A Shot in the Dark
by Blake Edwards
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Actor: Elke Sommer, George Sanders, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Tracy ReedDirector: Blake Edwards
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Christopher Challis
Producer: Blake Edwards
Writer: Blake Edwards
Producer: Cecil F. Ford
Writer: Harry Kurnitz
Writer: Marcel Achard
Writer: William Peter Blatty
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-01-27
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of A Shot in the Dark
DVD Review: The finest of the PINK PANTHER films
Summary: 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.
Description of A Shot in the Dark
Get ready for a "riotous" (Boxoffice) adventure as Peter Sellers returns as the hapless Inspector Clouseau in his second Pink Panther film. Introducing Herbert Lom as his long-suffering superior Dreyfus and Burt Kwouk as his mysterious manservant and sparring partner Cato, this frenetic comedy is "a series of laughs from beginning to end, with never a lull to catch your breath" (LA Herald-Examiner)! Assigned to a high-profile murder case, Clouseau finds himself falling (literally) for the prime suspect - a beautiful maid named Maria (Elke Sommer), whose talent for being in the wrong place atthe wrong time almost rivals Clouseau's. But as the body count grows higher, and Maria's criminal record grows longer, Clouseau will have to find the real culprit quickly...or his career will be finit!If you could choose only one Pink Panther movie, your best bet would be A Shot in the Dark--ironic, since it's the only entry in the series that doesn't mention the Pink Panther or even feature the cartoon cat in its opening credits. The title and basic plot are taken from the play by Harry Kurnitz, which in turn was adapted from the French stage comedy L'Idiote, but those plays were completely reconceived by director Blake Edwards, who cowrote the screenplay with William Peter Blatty (yes, the writer of The Exorcist!) and turned the film into a showcase for Peter Sellers and a nonstop parade of slapstick gags and pratfalls. This time Inspector Clouseau is accidentally assigned to track a gorgeous, high-profile murder suspect (Elke Sommer), who is connected to several Parisian murders by circumstantial evidence. Believing her to be innocent when all clues indicate otherwise, Clouseau captures his suspect and releases her several times, to the dismay of Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), but the plot here is arguably beside the point. As a bumbling variation of Hercule Poirot, Sellers steals the show, refining Clouseau's persona--including his outrageous karate duels with his tenacious valet, Cato (Bert Kwouk)--and nonchalantly waltzing through a plot involving numerous disguises and at least a dozen murders. Some scenes are so funny that you could swear the actors are about to crack up laughing, so you laugh even harder when supporting players such as Graham Stark (as Clouseau's tolerant assistant, Hercule) hold a perfectly deadpan expression. Of all the Pink Panther movies, this is the one that fires on all pistons, with Edwards and Sellers in peak form, servicing a traditional farce that brought out the best in their inspired collaboration. --Jeff Shannon
Blake Edwards's Inspector Clouseau films really took their complete shape with this second movie in the series, which features star Peter Sellers really tweaking that French accent and key supporting players Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk, and André Maranne (all getting on board for the first time). The story finds Sellers refusing to believe in the guilt of a beautiful woman (Elke Sommer) accused of murder, and there are a number of hilarious sequences, including one in which Clouseau goes "undercover" at a nudist colony. Arguably the best of the films, A Shot in the Dark definitely finds Edwards honing a seamless blend of slapstick, brilliant timing, verbal wit, a great cast, and Sellers's brilliance into a unique experience. --Tom Keogh
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