A Shot in the Dark (1964)

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Marcel Achard (play)
Harry Kurnitz (play)

Release Date:

23 June 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Crime

Tagline:

It's Sellers the Sleuth... and there's nothing he won't do to track down a body -- dead or alive!

Plot:

As murder follows murder, beautiful Maria is the obvious suspect; bumbling Inspector Clouseau drives his boss mad by seeing her as plainly innocent.

Plot Keywords:

Pink | Bicycle | Trenchcoat | Naked Man | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Peter Sellers	...	Jacques Clouseau
Elke Sommer	...	Maria Gambrelli
George Sanders	...	Benjamin Ballon
Herbert Lom	...	Charles Dreyfus
Tracy Reed	...	Dominique Ballon
Graham Stark	...	Hercule LaJoy
Moira Redmond	...	Simone
Vanda Godsell	...	Madame LaFarge
Maurice Kaufmann	...	Pierre
Ann Lynn	...	Dudu
David Lodge	...	Georges
André Maranne	...	Francois
Martin Benson	...	Maurice
Burt Kwouk	...	Kato
Reginald Beckwith	...	Receptionist

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

New Zealand:PG | Iceland:L | Canada:G (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:PG | Norway:11 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Luton Hoo Estate, Luton, Bedfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Geoffrey Productions Inc.

Trivia:

According to Graham Stark, who plays Clouseau's assistant Hercule, in the scene where Clouseau gets his hand stuck in the globe and says "Look at that! I've got Africa all over my hand!", Peter Sellers ad-libbed the line. Also of note, the spinning globe gag is a re-hash of a gag from The Pink Panther (1963) where Clouseau did the same thing, except his hand slid off and he fell down.

Quotes:

Dreyfus: What about the maid?
Clouseau: The maid?
Dreyfus: Was he jealous of her too? He strangled her.
Clouseau: It is possible that his intended victim was a man and that he made a mistake.
Dreyfus: Mistake?... in a nudist camp?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Red Green Show: A Shot in the Dark (#14.15)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

A Shot In The Dark

Sequel? Prequel? Hard to tell, but it has some laughs

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.