External links
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| Characters | |
| Modesty Blaise | |
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| Genre | Action Crime Drama |
| Written by | Stephen Zito Peter O'Donnell (Characters) |
| Directed by | Reza Badigi |
| Starring | Ann Turkel |
| Music by | Sparks |
| Opening theme | "Modesty Blaise" |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Barney Rosenzweig |
| Producer | Carl Kugel (associate producer) |
| Cinematography | Michael D. Margulies |
| Editor | Stanford C. Allen |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production companies | Barney Rosenzweig Productions Paramount Television |
| Original release | |
| Release | 1982 |
| Related | |
| My Name Is Modesty | |
Modesty Blaise was a 1982 American-produced one-hour television pilot produced for the ABC Network and based upon the comic strip Modesty Blaise , created by Peter O'Donnell.
This was the second attempt at adapting the comic strip as a live-action production, following a 1966 film of the same title. It was written by Stephen Zito, directed by Reza Badigi, with Barney Rosenzweig as executive producer. The plot has a few elements taken from O'Donnell's first Modesty Blaise novel (which in turn had been a novelization of a practically unused screenplay that Peter O'Donnell had written for the first Modesty Blaise film) but is largely original. Whereas Modesty in the comic strip and novels was said to be of uncertain Eastern European ancestry (but adopted England as her homeland), and her companion Willie Garvin was a Cockney, the telefilm makes both characters American.
The 50-minute program featured Ann Turkel as Modesty Blaise, Lewis Van Bergen as Willie Garvin, Keene Curtis as Gerald Tarrant, Sab Shimono as Weng and Douglas Dirkson as Jack Fraser, with Carolyn Seymour as villainess Debbie DeFarge. Though the planned TV series was never produced, the pilot was televised by the ABC network.
The plot, set in what appears to be Los Angeles, involves Modesty and Willie preventing the kidnap of a young girl who turns out to be a computer genius and has been working for Tarrant's agency. Although both Modesty and Willie's back stories are given as described by O'Donnell, no explanation is provided for their North American accents or presence in California. Tarrant, as an operative of an American secret service, naturally does not have his knighthood. The super-computer they have been developing has been stolen by Debbie Defarge to use to make a killing on the New York stock exchange. Willie's knife-throwing skills and Modesty's habit of ripping off the lower part of her dress when called to action are faithfully reproduced, as is much of the banter between Willie and Modesty, but in other ways, the characters bear little resemblance to O'Donnell's literary creations.
Another attempt to adapt the comic strip took place in 2003 with the release of My Name Is Modesty .
| "Modesty Plays" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Sparks | ||||
| B-side | "Nicotina" "Angst In My Pants" | |||
| Released | 1982(DEU), 1983 (FR) | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:06 (short version) 5:09 (long version) | |||
| Label | Metronome, Underdog | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ron Mael, Russell Mael | |||
| Producer(s) | Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Greg Penny | |||
| Sparks singles chronology | ||||
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The American group Sparks wrote and recorded the theme song "Modesty Blaise" for the pilot. After the cancellation of the proposed series, Sparks released the song in Europe under the amended title "Modesty Plays" in late 1982/early 1983. The song was later re-recorded and included on their 1986 album Music That You Can Dance To .
The rest of the musical score was produced by Kevin Knelman.
Modesty Blaise is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talents and a criminal past, and her trusty sidekick Willie Garvin. It was adapted into films in 1966, 1982, and 2003, and from 1965 onwards, 11 novels and two short-story collections were written.
Enrique Badía Romero was a Spanish comics artist, best known to English-speaking audiences for his work on Modesty Blaise. He was also the co-creator of the post-apocalyptic science fiction strip AXA, as well as a substantial body of work in his native Spain.
Peter O'Donnell was an English writer of mysteries and of comic strips, best known as the creator of Modesty Blaise, an action heroine/undercover trouble-shooter. He was also an award-winning gothic historical romance novelist who wrote under the female pseudonym Madeleine Brent, in 1978, his novel Merlin's Keep won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Willie Garvin is a character in the long-running British comic strip series Modesty Blaise, as well as a series of novels based upon the strip. The character was created by Peter O'Donnell in 1963 and, alongside Modesty Blaise, made his first appearance in the story La Machine, appearing for the first time in strip no. 21. Willie Garvin also appears in every volume of the Modesty Blaise book series.
My Name Is Modesty is a 2004 American action film directed by Scott Spiegel. Quentin Tarantino executive produced. It was released direct-to-DVD. The film is based on the early years of the character Modesty Blaise, a former crime boss turned secret agent. This is the third production that brings Peter O'Donnell's character Modesty Blaise to the screen, following the feature film Modesty Blaise with Monica Vitti in 1966 and the TV pilot Modesty Blaise with Ann Turkel in 1982.
