The Pink Panther ***** (1963, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine, Claudia Cardinale) – Classic Movie Review 394

The Pink Panther is actually a diamond – and so is Peter Sellers’ 1963 comedy gem.

Peter Sellers’s immortal, beloved Inspector Jacques Clouseau character made his delightful début in 1963 here in The Pink Panther with this glitteringly diverting, vintage caper packed with the hilarious old-style sight gags beloved of the late great comedy director Blake Edwards. Unlike so many British comedies of the period, it’s a beautiful, lavish production too, filmed in Technicolor and 70mm Super Technirama, and overflowing with pretty Swiss scenery.

The movie is also notable for introducing the cartoon character of The Pink Panther in an opening credits sequence animated by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. Though The Pink Panther is actually a diamond in the story, the cartoon character started to enjoy a parallel life of its own.

Written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, the tale’s about the bumbling French cop travelling from Paris to Switzerland on the trail of The Phantom gem thief, who leaves a trademark glove at the scene of each crime. Clouseau feels sure The Phantom will strike next in Switzerland, where the famous Lugashi priceless diamond The Pink Panther is going to be found and hopes he can catch whoever is The Phantom trying to nick it.

This polished entertainment remains a great pleasure and a delight, as the performances and jokes still come up fresh and sparkling every time. Why, it has even improved with the passing of time as it has passed into the fabric of the culture.

Sellers is extremely winning and of course extremely funny in his most famous role, though it is evident that he’s still developing the character. And he is backed by a suave, sophisticated team of performers, headed by David Niven (Sir Charles Lytton), Capucine (Clouseau’s wife Simone), Claudia Cardinale (Princess Dahla) and Robert Wagner (George Lytton).

None of them probably realised at the time that it was going to be entirely the Peter Sellers Show, and that virtually nobody would hardly even notice, let alone remember, they were in it. They do well, simply by acting their way through it like the troupers they are, but farce isn’t really their métier. That leaves the thing wide open to Sellers to sparkle like the Pink Panther diamond.

David H DePatie and Friz Freleng’s animated titles are a particular joy, spawning a highly popular cartoon series, and Henry Mancini’s catchy, Oscar-nominated score shows just why he was always Edwards’s favourite composer.

United Artists executives decided to adapt the title sequence into a long series of theatrical animated shorts, with Freleng as director, the first of which, 1964’s The Pink Phink, won the 1964 Academy Award for Animated Short Film.

The 1993-1996 animated TV series featured the voice of actor Matt Frewer as the Pink Panther, though the character was traditionally mute.

The Pink Panther was conceived as a sophisticated comedy about a charming, urbane jewel thief, Sir Charles Lytton, a vehicle for top-billed Niven. Peter Ustinov was originally cast as Clouseau, with Ava Gardner as his faithless wife in league with Lytton, but Ustinov left when Gardner backed out. Sellers started to steal the film as Edwards shot in multiple takes of improvised scenes. It was shot in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Rome, Paris and Los Angeles.

There were five follow-ups, starting with A Shot in the Dark (1964), followed by The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) and Trail of the Pink Panther (1982).

And it was remade as The Pink Panther in 2006 with Steve Martin, who made a sequel, The Pink Panther 2 (2009).

The 1968 Inspector Clouseau stars Alan Arkin as Clouseau, but does not feature any other recurring characters or key personnel associated with Sellers films.

The 1983 Curse of the Pink Panther is the first to feature a different lead character, blundering American detective Sgt Clifton Sleigh, played by Ted Wass.

Blake Edwards made one final attempt to revive the Pink Panther series with Son of the Pink Panther (1993), casting Roberto Benigni as Gendarme Jacques Gambrelli.

© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review 394

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