☆ ☆ ☆
The
Pink Panther (1963) – B. Edwards
It should come as no surprise that Peter
Sellers steals this movie with his bumbling and ridiculous Inspector Clouseau.
However, director Blake Edwards probably didn’t realize what a comic goldmine
he had on his hands (yet) and he lets the movie drift into dullness in long
scenes with David Niven and Claudia Cardinale (who play the jewel thief and the
jewel owner, respectively). Robert
Wagner is along for the ride as Niven’s nephew, also aiming to be a jewel
thief. Somehow, the plot also involves
Clouseau’s wife (played by French actress, Capuchine) as one of the thieves –
which is confusing since to my recollection, she isn’t mentioned in any of the
numerous sequels to this film, most of which feature Sellers in the lead role
(some sadly released after his death made up of outtakes and found
footage). I suspect that there was
originally no real plan to follow this up and the quirky Inspector was a small
supporting character that Sellers took every license to expand. If only this
movie were shorter and his presence more central – Clouseau doesn’t even catch
the thief, even accidentally!
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