This film should be hung along side the Mona Lisa in the louvre! It is an ultimate gem of cinema comedy. If you are going to watch one movie in The Pink Panther series, well watch The Pink Panther Strikes again. If you didn't like that then watch this. This is the movie that Peter Sellers defines the character of Inspector Clouseau. And seeing that Clouseau was a character in a lifetime for Sellers then this surely must rank as his best movie. This is the first film to feature Herbert Lom as Dreyfurs and Burt Kwouk as Cato, and both do well. The person who very nearly steals the show though is Elke Sommer as the love interest who everybody but Clouseau expects as the murderer of many people. Sellers and Blake Edwards are at a peak here. The funniest moments come when Clouseau keeps getting arrested for not having licences for certain things, and keeps getting carted of in a police van. The Laurel and Hardy inspired slapstick is well placed and timed, and Henry Mancini's music is splendid. Exorcist writer William Peter Blatty cut his teeth with thi the writing on this movie, and one wishes he had done more Panther movies because his script is wonderful fun. An ultimate classic.
Review of A Shot in the Dark
