Over the weekend, I finally saw the supposedly terrible Doris Day romantic-comedic-spy-thriller Caprice (1967) and I have to say, it was pretty terrible. The set decoration was gaudy at best, Richard Harris and Doris Day had zero romantic chemistry, the writing was confusing, and near purposless. Still, like Doris Day’s other frothy 60s comedies, if you can swallow your pride and just run with it, you can have a bit of fun. The handheld-camera ski cinematography and the comedic “hanging hair” sequence are definite standouts.
Anyway, it got me thinking about that whole 60s mod look and I realized it would be pretty cool to draw a mod 60s girl. I drew a sketch in a similar vein to this after I watched the (far better) Arabesque (1966) for the first time. My drawing’s improved a lot since then though, and I’m working on developing her as one of my characters. This is kinda big because I only have 3 other real ‘characters’ that I draw and that have stories and worlds. They all occupy a distinct world with a distinct musical, story, character, and aesthetic makeup. Musically, she has more of a ‘hip’ 60s soundtrack feel ala Lalo Schifrin. Electric guitars and basses, organs, Moog synths and other more ‘hip’ 60s isms over a foundation of a more conventional then-contemporary movie soundtrack orchestra - strings, saxes, vibes, trumpets & trombones, french horns, piano, etc.
This character works as a government agent and we are never allowed to completely forget that, like James Bond, (they make a way bigger deal out of it in the books) she’s still a government employee and has to deal with the bureaucracy and office politics that entails. I figured this would be an interesting opportunity to explore women’s roles in the workplace in the mid-late 60s and a variety of other woman’s concerns. This character is very efficient at nearly everything she does. She has to be to be even considered for a ‘men’s’ job in the sexist environment around her.
The 60s spy genre has been done and overdone the world over. Beautiful sexy girls falling for/seducing suave debonair gentlemen agents- ya’ know, that sort of thing. It really interests me though, to play around with that dynamic. One of my other characters, Jack Danger, is gay and also has globe-trotting 60s adventures, but being a lesbian working in the ‘man’s game’ of international espionage gives this character lots of new situations to explore.
I could also have a lot of fun with neat gadgets. Men get briefcases, wallets, and not too much else to carry in general. Women though, get purses, compacts, jewelry, and all sorts of other things. One gadget is going to be a special bottle of hairspray that doubles as a flamethrower, knockout spray, etc.
Some of my name ideas for her include Daphne, Domino, Dominique, and Diana.