A Shot in the Dark

"A Shot in the Dark", apparently, was intended to be a screen adaptation of a murder mystery stage play. Somehow, after the character of Inspector Clouseau caught on with audiences in "The Pink Panther", he got thrown into the mix here. The result is a movie that established the very essence of the Pink Panther movie series: murder mysteries where the "brilliant" detective just happened to be a complete klutz with barely enough brain cells to mesh two clues together. Peter Sellers once again assumes the role of that complete klutz, with even more hilarious results than in "The Pink Panther." The film starts with a murder in the home of a French socialite, with so many shady characters creeping from room to room with lights coming on and off in true Pink Panther style that the audience isn't exactly sure who killed who. Through a bureaucratic mistake, the bumbling Inspector Clouseau is sent in. He meets the most obvious suspect, the beautiful, busty, blonde Elke Sommers, who shares top billing with Sellers. Trusting his hormones rather than the evidence, Clouseau launches a hilarious one-man campaign to prove the blonde's innocence. A cast of supporting players that would become Pink Panther regulars is established here. Herbert Lom is Clouseau's twisted boss Commissioner Dreyfus. Burt Kwouk is Clouseau's Korean butler who engages in frequent training exercises with his master. Graham Stark, a close friend of Sellers, plays Clouseau's straight-laced side kick. The character wouldn't appear again until "Trail of the Pink Panther", although the actor would go on the play multiple roles throughout the rest of the series. Henry Mancini scores again, but since Pink Panther wasn't intended to be the name of the franchise at the time, the famous theme music is gone. The new theme, however, is just as catchy and definitely could only be created by Mancini. The animated Pink Panther lurking around during the opening credits is also missing, though a new cast of animated characters takes his place. Based on a mystery play, the movie is able to lampoon the conventions of murder mysteries pretty well, down to the drawing room conclusion. While the solution to the mystery is scattered, confusing, and almost non-existent, that's not really the point. Pink Panther films are about the comic misadventures of Peter Sellers' character, never about the plot. With Clouseau finally portrayed as the hero rather than the film's antagonist, "A Shot in the Dark" sets the tone for the rest of the Pink Panther series better than "The Pink Panther" does, though the funniest sequels were still to come.

A Shot in the Dark came out the same year as The Pink Panther, the film that introduced the world to the bumbling French detective Inspector Clouseau. In this second installment, a man has been murdered and all the evidence points directly to the beautiful Elke Sommer (including the murder weapon, which she's holding as she stands over the body!). Clouseau, of course, insists she's innocent and that he will prove it! Which just accelerates the process of driving his boss (Herbert Lom) insane. Clouseau, determined that Sommer is innocent, releases her from jail, thinking she'll lead him to the real culprit. Of course, other people die along the way, and each time Sommer's put back into jail, Clouseau doggedly releases her. The best part of the film? A scene in a nudist colony, where the bashful Clouseau must find Sommer and talk to her - when the police arrive to investigate yet another murder, they both leave the colony sans clothing. The sight of them driving through the streets of Paris completely * (although we don't see anything naughty, of course) is priceless. If you want to see Pink Panther films, do yourself a favor and begin with this one - it's as flawless as Clouseau is incompetent!

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source: A Shot in the Dark

Trailer—A Shot in the Dark

A Shot in the Dark

Ironically, it is the only Pink Panther movie not to have the name Pink Panther in the title, but I still find it very funny. Sure the jokes are corny and have been used before, but that does not stop me from laughing. Though I do believe this movie was supposed to be something else entirely, but it wasn't working so they added Peter Sellers' Inspector and it made the movie work. This one has the inspector (I am not even going to attempt to spell his name) investigating a murder case that seems pretty cut and dry, except for the fact Sellers' character falls for the main suspect so he is convinced she could not do such a thing. Laughs are aplenty as chief inspector Dryfeuss is introduced as well as Cato, two stables of the many future Pink Panther sequels. One of my favorite comedies of all time as Peter Sellers' performance is very memorable.

A SHOT IN THE DARK is the second of the Pink Panther series, following on - expectedly enough - from THE PINK PANTHER. I wasn't a huge fan of the first film, which I didn't find particularly funny, but this sequel is a massive improvement. All of the memorable things from the series are present here and at their best, from an increasingly desperate Herbert Lom as the frustrated superior to Burt Kwouk's Cato showing up unexpectedly. Expect excellent animated credits, a sultry Elke Sommer as a femme fatale (quite literally!) and plenty of goofy, funny moments and slapstick-inspired routines. I'm no Peter Sellers fan but even I'll admit he's on fire here.

The first sequel to 1963's "The Pink Panther" has a better plot than its predecessor as Peter Sellers' clumsy Inspector Clouseau becomes convinced the lovely lady he's smitten with couldn't possibly have committed a series of murders. Director Blake Edwards (who co-adapted the screenplay with William Peter Blatty, based on a play by Harry Kurnitz) obviously adored Peter Sellers and gives the actor free reign, but this proves to be both boon and bane. Sellers was always funniest when he was at his most human and vulnerable, yet here Clouseau is made into a fussy priss (like a spoof of Hercule Poirot). Marred by poor color and a drab production, the picture nevertheless has several laugh-out-loud moments, especially the sequence at a nudist colony. Sellers returned to this role in 1975's "The Return of the Pink Panther"; in the interim, Alan Arkin took on the character for 1968's "Inspector Clouseau" which was made by outsiders. ** from ****

The first sequel to "The Pink Panther" and still arguably the finest film of the entire series, "A Shot in the Dark" is a funny and very intelligent piece of entertainment. Peter Sellers returns once again as a bumbling French detective who this time unwittingly stumbles upon a group of murders that keep piling up right under his nose. Could love interest Elke Sommers be the culprit? Well it appears so, but Sellers is not buying it just because he has the hots for her. George Sanders is among the cast of several other possible suspects and of course we also have the first appearance of Sellers' superior (Herbert Lom). Co-written by William Peter Blatty (of "The Exorcist" fame!) and Blake Edwards (who also directed), "A Shot in the Dark" remains one of the better comedies from any cinematic era. 4 stars out of 5.