Directed by: Blake Edwards
Starring: David Niven, Peter Sellers, Capucine, Robert Wagner, Claudia Cardinale
The Pink Panther didn't set out to be the first of the many films featuring the bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau in Peter Sellers' most recognizable role. Sellers, however, steals the movie in the same way Sir Charles Lytton (Niven), a master thief and playboy, wants to steal the world's most precious diamond from a wealthy, beautiful princess.
Much of the action in The Pink Panther takes place in the upscale Italian ski resort Cortina d'Ampezzo, in which Sir Charles aka The Phantom conspires with his nephew George (Wagner) and Clouseau's own wife Simone (Capucine), with whom Sir Charles is having an affair to steal Princess Dala's Pink Panther diamond. Clouseau is on the trail of The Phantom and is staying in the same resort. He suspects the Phantom, but can't prove his guilt. The sexually frustrated Clouseau is prone to pratfalls and causing unintentional mayhem as he tries to nail Sir Charles and his wife, who finds reasons not to sleep with him.
The best Pink Panther films remain The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) and Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), both in which Clouseau perfects his rhythm and comic timing. In The Pink Panther, Clouseau is not the lead, and sometimes it feels his scenes were flown in from another movie. Otherwise, The Pink Panther sets the genesis for Clouseau while Sir Charles and the rest of the gang hide under beds and run around like they're in a standard romantic farce. It's a beginning, but Edwards and Sellers will take three more movies before they hit their stride.
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