The Pink Panther

Starring: David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine, Brenda De Banzie, Claudia Cardinale
Directed by: Blake Edwards
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Crime
1963

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) tries to track down the elusive Phantom thief as he tries to steal the pink panther diamond.

Review:

Tim: After watching the cartoon as a kid and seeing snippets of various movies in the franchise, I thought I had a good grasp of what this series was all about. I thought it was about Inspector Clouseau and his bumbling ways. While that's what the franchise evolved into, that was not where it started. I thought this aspect was fascinating. When the franchise started with The Pink Panther in 1963, it was meant as a vehicle for David Niven to have a franchise about his "Phantom" thief character. However, audiences and producers fell so in love with Peter Sellers' bumbling inspector that the franchise went in a completely unexpected direction.

Knowing that about the franchise, this film is pretty fascinating to watch. David Niven is definitely the lead character here- he's a charismatic, boozing womanizer, who is wealthy, and could also be a master thief known as the Phantom. He's a pretty interesting character and it's fun to watch his plan as it slowly unfolds. Inspector Clouseau is simply a supporting character. However, as the movie goes on, it becomes more and more apparent that Sellers is completely stealing the show. His scenes go longer and longer, and draw our attention more and more. Niven is interesting, but he simply can't hold a candle to Sellers.

Sellers creates one of the funniest, most memorable characters I've seen on screen. He is a bumbling detective, but the humor comes because of his perfect comedic timing. It's one thing to be a fool, but Sellers makes us care about his inspector at the same time that we can laugh at him. There's so many funny mistakes and bungles that Clouseau makes, but they all happen because he's simply trying so hard to succeed. Whether that's trying to catch a legendary thief, or trying to sleep with his wife, his effort and his earnestness makes his foibles more endearing. It's really remarkable to watch him.

While Sellers is really good, the movie itself isn't exactly great. The story is interesting enough, but it feels like a bit of a mess. We have a main character who slowly becomes overshadowed by a supporting character. We have a large cast, not all of whom are fascinating. The movie becomes a bit redundant as it goes on, and there are several times when it drags. These flaws prevent the movie from being great, but it's still entertaining to watch.

While not a perfect movie, there's enough here to hold your attention and keep you interested. I'm not surprised this film spawned a franchise, because there's some terrific characters and wonderful elements in play here. I highly recommend watching where this franchise began. The Pink Panther isn't a great movie, but it is certainly a solid one.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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