stockbroker

Runtime:

50 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Trivia:

Pilot for a never-made TV series based upon the popular comic strip character. This version of the story is more serious than the 1966 film (Modesty Blaise (1966)).

Strike two!

I remember watching this when it premiered on tv. It was the pilot for a potential series, adapting the Modesty Blaise comic strips. At that point, I had read about the Modesty Blaise strips, but hadn't seen any full stories and was aware of the campy 60's film. Thankfully, I was able to eventually read the comic strips and novels and erase the poor taste this film left in my mouth.

I only saw the film once, but I mainly remember a scene, early on, where Ann Turkel rips off part of her skirt to fight a thug. She had great legs, so no problem there; and, it was something Modesty did quite often in the strips. My only other memories are of the low budget look and rather lackluster story. I can't even recall the details, but it seems like it revolved around a criminal attempting to blackmail the government (I don't even think it was the British government, like the comics).

Turkel may have been a great model, but she wasn't much of an actress. Keene Curtis was seen in numerous tv shows of the period, usually as authority figures. He was a good, workman-like actor. Lewis Van Bergin was especially miscast as Willie Garvin, as he didn't come across as particularly tough. Van Bergin would later star in another short-lived attempt at adapting a comic series, Sable, based on Mike Grell's Jon Sable, Freelance. He always seemed to deliver his dialogue out of the side of his mouth.

All I can say is that I hope the third time is the charm. Modesty Blaise was a great series with terrific characters. It deserves better than this.