History Trivia / ModestyBlaise

* WTHCastingAgency: The general reaction to the casting of Monica Vitti, a blonde Italian known for playing neurotic or languid middle-class types in arthouse movies, as the wiley, raven-haired, EXTREMELY British ActionGirl that Modesty is in the comics.

** In '"Film/PulpFiction'' The first novel is often read by Vincent Vega when he is heading to the toilet.

* NamesTheSame: Two years before the actor Creator/MichaelYork (of ''Film/{{Cabaret}}'', ''Film/{{The Three Musketeers|1973}}'' and ''Film/AustinPowers'' fame) became a household name, the strip featured an actor friend of Modesty and Willie's named Michael York who helps them pull off a deception and expose TheMole.

** In ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'', magical secret agent Penelope Hazard and her sidekick Johnny [=McTavish=] are unashamed [[CaptainErsatz Captains Ersatz]] for Modesty and Willie. Penelope's Laundry codename is [ShoutOut BASHFUL INCENDIARY]].

* ReferencedBy: The metafictional graphic novel ''Goldtiger'', by Guy Adams and Jimmie Broxton, is a blatant pastiche of the comic strip. In-universe, the comic strip ''Goldtiger'' is explicitly acknowledged as a rival publishing company's rip-off of ''Modesty Blaise''.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: The original artist, Jim Holdaway, dropped dead suddenly in 1970, causing a lengthy period of rotating artists that lasted for much of the rest of the strip's run until Romero took over full-time.

* WhatTheHellCastingAgency: The general reaction to the casting of Monica Vitti, a blonde Italian known for playing neurotic or languid middle-class types in arthouse movies, as the wiley, raven-haired, EXTREMELY British ActionGirl that Modesty is in the comics.

* ActingForTwo: In the 1966 film, Clive Revill plays both Sheikh Abu Tahir and Gabriel's accountant [=McWhirter=].
* AshcanCopy: The 2004 direct-to-DVD film ''My Name Is Modesty: A Modesty Blaise Adventure'' is the cinema equivalent, a movie made quickly and cheaply to satisfy a contractual obligation and let the studio hold on to the film rights.

* CreatorKiller: The 1966 film killed off Monica Vitti's international career just as it was starting. From then on, she restricted her efforts to Italy.
* EarlyDraftTieIn: The first novel is a novelisation of O'Donnell's script for the 1966 film, without the major subsequent changes of the finished movie.
* FakeBrit: In the 1966 film, the Minister is played by Canadian actor Alexander Knox, with a [[JustAStupidAccent Scots accent]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Peter O'Donnell floated Barbara Steele as Modesty and Creator/MichaelCaine as Willy.
** Ironically, Caine wound up taking the title role in ''Film/{{Alfie}}'', a role originally written for Creator/TerenceStamp.

* WhatTheHellCastingAgency: The general reaction to the casting of Monica Vitti, a blonde Italian known for playing neurotic or languid middle-class types in arthouse movies, as the wiley, raven-haired, EXTREMELY British, athletic ActionGirl that Modesty is in the comics. Peter O'Donnell himself recommended Creator/BarbaraSteele.

* AdaptationalContextChange: Occurs frequently in the novels, which recycle action set-pieces and plot elements from the strips but rearrange them and set them within new plots.

* NamesTheSame: Two years before the actor Michael York (of ''Film/{{Cabaret}}'', ''Film/{{The Three Musketeers|1973}}'' and ''Film/AustinPowers'' fame) became a household name, the strip featured an actor friend of Modesty and Willie's named Michael York who helps them pull off a deception and expose TheMole.