A Shot in the Dark

When a murder occurs in the house of millionaire Benjamin Ballon, Inspector Clouseau is put on the case. When he makes a real pigs ear of it, Commissioner Dreyfus takes him off the case until political pressure forces him to put him back on it. The maid, Maria Gambrelli was found in a locked room with a gun in her hands and a body at her feet - all the clues appear to point to her, but Clouseau is too taken by her beauty to believe it could be her. He pursues a more complex theory, much to the chagrin of Dreyfus - but could his bumbling have brought him onto the right track.

In terms of cinema, 1964 was one of the best years of Peter Seller's career; not only did he make his best film with several great performances (Dr Strangelove) but he also made the best of the Pink Panther films with this entry. The two films are quite different - Strangelove is very much an all round performance(s) whereas Shot In The Dark displays his physical comedy to great effect. The basic plot is a murder mystery but it doesn't really matter who did what to whom as the focus of the film is the bumbling investigation of Clouseau. This is as funny as the character got and the material is pretty good. It depends a great deal on your personal taste as to how much you are laughing at this film. I found it funny but not as funny as I had hoped I would. The reason for this was that the film relied very heavily on Clouseau. The problem with this is that the comedy around Clouseau usually requires a small build up and hence a lag before the laugh - hence the laughs are spaced rather than consistent.

Of course, basing the film around Sellers is not a bad thing in itself, it's just the material that needed to be sharper and funnier. Although I like Sellers better in other things (namely Strangelove and The Goons) but he is the only man who could do this role and he does it very well indeed. Sommer is actually pretty good and manages to add to the laughs. Sanders is a nice addition even if he plays it straight most of the way; Lom on the other hand is increasingly funny as he breaks down - he is better here than in other films. Kwouk is given a small role but he shows that he has a flair for comedy (a flair that he has continued to show recently including his series with Harry Hill).

Overall, those hoping for a rip-roaring spoof may well be a little disappointed as it is not a laugh a second, even if it is still funny. The plot doesn't really matter and the material could have been sharper and more consistent, but it still stands out as the best of the Pink Panther films. All in all, 1964 and these two films is as good proof of Sellers' abilities as you could ask for and he carries this film here.

The germination of the "Pink Panther" series of comedic mystery films is a complicated one. The first film in the series, "The Pink Panther", was actually the second one to be filmed! This film, "A Shot in the Dark", was originally intended to be the adaptation of a stage play, but director Edwards and actor Sellers refit the main character to accommodate the persona of Inspector Clouseu, which they were developing for "The Pink Panther". However, when the film was completed, it wasn't released and was deemed unfunny. Then when "The Pink Panther" was a hit, the studio released "A Shot in the Dark" as a sequel and a series was born. This explains why elements from the first film are absent from the second (Mrs. Clouseu anyone?) and why the second (actually first!) set the tone for the following films more than the first (actually the second! Confused yet?) Here, Sellers is front and center as the hapless and ever-clumsy Inspector. Freed from sharing screen time with a higher billed co-star (David Niven in the previous film) and without a particularly coherent plot to follow, he is allowed to engage in pratfall after pratfall and scenario after goofy scenario. Today's audiences may not completely go for the subtle, meticulously timed method of comedy shown here with emphasis on set up and repetitiveness, but patient and observant audience members should still find the film funny. By now, so much of the material has been cribbed or expanded upon, some of the edge is lost, but enough of the humor and situational gags are amusing enough to make the film worthwhile. Sellers insists upon the innocence of curvy stunner Sommer, a maid who has been found in a locked room with a dead body and a smoking gun in her hand. Time after time, he lets her out of prison and the body count increases. His thorough incompetence drives his superior (Lom) to insanity. Sommer's employer Sanders, a man of great wealth and taste, is also appalled by the bumbling Sellers, never more so than when he manages to practically trash a billiard room during a friendly game. One famous sequence has Sellers tracking Sommer down in a nudist colony. The modest Inspector navigates the idyllic hideaway using any available object to cover himself as the campers frolic behind shrubs and other props. Reed glams it up, but gets little to do as Sanders' bitchy wife. Another memorable sequence has Sellers and Sommer on a date with victim after victim falling prey to an assassin that's after Sellers. It's all a farcical enterprise that one must be in the mood for to fully enjoy. Otherwise, it becomes a little tiresome, but fans of physical comedy ought to lap it up. The remaining sequels were all sort of hybrids of "The Pink Panther" mixed with "A Shot in the Dark" and had fair success until the death of Sellers made it difficult to continue (but continue they did, using outtakes and other footage of the man! Anything to make a buck!) Henry Mancini provided some nice music, notably over the animated title sequence.

