Movie Review: A Shot in the Dark (1964)

A Shot in the Dark (1964) co-written and directed by Blake Edwards

This film is the second Pink Panther film, so Peter Sellers reprises his role as Inspector Clouseau, the bumbling detective who manages to solve cases in spite of himself. Here, a beautiful maid named Maria (Elke Sommer) is accused of murdering her lover at the estate of Ballon (George Sanders). The opening sequence shows a lot of comings and goings at the estate before shots ring out. Viewers get the impression that more than one set of lovers is galavanting about. Since the crime happens in the middle of the night, Clouseau is assigned to the case. Once his chief, Commissioner Dreyfuss (Herbert Lom), finds out, he wants Clouseau replaced. But someone higher up wants to keep Clouseau on the job, possibly because he doesn't seem like he will be able to solve the case. Clouseau falls for Maria and firmly believes she is innocent in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. Comedic slap-stick shenanigans ensues.

The story is taken from a stage play unrelated to the Pink Panther franchise and clearly the filmmakers have taken a lot of liberties in adapting it. The action ranges all over Paris and in suburbs (including a nudist colony). It does not look like a stage play at all. Sellers does his usual bumbling and over-the-top French accent. He's quite entertaining. The mystery isn't that interesting, though that really isn't the point. This show is more about showing off Sellers's comedic abilities and Sommer's beauty, favoring the former.

The comedy routines are hit and miss. At one point, Sellers and Sanders are playing billiards and they quite comically get intertwined--hilarious. At the end, Sellers bumbles his way through putting his cue back in a cue rack--not funny at all. The nudist colony bits don't work so well; they seem put in for shock/titillation value. The movie did pass the six laugh test. Other Pink Panther films are funnier.

Slightly recommended.