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A Shot in the Dark (1964) 7.5
As murder follows murder, beautiful Maria is the obvious suspect; bumbling Inspector Clouseau drives his boss mad by seeing her as plainly innocent. Director:Blake Edwards |
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Peter Sellers | ... | ||
| Elke Sommer | ... | ||
| George Sanders | ... | ||
| Herbert Lom | ... | ||
| Tracy Reed | ... |
Dominique Ballon
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Graham Stark | ... | |
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Moira Redmond | ... |
Simone
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Vanda Godsell | ... |
Madame LaFarge
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Maurice Kaufmann | ... |
Pierre
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Ann Lynn | ... |
Dudu
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David Lodge | ... |
Georges
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André Maranne | ... | |
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Martin Benson | ... |
Maurice
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| Burt Kwouk | ... | ||
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Reginald Beckwith | ... |
Receptionist
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Edit
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
When rich M. Ballon's spanish driver is found shot dead, Inspector Jacques Clouseau is the first official on the scene. All evidence suggests Maria Gambrelli, the maid, to be the murderer. But Clouseau, being attracted to the beautiful girl, is convinced that she is hiding something. So, he has her released from jail and tries to follow her secretly. Things do not work out the way the inspector wanted and people keep being murdered, and each time innocent Maria seems to be the killer. But with someone important wanting Clouseau and nobody else to cover this case, his tolerance-challenged boss Charles Dreyfuss is close to losing his mind when casualties keep turning up. And Clouseau keeps on causing trouble without knowing it... Written by Julian Reischl <julianreischl@mac.com>
Taglines:
... The Picture That Gets Away With Murder! See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Release Date:
23 June 1964 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Quand l'inspecteur s'emmêle See more »Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
Clouseau: He was Spanish!
Hercule LaJoy: He tore her dress off.
Clouseau: Oh, don't be ridiculous. Would you kill someone who tore your dress off?
Hercule LaJoy: No, I suppose not.
Clouseau: No, of course not! No, no. There is no doubt in my mind, whatsoever, Hercule. Maria Gambrelli is most definitely protecting someone. Find that somebody, and you have found the murderer. And I shall find the murderer before the day is out. Maria Gambrelli will tell me who he is. Oh, yes.
See more »
Music by Henry Mancini
Lyrics by Robert Wells
Performed by Fran Jeffries
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
This film was originally meant to have been an adaptation of the stage play by Harry Kurnitz. Walter Matthau and Peter Sellers were to have been the detectives, but Sellers did not like how things were going and wanted out. United Artists brought in Blake Edwards to keep Sellers on the project. Edwards looked at the script and thought that it might be better suited to the character of Inspector Jacques Clouseau, and rewrote the entire script with a young William Peter Blatty. It was released only three months after the original The Pink Panther. See more »Goofs
In the scene where Peter Sellers answers the door bell and finds a package (a clock with a bomb) you can see clearly that someone has left the keys in the door lock as he opens the door. See more »Quotes
Hercule LaJoy: He beat her.Clouseau: He was Spanish!
Hercule LaJoy: He tore her dress off.
Clouseau: Oh, don't be ridiculous. Would you kill someone who tore your dress off?
Hercule LaJoy: No, I suppose not.
Clouseau: No, of course not! No, no. There is no doubt in my mind, whatsoever, Hercule. Maria Gambrelli is most definitely protecting someone. Find that somebody, and you have found the murderer. And I shall find the murderer before the day is out. Maria Gambrelli will tell me who he is. Oh, yes.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The credits are presented in a cartoon sequence with wording appearing on pieces of paper held by the cartoon characters, and so on. See more »Soundtracks
"Shadows of Paris"Music by Henry Mancini
Lyrics by Robert Wells
Performed by Fran Jeffries
See more »
Although "A Shot in the Dark" is really the second film in the Pink Panther series, in many ways it is a beginning, as the first film to showcase Peter Sellers' bumbling Inspector Clouseau as the highlight of the film, overcoming the first film's occasional shortcomings due mainly to devoting too much screen time to David Niven's jewel thief, when what audiences really wanted was more Clouseau. Well here, their wish came true as there are virtually no scenes in the film without Clouseau present, and it is all the better as such. There can be no doubt that Peter Sellers is one of the greatest comedic actors of all time, and he is the primary reason the film is so enjoyable.
Director Blake Edwards is wise enough to latch onto this fact, and indeed, the entire premise of the film is essentially just a series of opportunities for Sellers to make full use of his brilliant physical comedy skills wrapped around a twisty murder mystery, as Clouseau struggles to prove that the prime suspect, the beautiful maid Maria (Elke Sommer) is not guilty, despite an increasing load of evidence proving otherwise. Introduced here are also Pink Panther regular characters Commissioner Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) and Clouseau's lethal assistant Cato (Burt Kwouk), instructed to attack him when he least expects it to keep his guard up. (said instances including when in the bath, and in bed with Maria)
The storyline is admittably simple, with only a few basic twists to conceal the murderer's identity until the end, and mainly does exist to give Peter Sellers full reign to do what he is so very skilled at doing
- evoking laughs out of the most ordinary situations or what would have
been deemed immature and juvenile if attempted by another actor. (the primary reason Steve Martin's latest re-hash is almost certain to flop- he can never hope to compare to Sellers in his iconic role) And of
course, Henry Mancini's unforgettable jazz theme music is a welcome addition to an already great movie.It may seem strange that the only film in the series without the words "Pink Panther" should turn out to be the best in the series, but such is the case here. The film may seem somewhat dated, and perhaps not quite as witty as it would have been back in the 1960s, but Sellers' unique comedic talents assure that the entertainment value of the movie remains classic, even 40 years on.
-8/10