The Pink Panther (1964)

The history of film comedy would have been much altered if Peter Ustinov had stayed in the role of Jacques Clouseau, the bumbling French police inspector in The Pink Panther. But Ustinov dropped out, the role went to Peter Sellers, and a classic character was born: suspicious, blundering, with a pompous little mustache and a sometimes impenetrable accent, Clouseau was always one step behind everybody else in the room. The Pink Panther introduced Clouseau hot on the trail of a famous jewel thief (David Niven), who may be planning to make off with an expensive gem known as the Pink Panther. Set in a European ski resort, this bubbly comedy is a wonderful dose of '60s style, from the famous Henry Mancini theme music to the presence of two of Europe's top sex symbols of the era, Claudia Cardinale and Capucine. The film also introduced the popular cartoon Pink Panther, slinking around to Mancini's music in an animated credits sequence. The film's success brought a follow-up, A Shot in the Dark, also released in 1964; after 11 years, Sellers and top comedy director Blake Edwards (10) returned with three more sequels. --Robert Horton Amazon.com essential video

One of the must-see Classics!

Well, to chip in my two cents, I've been a Pink Panther / Shot in the Dark fan for years and late this year I decided it was time to start collecting my own copies. However, I ended up buying just this one film. I'm sure I will pick up the sequels and Shot in the Dark sooner or later, but there are just certain elements and qualities to this first film that I find myself drawn toward. I'm not sure whether it's the snowy European setting with skiing and fancy resort hotel (and it's interior scenes), the qualities in the main characters, the leading ladies and the light romances that take place, the pacing, the way Clouseau is portrayed in this film (in contrast to later films), or perhaps it's all of that and more. What I do know is that it's great fun and I enjoy every moment of it. Hopefully, if you haven't seen it yet, you will too.

I wanted to also add that I've seen a small bit of the re-make with Steve Martin. Small, because after three or four scenes, it became clear just how poorly he was in doing Clouseau's character. Initially, I thought it had to be some kind of joke or possibly a horrible mistake.

The original Pink Panther is and probably always will be one of a kind. December 24, 2008

Boring

I just didn't find this funny at all. Niven was in movies that were much funnier. Just wasn't what I expected. In fact, beat me up if you like, but I much prefer Steve Martin's version. September 1, 2008

Inspector Clouseau's Pale Shadow

This movie is cute and funny, especially in the scenes that feature Peter Sellers. The grave weakness of this movie, the first in this series, is that the emphasis is on the dashing and debonair jewel thief played by David Niven. There's nothing wrong with that, except the character was already a "stock" character and there's really nothing interesting about them either. Niven's acting was great and the leading ladies are lovely. Also, I had forgotten the great musical number in the middle.

But no one can spill milk or break a violin like Sellers. Inspector Clouseau lights the screen whenever he is on. August 10, 2008

The Pink Panther (original)

This is the original one that set the stage for the sequels. I was mildly disappointed after seeing this for the first time in many years. It's so different from the sequels. It's a great caper film, more subdued than what the series would later become. There are hi-jinx galore, some of it bordering on slapstick. DVD quality is great & there are bonus features; the main one being a trivia track that informs the viewer of many things that go on or went in the movie, a la what AMC used to do on cable. November 21, 2007

Classic British/American comedy which spawned a franchise

One thing not mentioned by other reviewers is that this film, and Peter Sellers' character of Inspector Jacques Clouseau (sounds like someone else, right?), had been meant as a one-off. My understanding is that Sellers was contracted to play a featured part, but not steal the film! Nor was his character slated to develop into a whole film series, resurrecting the physical comedy of the silent masters and emulating the deadpan of the Monseur Hurlot films. Instead, Blake Edwards' hip 60s comedy exploded with Sellers' incarnation of Clouseau, and an even more wacky "Shot In The Dark" (co-written by the Exorcist's William Peter Blatty) was the immediate follow-up. In American TV, we know about "spin-off" series, and that's really what the Clouseau films are: a spin-off of this first classic. The Pink Panther is a must for fans of the swinging 60s comedies like its sequels, like "Casino Royale", "Under The Yum-Yum Tree", "The Graduate", the Flint movies, and others. Favourite scene? The bedroom scene, with David Niven (later of "Casino Royale") and Robert Wagner (of recent "Austin Powers" fame) hiding from the inept investigator. In fact, you can't watch my favourite Blake Edward movie, "Victor/Victoria", without seeing similar classic sight gags and situations from just that bedroom scene! Buy this movie! July 28, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...