The Pink Panther film series officially began with the eponymous 1963 film, but its protagonist, the inept French police inspector Jacques Clouseau, appeared there only as a side character. The first film to feature him as the actual main character was made shortly afterwards as A Shot in the Dark, a film which, ironically, had been based on a source that had nothing to do with the character.
The film originated as L'Idiote, a stage comedy by the popular French playwright Marcel Achard, later adapted for Broadway by Harry Kurnitz. Director Blake Edwards agreed to direct a screen adaptation only on condition that the protagonist be changed into Clouseau. Famed British comedian Peter Sellers reprises the role from the previous film, and the plot begins in the large country house of Parisian millionaire Benjamin Ballon (played by George Sanders). His chauffeur is shot dead, and all the evidence points to Maria Gambrelli (played by Elke Sommer), the beautiful maid with whom the victim had had a passionate and violent affair. Clouseau investigates the crime and thinks otherwise, partly motivated by his "instinct" and partly by his poorly hidden affection for the woman. Convinced that she has been framed, he releases her from custody and starts following her in the hope of luring out the real killer. His efforts, however, do little else than create total mayhem, which coincides with a few more murders, with Gambrelli happening to be the most likely suspect in each of them. All this is a source of great frustration to Clouseau's superior, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (played by Herbert Lom), whose mental health starts to deteriorate.
A Shot in the Dark begins slowly, with a slightly overlong opening scene that features "The Shadows of Paris", a title song by Henry Mancini which is functional but hardly the best example of his work. However, when Sellers finally appears on screen, it becomes very obvious that the audience will have the opportunity to see an immensely talented comedian at his prime. Sellers as Clouseau is simply brilliant, skilfully playing with an overdone French accent and physical comedy. Many of the scenes were the result of improvisation, as well as co‑operation with Edwards, who showed great directing skill, most notably in the scene that takes place in a nudist colony but looks credible despite not running afoul of early‑1960s Hollywood censorship. Sellers is aided by many other talents, most notably by Herbert Lom, who is introduced as his long‑suffering boss Dreyfus and who would repeat the role in three more films. Burt Kwouk is also introduced as Cato (in this film referred to as "Kato"), Clouseau's manservant and martial‑arts trainer, with orders to attack his boss at any opportunity to help him develop his karate skills. German actress Elke Sommer delivers a good performance in the role of a naive beauty that would have been thankless for many other female stars of her time. George Sanders, on the other hand, does not seem at ease in the role of the straight man in this comedy, something that Graham Stark does much better as Clouseau's assistant Hercule Lajoy. Although some jokes at the very end of the film are not handled too well, A Shot in the Dark serves as a very good introduction to a successful film series.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
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