The Pink Panther

For movie fans, the word “bumbling” will be forever linked to French Inspector Jacques Clouseau, one of the most loved movie characters of all time. This week we’re going to take a look at two of the finest in the Pink Panther series, A Shot In The Dark and The Return of the Pink Panther. While 1963’s The Pink Panther was the first in the series, in that film Inspector Clouseau played second fiddle to David Niven, who was the main character and had the most screen time. Audience reaction to Peter Sellers’ brilliant portrayal of Clouseau, however, ensured that this mistake was not made twice. A Shot in the Dark is clearly Sellers’ movie. Written and Directed by Blake Edwards, it sees Clouseau investigating the murder of a Chauffeur to a rich and powerful family. All evidence clearly points to the beautiful maid Maria, played by Elke Sommer, as the killer. The only problem is that Clouseau is smitten with Maria and refuses to believe she can be responsible for the killing. People keep getting murdered and each time it is obvious to everyone except Clouseau that Maria is the only possible perpetrator. Much to the chagrin of Chief Inspector Dreyfuss (Herbert Lom), who makes his debut in the series in this second installment, Clouseau is kept on the case due to the influence of an anonymous political source. The laughs are endless as Clouseau comes up with excuse after excuse why the lovely Maria is not the killer.

Sellers really hit his stride with Clouseau in this movie. While modern day physical comedians like Jim Carrey have all the subtlety and grace of a drunken football fan on Superbowl Sunday, Sellers plays Clouseau with a brilliant deadpan. While he trips and stumbles his way through the movie with all the skill and talent of Buster Keaton, he does so with a straight face, as if Clouseau himself isn’t in on the joke at all. Chief Inspector Dreyfuss is the perfect straight man to this Ballet of ineptitude. As a viewer, you take a disturbing amount of pleasure in watching poor Inspector Dreyfuss gradually losing his mind.

This film also marks the debut of Kato (Burt Kwouk), Clouseau’s sidekick, whose job it is to attack Clouseau at any time and place as some sort of ill-conceived training exercise. Words cannot describe how funny these scenes in the series are. Of course poor Kato always ends up on the losing end. A Shot in the Dark stands the test of time and is a real treat to those who value the brilliance of Peter Sellers.

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