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a+shot+in+the+dark | Year: 1964 Directed: - Blake Edwards Actors/Actresses: - Peter Sellers - Elke Sommer Great follow-up from the first! "A Shot In The Dark" finds Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau on the case of a murder at the Chateau. Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer), a resider, is accused. Clouseau has fallen in love with her and is willing to free her of any charge by watching her every move and masquerading, which finds him going to the police station 4 times in a repeated paddy wagon sequence which is absolutely the cream of it all. Streaking through a nudist colony is another great sequence that is a quite a shocker on film. When the climax is about to occur, Clouseau questions a group of bickering people who've comitted dirty sinful deeds, plus Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is out to eliminate Clouseau. He did, of course, fail to do so. The outcome is surprising. You'll have to see for yourself. It's not better than "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" as it is called by many the best. It comes close, though. This is the only Pink Panther movie that does not have the Pink Panther in the title and the theme song in the movie, but is definetly worth seeing. There's no question about it. You'll laugh so hard you'll fall. Don't fall to hard, otherwise you'll receive a "bemp" on the head! The Best of Clouseau It's funny that this movie is considered an entry in the Pink Panther series, even though there is nothing in the movie to indicate that it is, except for star Peter Sellers, Blake Edwards direction and the Henry Mancini score (without the Pink Panther theme). But this movie is so good, who really cares? In this escapade, Clouseau has been assigned to solve a murder that has occurred in the home of the wealthy Benjamin Balon. The killer appears to be the beautiful housemaid Maria Gambrelli but Clouseau, who is falling in love with her, is convinced she's innocent and sets out to expose the real murderer. If you haven't seen this movie, you should. There are a number of great comic scenes that Clouseau goes through in this film, one of which includes the famous nudist camp sketch. What I really like about the comedy here is that it has a sort of charm, which vanished in the later episodes. One of the important things about this movie is that it introduces us to two of the best characters in the series: Clouseau's houseboy Kato and the lunatic Chief Dreyfuss. Clouseau's karate romps with Kato and Dreyfuss' attempts to destroy the inspector are also brought in. All of these became staples in the later movies. Aside from the new characters, I think the most significant thing about "A Shot in the Dark" is that Peter Sellers is now the star. He was only a supporting player in "The Pink Panther" but this time Sellers is given center stage and, in turn, delivers a great performance. Blake Edwards also gives the movie some good direction, setting things up nicely so Sellers can work his magic. Overall, this entry is the best in the series. If you are looking for Inspector Clouseau at his finest, then check out "A Shot in the Dark". "I Seem To Have Stabbed Myself With A Letter Opener." This is one of the very rare films where the sequel is better than the original. This movie is absolutely a letter perfect comedy: suave yet silly; understated yet over the top; pompous yet reserved. You get the idea. A perfect film. I wouldn't change one thing about this movie, even if I could. Peter Sellers defines the bumbling Clouseau as an individual better here than in the original, and I think the supporting cast is stronger as well. Elke Sommer is perfect as the beautiful, naive murder suspect who Clouseau goes to any ends to defend, while George Sanders is wonderful as the great scoundrel millionaire, Benjamin Ballon. Introduced for the first time in the series are Bert Kwouk as Kato (later spelled 'Cato'), Graham Stark as Clouseau's (extremely) patient assistant, Hercule, and my favorite of all the Panther supporting characters, the great Herbert Lom as Inspector Dreyfus. Watching Lom go through the phases of psychosis in this film is one of the greatest experiences and delights a person can have as a movie viewer. (I particularly like his performance in the closing scene, and when reading the newspaper with trembling hands and twitching eye.) The plot concerns Clouseau's infatuation with a wrongly accused murder suspect, and the chaos that develops from that unlikely situation. The film is filled with a degree of nuance seldom seen in a comedy, and is probably the best crafted of all the Panther films (although I have to admit that the way over the top "Pink Panther Strikes Again" is my personal favorite.) The physical comedy that Sellers could make totally natural (watch the "spinning globe" scene for an excellent example) is still unrivalled, and the nuanced interplay with other cast members is better than in any other comedy that I can think of (to see what I mean watch the "curved pool cue" scene and the interaction of both Monsieur Ballon and the butler.) I highly recommend this film. The DVD print is good, though there are few extras (the original trailer is very amusing and a tad on the weird side.) It is slapstick, but it is very refined slapstick done by the master, Peter Sellers. If only they still made movies like this today. I give it five stars only because Amazon won't allow more! Buy A Shot In The Dark at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on A Shot In The Dark Search with the Priority Search Engine on A Shot In The Dark This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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