A Shot in the Dark

Starring: Peter Sellers, Elke Sommer, George Sanders, Herbert Lom, Tracy Reed
Directed by: Blake Edwards
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Comedy, Mystery
1964

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Inspector Clousseau (Peter Sellers) tries to defend a beautiful woman (Elke Sommer) who is the main suspect in a murder investigation. He believes she is innocent, and tries to find the real murderer to prove it.

Review:

Tim: It's pretty interesting to see A Shot in the Dark, the second film in the "Pink Panther" series. Peter Sellers completely stole the show in the original film, and so the budding franchise was retooled to make him the lead character. Here, we follow the further bumbling adventures of Inspector Clousseau. I found this to be a worthwhile sequel and a good movie, although it's not without its flaws.

Here is my biggest problem with the film- in The Pink Panther, Sellers stole every scene he was in. He was the perfect example of a supporting player whose role was too small for him. Unfortunately, this movie didn't convince me he was big enough to carry the film by himself. Sellers is certainly a very strong actor, and he gives a hilarious performance as Clousseau. The problem is that the bumbling inspector is far funnier in smaller doses. With an entire film built around him, the sight gags and pratfalls do eventually wear a bit thin. I'm not saying I did not like them- I laughed throughout the film. Unfortunately, this sets up a good movie, but almost never a great one.

The story is pretty interesting, although it could have used more mystery. A man is murdered, and there are quite a few suspects. The prime suspect is a pretty maid, whom Clousseau falls for immediately. He spends the rest of the film bumbling up his inspection as he tries to find the real killer to prove her innocence. The story is fairly straight forward, although it is engaging. I do wish that they had played up the mystery more. I was never especially curious about the real killer, so when he/she is eventually revealed, I just shrugged my shoulders. I know the real focus of the film is on the funny situations Clousseau gets himself into, but I felt like some real mystery would have helped the overall story.

As far as the Clousseau hijinks, there are quite a few. He makes a great entrance by falling into a fountain, which accounts for quite a few humorous moments while wet. The nudist camp scene was pretty hilarious. What is very impressive is that these big comedy set-ups weren't the only funny moments- so much of the humor comes from the small moments, and Sellers' perfect comedic timing in reaction to them- when his pants and suit sleeve rip, when he gets his hand stuck in the globe, trying unsuccessfully to synchronize his watch, etc. There's so many quiet, silly moments that generate some laughs. Unfortunately, not everything Sellers does is funny. I felt like some of the gags were just too forced- why would even a bumbling inspector fall off a couch for no apparent reason? With a 102 minute run time, there would definitely be some unfunny moments. Plus, most of the humor made me laugh, but very few moments were true classics.

It was fun to see certain "Pink Panther" franchise staples show up here, for the first time- we get Kato and Dreyfuss, Hercule, and Sellers kicked off his "pronouncing things wrong" gags here. With just two films, it's been fascinating to watch his franchise change and develop. While flawed, I still enjoyed A Shot in the Dark and consider it a worthwhile, entertaining film. I would never claim to be a huge "Pink Panther" fan, but through two films, this franchise has produced two solid entries. I am legitimately excited to see where the franchise goes next!

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Pink Panther