The Pink Panther (1964)

The film also stars the wonderful David Niven, who plays the perfect suave English thief, and a very young Robert Wagner as his equally debonair nephew. Female stars are the beautiful Claudia Cardinale and Capucine, two of the top European actresses and models from the era.

The movie is a bit more sedate than the later films in the series, but still is one of the funniest movies of the sixties. 'A Shot In The Dark', also released in 1964, as the first sequel, began the transformation to the later formulas with additions such as the wonderful Herbert Lom. 'The Pink Panther' does introduce the animated 'Pink Panther' short for the first time, as well as the often imitated, never duplicated title theme. Other viewers will have their own favorite scenes, and the costume party is surely one of the highlights of the film, but for my money the best scenes in the film revolve around Clouseau trying to woo his wife by playing his Stradivarius violin, over many protestations. The look of pain on David Niven's face during his playing is worth the price of the film alone

If I were doing it today, I would buy this DVD as part of the multi DVD 'Pink Panther' set, where it also includes a few interesting bonuses such as a 'trivia track', which adds great tidbits about the film.

Peter Sellers was a comic genius, and the world still waits for another genius of his stature. I think we will be waiting a long, long time.

He is totally devoted to his wife Simone, but that isn't reciprocated. Behind his back, she is having an affair with the famed middle-aged debonair playboy, Sir Charles Lytton, and due to a misunderstanding, manipulating his nephew George, a college graduate from America.

However, Sir Charles is up to some machinations, as he has an accomplice steal Princess Dalla's dog, only to get into a skiing accident, and he's very keen on gaining the Princess's confidence, who has the reputation of being the "virgin queen." However, some bubbly loosens her up, and the pretty Claudia Cardinale does a good job in portraying her in that state.

Other funny scenes involve Simone trying to hide both Lyttons in her hotel room while Jacques is in the bathroom. Both Lyttons' attempts to escape are foiled by room service or Jacques emerging from the bathroom. And the bewildered old man trying to cross the street, only to have cars zipping past him every other step, including two driven by men dressed in gorilla costumes, Clouseau shouting instructions, and even a pantomime zebra (don't ask!), has got to be a classic.

As a pilot movie for the character of Inspector Clouseau, it's not bad, but compared to the later entries, where the slapstick, silly French mispronunciations of English words, pain and destruction gags, and unexpected comical kung-fu fighting made the series a laugh riot, this pales considerably. Yes, Clouseau is a bumbler, clumsily stepping on feet, tripping over objects, getting his hand caught in something, etc. but the scenes with David Niven (Sir Charles), Robert Wagner (George), Capucine (Simone), and the princess outweighs Peter Sellers presence in this movie. Hence a change in formula and cast, with Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk, Andre Maranne, and Graham Stark in A Shot In The Dark, also shot and released the same year, where Peter Sellers and his antics took center stage, resulting in a marked improvement and a classic comedy.

The animated opening titles are amusing, featuring the famed cartoon character and Henry Mancini's immortal theme. And Fran Jeffries singing an Italian version of "It Had Better Be Right" is a musical highlight in the movie. As for where they got the name the Pink Panther, it's because of a flaw in the diamond, a tiny discolouration that resembled a leaping pink panther--hence the name.