Cobra Trap is the title of a short story collection by Peter O'Donnell featuring his action/adventure heroine Modesty Blaise. The book was published in 1996, and is the thirteenth, and final book in the Modesty Blaise series which began in 1965. Cobra Trap was released 11 years after the previous book in the series, Dead Man's Handle. It was the final book to be written by O'Donnell before his death in 2010.
Pieces of Modesty is a short story collection by Peter O'Donnell featuring his action heroine, Modesty Blaise, first published in 1972. It was O'Donnell's first such collection of stories.
I, Lucifer is an action-adventure novel by Peter O'Donnell first published in 1967, featuring the character of Modesty Blaise, whom O'Donnell had created for a comic strip several years earlier. It was the third novel to feature the character.
The Silver Mistress is the title of an action-adventure novel by Peter O'Donnell which was first published in the United Kingdom in 1973. It was the seventh book of adventures featuring O'Donnell's comic strip heroine, Modesty Blaise.
Modesty Blaise is an action-adventure/spy fiction novel by Peter O'Donnell first published in 1965, featuring the character Modesty Blaise, whom O'Donnell had created for a comic strip in 1963.
Sabre-Tooth is the title of an action-adventure novel by Peter O'Donnell which was first published in 1966, featuring the character Modesty Blaise which O'Donnell had created for the comic strip of the title. It was the second novel to feature the character, though technically it was the first original novel as the preceding volume was a novelisation of a movie screenplay.
A Taste for Death is the title of an action-adventure novel by Peter O'Donnell which was first published in 1969, featuring the character Modesty Blaise which O'Donnell had created for a comic strip several years earlier. It was the fourth novel to feature the character. The book was first published in the United Kingdom by Souvenir Press.
The Impossible Virgin is the title of the fifth novel chronicling the adventures of crime lord-turned-secret agent Modesty Blaise. The novel was published in 1971 and was written by Peter O'Donnell, who had created the character for a comic strip in the early 1960s. The book was first published in the United Kingdom by Souvenir Press.
Last Day in Limbo is the title of the eighth novel chronicling the adventures of crime lord-turned-secret agent Modesty Blaise. The novel was first published in 1976 and was written by Peter O'Donnell, who had created the character for a comic strip in the early 1960s. The book was first published in the United Kingdom by Souvenir Press.
Dragon's Claw is the title of an action-adventure novel by Peter O'Donnell which was first published in 1978, featuring the character Modesty Blaise which O'Donnell had created for a comic strip in the early 1960s. It was the ninth book to feature the character.
The Xanadu Talisman is the title of an action-adventure/spy novel by Peter O'Donnell that was first published in 1981, featuring the character Modesty Blaise. This was the tenth book to feature the character. It was first published in the United Kingdom by Souvenir Press.
The Night of Morningstar is the title of the eleventh book chronicling the adventures of crime lord-turned-secret agent Modesty Blaise. The novel was first published in 1982 and was written by Peter O'Donnell, who had created the character for a comic strip in the early 1960s. The book was first published in the United Kingdom by Souvenir Press. The novel is notable for altering the usual format of the novels by beginning with an extensive prologue set during the title character's early career as a crime boss.
Dead Man's Handle is the title of a 1985 action-adventure and spy novel written by English writer Peter O'Donnell. It was the eleventh and final full-length novel chronicling the adventures of O'Donnell's comic strip creation, Modesty Blaise. Although O'Donnell continued to write the comic strip, he did not write any further Modesty Blaise prose until the 1996 volume, Cobra Trap, which consisted of short stories. The opening chapters of the novel are set prior to the novel and comic strip and constitute the "origin story" of Blaise's partner, Willie Garvin.
Modesty Blaise is a 1966 British spy-fi comedy film directed by Joseph Losey, produced by Joseph Janni, and loosely based on the popular comic strip Modesty Blaise by Peter O'Donnell, who co-wrote the original story upon which Evan Jones and Harold Pinter based their screenplay. It stars Monica Vitti as "Modesty", opposite Terence Stamp as Willie Garvin and Dirk Bogarde as her nemesis Gabriel. The cast also includes Harry Andrews, Michael Craig, Alexander Knox, Rossella Falk, Clive Revill, and Tina Aumont. The film's music was composed by Johnny Dankworth and the theme song, Modesty, sung by pop duo David and Jonathan. It was Vitti's first English-speaking role.
Modesty Blaise is a comic strip character created by Peter O'Donnell.