A fast paced comedy/mystery less about who-dun-it than how many corpses can they fit in the movie?! The Inspector Clousseau character returns and Sellars is to be credited with creating a characterization that seems just believable enough to be ridiculous.

Some very funny moments of physical and verbal humor. Sommer is mostly window dressing in this role, forced to play straight-gal to Sellars' sometimes manic "clumsiness". Lom makes his first series appearance (with hilarious facial tics) as the head cop. The best film in the series.

Very memorable opening sequence set to Mancini's excellent theme song is one of the film's many highlights.

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 nude (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!

Based on the French play 'L'Idiote' authored by Marcel Achard and adapted to the American stage by Harry Kurnitz, 'A Shot in the Dark' features Peter Sellers in the lead role of an Inspector with such gifted detective instincts that if he says he can solve a case within "2 seconds", it requires him to experiment with his profound investigative prowess in a full-length feature film to solve it.

'Give me 10 men like Clouseau, and I could destroy the world!' Yes, this great one-liner, uttered by Chief Inspector Dreyfus in a great deal of dismay, indeed outlines the wacky character of 'Inspector Jacques Clouseau' played by Sellers.

'A Shot in the Dark' is the second installment of the 'Pink Panther' Series, and the funniest of them all. The plot is simple, and goes on like this. Inspector Clouseau is sent to the Ballon residence to investigate the murder of Mr. Ballon's Spanish chauffeur Miguel. The Inspector instantly falls in love with the charming maid, Maria Gambrelli, towards whom all the evidences point a finger. But, Clouseau strongly believes that someone else is the murderer who framed her for murder. He thinks she might know something about it. So he releases her from jail and spies on her. Ill-fated circumstances prevent the Insp from successfully spying her moves, and eventually more murders take place. Is she really the murderer? If not, who framed her? Why would anyone kill a chauffeur? And finally, the most important question.. Will Clouseau be able to solve the case?

As the great Inspector along with his assistant, Hercule LaJoy, solemnly embark on his mission to solve the case, peril seems to find its way one way or the other and ride upon his shoulders, except for when his boss, Chief Inspector Dreyfus, is around of course. To Dreyfus just the name of Clouseau is enough to ruin his day. He can't stand sight of Clouseau and hates "every little bit" of him for every time they meet, poor Dreyfus is thrown into the face of adversity within no time, and has to undergo tremendous agony.

All the actors performed well, but it is Sellers who stole the show as the inept detective fumbling and bumbling his way around solving murder mysteries, but mostly bumping into furnitures, snagging crucial areas of his clothes, falling out of windows, pursuing Miss Sommer to a nudist camp and what not.

There is nothing wrong with the Blake Edwards' direction and screenplay. Editing was also upto the mark. Henry Mancini's music, I must also add, is as sassy and frivolous as the film.

The only few minor drawbacks of this film are: Number one, Some portions are repetitive. Like for example, Inspector Clouseau got arrested more than a couple of times for not obtaining selling license in order to sell stuffs such as balloons, paintings, etc. Number two, few comic scenes were way too predictable. You could see them coming. And number three, the ambiguous ending which might leave some audiences wondering who actually murdered whom.

8/10