Review of A Shot in the Dark (1964) by Marc B — 22 Aug 2012
In 1964, the second Pink Panther movie, with Inspector Clouseau bumbling in a silly way through another police investigation. Really, only the beginning of A SHOT IN THE DARK shines and seems to allow Blake Edwards much of a voice: the first scene (sumptuous and delicate framing between slapstick and deep emotional resonance) and its DePatie-Freleng title sequence (very cute and impressive).
After that, it's mostly just a standard murder-mystery -- Maria Gambrelli (a conniving and cute maid/murderer) versus Clouseau (a "complete and utter fool") -- sometimes sappy, sometimes obvious, usually dreary, with a lot of comedy thrown in. There are some cool gags (the entry room of a nudist colony, with a few characters for whom Sellers straight-mans), but some stupid ones (a repeated shot of a police bus driving through the city uphill, after some new clumsy act).
This review of A Shot in the Dark (1964) was written by Marc B on 22 Aug 2012.
A Shot in the Dark has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
