A Shot in the Dark (1964)

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Marcel Achard (play)
Harry Kurnitz (play)
(more)

Release Date:

23 June 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Crime

Tagline:

It's Sellers the Sleuth... and there's nothing he won't do to track down a body -- dead or alive!

Plot:

As murder follows murder, beautiful Maria is the obvious suspect; bumbling Inspector Clouseau drives his boss mad by seeing her as plainly innocent.

Plot Keywords:

Animated Title Sequence | Naked Man | Animated Credits | Bicycle | Binoculars

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Peter Sellers	...	Jacques Clouseau
Elke Sommer	...	Maria Gambrelli
George Sanders	...	Benjamin Ballon
Herbert Lom	...	Charles Dreyfus
Tracy Reed	...	Dominique Ballon
Graham Stark	...	Hercule LaJoy
Moira Redmond	...	Simone
Vanda Godsell	...	Madame LaFarge
Maurice Kaufmann	...	Pierre
Ann Lynn	...	Dudu
David Lodge	...	Georges
André Maranne	...	Francois
Martin Benson	...	Maurice
Burt Kwouk	...	Kato
Reginald Beckwith	...	Receptionist
Douglas Wilmer	...	Henri LaFarge
Bryan Forbes	...	Camp Attendant (as Turk Thrust)
Andre Charisse	...	Game Warden (as André Charise)
Howard Greene	...	Gendarme
John Herrington	...	The Doctor
Jack Melford	...	The Psycho-Analyst
Victor Baring	...	Taxi Driver
Victor Beaumont	...	Gendarme
Tutte Lemkow	...	Kazak Dancer
Hurtado de Córdoba	...	Flamenco Dancers / Guitarist (as Hurtado De Cordoba Ballet)
Fred Hugh	...	Balding Customer
Rose Hill	...	Soprano
Tahitian Dance Group	...	Tahitian Dance Group
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Lambert	...	Man (uncredited)
Nosher Powell	...	Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Blake Edwards

Writing credits
Marcel Achard		(play "L'Idiot")
Harry Kurnitz		(play)
Blake Edwards		(screenplay) and
William Peter Blatty		(screenplay)

Produced by
Blake Edwards	....	producer
Cecil F. Ford	....	associate producer
Leland Hayward	....	stage producer

Original Music by
Henry Mancini

Cinematography by
Christopher Challis		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Bert Bates
Ralph E. Winters

Production Design by
Michael Stringer

Costume Design by
Margaret Furse

Production Management
Denis Johnson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Bracknell	....	assistant director (as David Cracknell)
Derek Cracknell	....	assistant director
Terence Churcher	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Charles Bishop	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Norman Dorme	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Tony Rimmington	....	draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Bramall	....	sound recordist
Teddy Mason	....	sound editor
J.B. Smith	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Austin Dempster	....	camera operator
Dennis Fraser	....	grip (uncredited)
Norman Gryspeerdt	....	still photographer (uncredited)
John Jordan	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Skeets Kelly	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Animation Department
George Dunning	....	animation director (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Peter Elliot	....	first assistant editor (uncredited)
Martyn K.E. Green	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Douglas Gamley	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Henry Mancini	....	conductor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Eddie Frewin	....	transportation chief (uncredited)

Other crew
Constance Willis	....	continuity (as Connie Wllis)
Geoff Freeman	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Maurice Landsberger	....	production accountant (uncredited)
Golda Offenheim	....	production secretary (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Geoffrey Productions Inc.
• Mirisch Films

Distributors

• United Artists (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• CBS Television (1968) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner Home Video (1988) (UK) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (Europe) (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Compañía General de la Imagen (CGI) (2004) (Argentina) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Arthaus (2004) (Mexico) (theatrical) (re-release)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• DePatie-Freleng Enterprises  titles
• George Dunning & Associates  animation production

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) (original rating) | New Zealand:PG | Iceland:L | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:PG | Norway:11 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Luton Hoo Estate, Luton, Bedfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Geoffrey Productions Inc.

Trivia:

All the crimes involve members of the Ballon household. "Ballon" is French for "balloon". And at one point Clouseau disguises himself as a balloon-seller.

Quotes:

Maria Gambrelli: Tell me, why do so many men smoke afterwards? No wonder tobacco companies get rich.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)

Soundtrack:

Shadows of Paris

Sequel? Prequel? Hard to tell, but it has some laughs

The germination of the "Pink Panther" series of comedic mystery films is a complicated one. The first film in the series, "The Pink Panther", was actually the second one to be filmed! This film, "A Shot in the Dark", was originally intended to be the adaptation of a stage play, but director Edwards and actor Sellers refit the main character to accommodate the persona of Inspector Clouseu, which they were developing for "The Pink Panther". However, when the film was completed, it wasn't released and was deemed unfunny. Then when "The Pink Panther" was a hit, the studio released "A Shot in the Dark" as a sequel and a series was born. This explains why elements from the first film are absent from the second (Mrs. Clouseu anyone?) and why the second (actually first!) set the tone for the following films more than the first (actually the second! Confused yet?) Here, Sellers is front and center as the hapless and ever-clumsy Inspector. Freed from sharing screen time with a higher billed co-star (David Niven in the previous film) and without a particularly coherent plot to follow, he is allowed to engage in pratfall after pratfall and scenario after goofy scenario. Today's audiences may not completely go for the subtle, meticulously timed method of comedy shown here with emphasis on set up and repetitiveness, but patient and observant audience members should still find the film funny. By now, so much of the material has been cribbed or expanded upon, some of the edge is lost, but enough of the humor and situational gags are amusing enough to make the film worthwhile. Sellers insists upon the innocence of curvy stunner Sommer, a maid who has been found in a locked room with a dead body and a smoking gun in her hand. Time after time, he lets her out of prison and the body count increases. His thorough incompetence drives his superior (Lom) to insanity. Sommer's employer Sanders, a man of great wealth and taste, is also appalled by the bumbling Sellers, never more so than when he manages to practically trash a billiard room during a friendly game. One famous sequence has Sellers tracking Sommer down in a nudist colony. The modest Inspector navigates the idyllic hideaway using any available object to cover himself as the campers frolic behind shrubs and other props. Reed glams it up, but gets little to do as Sanders' bitchy wife. Another memorable sequence has Sellers and Sommer on a date with victim after victim falling prey to an assassin that's after Sellers. It's all a farcical enterprise that one must be in the mood for to fully enjoy. Otherwise, it becomes a little tiresome, but fans of physical comedy ought to lap it up. The remaining sequels were all sort of hybrids of "The Pink Panther" mixed with "A Shot in the Dark" and had fair success until the death of Sellers made it difficult to continue (but continue they did, using outtakes and other footage of the man! Anything to make a buck!) Henry Mancini provided some nice music, notably over the animated title sequence.