The Pink Panther




Any more behaviour like this and I'll have your stripes!

This marks the beginning of Peter Seller's flagship, long running Pink Panther series, which would span five films with him involved, plus more than a few other spin-offs.

The notorious Phantom thief, in actuality the well respected Sir Lytton (David Niven), has his eyes set on the rare Pink Panther diamond currently in the custody of young Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale). While he attempts to woo details of it out of her, Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers), the French policeman who has dedicated his life to catching the Phantom, is usually close at hand. But Sir Lytton has very little to be afraid of, at least where the bumbling Clouseau is concerned.

The Pink Panther series undeniably has a recognizable quality to it; even if someone hasn't seen any of the movies, they'll no doubt be able to readily identify the distinct theme song or the series' cartoon mascot. Peter Sellers, as the thoroughly incompetent but lovable Clouseau, is also something of an icon, though he isn't necessarily the main character in this particular film. This is (or mostly was, until the crew discovered just how funny Sellers was) Sir Lytton's story, which is, needless to say, much less interesting and consequently much less funny than whatever Clouseau happens to be involved in. As a comedy, The Pink Panther is incredibly slow in getting moving, and never quite works up enough momentum to really be anything above barely passable. A few dastardly hilarious sequences almost offset this, however. In particular, towards the middle, the romp of having three different men running around and hiding in Clouseau's hotel room (all while not knowing about each other) while Mrs. Clouseau (Capucine), who's actually chummy quite with Sir Lytton, tries to keep them away from each other and her clueless husband is more than stitch-worthy. However, there are far too many dull points throughout the movie and the main characters are not sympathetic but quite the opposite, as the Phantom doesn't show himself to really be a great thief (having Clouseau after you would probably make about anyone seem brilliant), and Mrs. Clouseau is unfaithful to her husband, despite how devoted he happens to be to her. The ending hardly does anything to rectify these problems.

David Niven does all right, but even his marginal wit and charm are outweighed by his part that's too lackluster to sustain the entire movie. Stepping in as his unintentional foil is Peter Sellers as Clouseau. Despite a smaller, less inclusive part lacking several of the staple traits that would develop with his character, he absolutely steals the show, even when his lines and the such aren't particularly funny. There's also the stunningly beautiful Capucine as Mrs. Clouseau, though her lack of honesty towards her husband does undermine her character. Claudia Cardinale is also not too bad to look at, and puts in an admirable performance despite the fact that her voice was dubbed throughout the whole film. There's also Robert Wagner as Lytton's nephew, though he adds next to nothing to the proceedings.

It's not really a good caper film or a good comedy, but when put together The Pink Panther is an almost decent caper/comedy, in a sloppy sort of way.



-The Gnome