The Pink Panther

To me, the defining moment in The Pink Panther comes when Clouseau is finally asked by his wife to get her a sleeping pill. Frustrated, discouraged, he tramps across the room for the umpteenth time to do his wife's bidding. We see him go into the bathroom, and then we hear - not see - ALL the pills drop on the floor of the bathroom. Without picking them up, or even saying anything or reacting in any way, he crunches across the floor and back into our view, carrying the water and the pill for her. You know exactly what happened; you didn't need to see it.

This is typical of this movie and this style: the jokes are so underplayed, quiet and perfectly paced that people accustomed to seeing "American Pie" and "There's Something About Mary", or even the bunch 'o sequels to this film (that grew progressively coarser and louder with each installment) may not get or even notice them. In the first sight of Inspector Clouseau, we see him pulling the old "leaning on a spinning globe and taking a pratfall" trick. But the moment is over with quickly; it's not made more than it is meant to, because the point of the pratfall is to define Clouseau's character in a moment. (Compare with later, more painful, re-occurences of this spinning-globe idea in the sequels). Most of the other moments derive from this idea: at the center of this caper film is this man who is inextricably dense and clueless, and yet retains a curious grace - not to speak of a total savoire-faire in all moments.

This film could never be made today. In fact, it's a time capsule of a certain sort of late 50's, early 60's sensibility. Examples: all the people showing up for the Princess's dinner in formal evening wear. David Niven's late-night repartee with the Princess - all about numb lips and champagne. The musical number - for no reason whatsoever. The glamorous locales - without a trace of irony, straight out of "To Catch a Thief", the inspiration for this type of "caper" flick. The curiously innocent and unsexual bedroom farce moments. And, of course, the ending car chase with guests in ape suits, a suit of armor, and not one but two cops in a zebra outfit (what a good choice for those interested in speed and efficiency!) And these are just the moments - see how effortlessly the screenplay weaves all the story lines together, and how beautifully the pace gets accelerated throughout the movie. Not to speak of the opening credits, which are like a whole cartoon sequence in themselves. Obviously, I'm crazy about this picture; it's pretty, it's captivating, it's romantic, it's funny, and it weighs about two ounces - it's just delectable cotton candy. And through it all Peter Sellers gives one of the most subtle, and funniest, comic performances put to film, walking around in a fog, totally unaware of reality, and underplaying his role to the hilt.

Rumor has it that a remake is in the works, with Mike Myers in the Clouseau role. Let's compare two moments to get a preview: Peter Sellers bringing his wife a part-full glass of milk that he has spilled most of. At her quizzical look he innocently says,"That was all they had, my dear!" .... compared with Austin Powers drinking, um, the brown substance that is not coffee. Different strokes for different folks, indeed. Looking forward to it, uh huh.

Nearly every review I have read condemning _The Pink Panther_ to second or third rate status in the "pantheon" of Clouseau movies comes from someone who either didn't know it existed or who was raised on the totally slapstick offerings that came later. If you are expecting the hackneyed humor and over-the-top performances that came with the last few Panther movies you are bound to be surprised by a movie that took time to make sense out of a story. If those movies are your standard for humor, you are bound to be disappointed.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. I watched it when it came out. I was eleven and it was showing at a local drive-in. Since then the movie has never failed to entertain me.

Unlike most of the other reviewers, I don't share the same admiration for the later Clouseau movies. I did enjoy _A Shot in the Dark_ and even liked _Return of the Pink Panther_ and its sequel, but frankly, Herbert Lom's twitch, Kato's surprise attacks, increasingly more ludicrous plot devices, and the very fact that Clouseau was still in a position of responsibility was more disbelief than I was willing to suspend.

_The Pink Panther_ is a great Romantic Comedy. That, in itself separates it from all the other Panther clones, which are all farcical slapsticks. Different humor, different purposes, therefore a different appreciation.

_The Pink Panther_ was not a blueprint for other Clouseau movies. Only for the Clouseau character.

This movie was the inspiration for an American icon. The Pink Panther cartoons came out well before the next movie. It also featured inspired comedy performances by its four leads. Yes, FOUR leads. Just because Clouseau wasn't the only major character doesn't mean he was minor. Sellers has more scenes than anyone except David Niven.

_The Pink Panther_ deserves to be considered on its own merits and not compared to movies of another genre that strove to capitalize on the popularity of the original.

