Search - A Shot in the Dark on DVD

The finest of the PINK PANTHER films

Tom Benton | North Springfield, VT USA | 08/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Blake Edwards and William Peter Blatty, the latter of whom would eventually write THE EXORCIST (both the novel and the film), were working on adapting a stageplay by Marcel Achard and Harry Kurnitz when Edwards had the idea of turning it into a vehicle for the character of Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers), the bumbling French policeman with the thick accent from Edwards' caper comedy THE PINK PANTHER. The result is A SHOT IN THE DARK, released the same year as its predecessor (1964).

The film opens with a wonderful little sequence which culminates in a murder at the home of millionaire Benjamin Ballon (George Sanders). Inspector Jacques Clouseau is mistakenly assigned to the case. Though the evidence screams that the Ballon home's maid, Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer), is responsible for the murder, Clouseau is captivated by her beauty and refuses to believe it. He sets out to prove Gambrelli's innocence as more and more evidence against her piles up, all the while driving his superior, Chief Inspector Dreyfuss (Herbert Lom), farther and farther up the wall.

A SHOT IN THE DARK is most certainly the finest of the Inspector Clouseau adventures. It is at once a great comedy, a great PINK PANTHER film, and a great mystery. Edwards and Blatty know what to do and when to do it, be it slapstick comedy or plays on Clouseau's thick accent. The identity of the murderer remains completely unknown until the ending - you won't see it coming. The endlessly inventive script comes up with one outrageous scene after another, resulting in one of the most fun and funny "whodunnit"s ever made.

Henry Mancini's music has never been better. His score, including a delightfully shady theme, is magnificent, possibly the finest of his career. The film's original song, "The Shadows Of Paris", is great as well. Mancini's score isn't always funny, however; there is a montage of scenes in the film where Clouseau is targeted for murder by an assassin. The assassin's face is not revealed; we see only his gun and his gloved hand. The way that director Edwards filmed this scenes, combined with Mancini's inhuman score, is to me quite horrifying.

Sellers is at his finest as the completely unreasonable, constantly bumbling Inspector Clouseau. What would these films be without him? It is painful to imagine someone else in the world. It fits Sellers like his character's trademark coat. A SHOT IN THE DARK also marks the first appearance of Kato (Burt Kwouk), Clouseau's servant and frequent "attacker". Sommer and Lom are also great in their roles, particularly Lom as the increasingly loony Dreyfus.

If there is one PINK PANTHER film you must see, it's A SHOT IN THE DARK. The film has become a true comedy classic, and rightfully so. It's an immensely fun movie that will keep you guessing - and laughing - until the very end."