There seems to be two entrenched sides to the debate about this film and I must come down firmly in the middle. I love all the Pink Panther films. The later ones for their genius slapstick, comic set pieces and one-liners and the first two, The Pink Panther and A Shot In The Dark, for their more subtle comedy and character development. These early two films are both romantic comedies and work brilliantly as such (by the way, has anyone ever seen the 1968 film, Inspector Clouseau, starring Alan Arkin?).

The real point about The Pink Panther is that the Inspector Clouseau character was supposed to be another in the line of Peter Sellers cameos in US films of the time. It was a David Niven film. It was during the shooting that Sellers, realising that he had a chance to make a real name for himself in America, set out to steal every scene, take-after-take. His part was continuously enlarged as a result (much to the alleged chagrin of Niven).

It is only looking back, in the light of the films that followed, that The Pink Panther seems a somewhat lesser comedy than the others.

This is a beautifully over-the-top sixties film. Stylistically it's very dated but a gem to watch, especially when you know that Peter Sellers was trying so hard to make an impact. I urge those of you who love the Pink Panther movies but are disappointed by this one to watch it again, armed with this knowledge, and appreciate the genius at work.

I had an absolute ball watching this. It works so well because Sellers underplays it. He's never over-the-top, never looks like he's playing for jokes, which makes his bumbling all the funnier.

Blake Edwards epitomises the sexy martini and bright colours world of the cinematic sixties for me. Revisiting Pink Panther since my childhood, i can see how this was a natural continuation from Breakfast at Tiffany's.

The charming David Niven and radiant belle Claudia Cardinale give added appeal. They are actually the two leads. Inspector Clouseau is a supporting player in this. His mass popularity lead to his being the centre of the sequals, including the famous second film Shot in the Dark, also by Blake Edwards.

A gem of a "man hiding in the closet" farce, perfect for late-night fun. See it if you enjoyed What's Up Doc? or Breakfast at Tiffany's.

It is said correctly that the first two Pink Panther movies, this and "A Shot in the Dark," are more sophisticated and for adults, compared with the later series of films that began ten years later, which are more blatant slapstick and somewhat juvenile. The latter are more purely entertaining, because they cause people (even adults) to break out and laugh, whereas the humor here is more elegant and less loud, not to say it is not very good. Still, I rate the original "Pink Panther" film very highly because of its own brand of entertainment and humor, and I put it above most of its successors ("Returns" and "Strikes Again" are at least as good, but I think most people would agree that with the end ones things go downhill).

Clouseau is one of the five main characters in the film, but he is only the fourth most prominent. It might be said that David Niven as the many-times-over thief Sir Charles Litton is the most prominent, followed by Claudia Cardinale as Central Asian Princess Dala, owner of the Pink Panther diamond that is the bait to be stolen, but I would argue that Clouseau's wife Simone (played by Capucine) is as at least equal to Sir Charles, if not more prominent. After all, she is effectively a double agent — Clouseau's wife, while aiding and abetting Sir Charles — and she even has a fling with Sir Charles's nephew George Litton. Two different affairs, but all of an extremely classy and gorgeous woman, just like Claudia Cardinale, and she seems to like all three men equally. Within her romances and the intrigue of the plot there is lots of hotel bedroom-to-bedroom back and forth and hiding, etc. Simone's humor, combined with her good bearing, is great, and she is the highlight of the film to me.

Clouseau's bumbling and klutziness is there, just less-pronounced, less loud and dominant. The film flows well, with good dialogue and comedy, and elegant settings of upscale hotels and fancy parties. The wit and humor are perhaps not described as subtle, but just less loud and more intelligent and refined than that of the later films. It seems that many comedies have idiotic, goofy characters, to such an extent that they may not be funny, but in this film the five main characters are urbane and smooth. Even Sellers has that bearing, while being a klutz too. But sometimes the presence of such more refined characters does not matter if the people are not appealing and the comedy is not funny. Here, however, the characters are definitely very appealing and poised, within a well-written good script, making for a good chemistry.

There is a great scene in which Sir Charles attempts to seduce the princess, who is laying stomach down on a tiger skin. The verbal reigns over the slapstick there, as in many other parts of the movie. Still, the ending is not without the latter, and it has a good ironic twist. Yes, there will be more slapstick to come...