A woman comes out of jail, everything around is gray except for a colorful assortment of balloons a salesman is holding. Sure it's not meant to fool us... then why are we laughing when the salesman finally reveals his face and it is Inspector Clouseau working undercover? Clouseau doesn't have time to follow his target that a cop asks him if he's got a license, if you pay close attention, half a second, Clouseau seems to try to get off the ground... with the balloons? The next shot shows that he didn't, he's hauled off in a police van with the balloons floating outside, a sight gag... for the road!That's the secret of "A Shot in the Dark", it is funny on three levels: unpredictability, predictability and one within another. In a movie where a detective trained his Chinese servant to attack him at the least expected moment, anything can basically happen at anytime. When he tries to get a grab on a spinning globe or impress his assistant about his sense of deduction or impress with his pool skills, we're always one step ahead of him and anticipate the disaster. But it's all in the reaction of Clouseau, the seminal bumbling detective, the high profile inspector who's the right man for the right situation, but it all depends from which perspective you're speaking. If you really believe his incompetence serves the villains, you have another thing coming. There's no logic in Clouseau, the only logic is : make'em laugh.One year prior to the film, Blake Edwards made Peter Sellers a star with his most iconic role and introduced the world to perhaps the last icon of the Golden Age of Animation, and his signature music signed by Henry Mancini. I said in my review of "The Pink Panther" that the film ended with the perfect note. Clouseau stealing David Niven's thunder was the perfect indicator of the real driving force of the movie (the panther's cameo was the cherry on the cake). And I expected Clouseau to be a major player in the sequel. "A Shot in the Dark" doesn't disappoint on that level, the only thing missing is the Pink Panther in the credits, but the film wasn't meant as a follow-up to the original and Sellers is strong enough to carry it alone. Still, the film starts with a nice tribute to the trope forever associated with Mancini's jazzy signature. It opens with a wonderful choreography of nighttime sneakiness, people tiptoeing all over a residence, getting from one room to another, a lovers-and-mistresses ballet that goes for almost five minutes, in a long uninterrupted and beautifully directed shot. There's no Panther's theme but Shirley Bassey's "Dreams of Paris" song, haunting like a James Bond's theme. a melody so hypnotic that we would almost miss what happens. I had to replay the intro and keep concentrating on who was who and who did what. Retrospectively, it doesn't really matter if you miss what happens so the joke was on me.I initially thought there would be a plot, but that's Blake Edwards' talent, when confusion is deliberate, even zaniness can glides beneath the surface of class and elegance. So the opening ends with a gunshot. Watching the film, I was reminded of that Tex Avery's "Who Killed Who" episode where a detective pushed a button to call the suspect and the usual suspects immediately popped up: mean-looking maid, butler and chauffeur. Here, the chauffeur has gone the way of the dodo, but the gardener, the maid, the plumber, the rich man, his wife, are all reunited like in an Agatha Christie story. Everything seems to accuse Maria, the maid, who was found holding a smoking gun, she has no alibi, but she catches the eye and heart of Inspector Clouseau. Does he suspect her or does he try not to suspect her? As he says "I suspect everyone and no one" which kind of sums up the way he handles the whole investigation. Who am I kidding? The only word to sum up the investigations stands in four words: "gags", the film is a series of hilarious moments, running (and driving) gags that explore the best of Sellers' comedic talent, and the feeblest of them manages to extract chuckles and smiles. "A Shot in the Dark" isn't exactly a parody in the 'Monty Python' or "Naked Gun' meaning but the humor is no less effective, it's like a whole piece of art crafted in order to generate laugh or never leave a dull moment, even Elke Sommer creates a fun pairing with Sellers, even George Sanders manages to maintain his 'heavy' composure in a lighthearted film.Once you get that it's all for the jokes that it's played, you just enjoy the film for what it is. But Blake Edwards is a sneaky fellow you know, it might take time before you really grab how hungry for your laughs the film is and you might follow it as if it was indeed a straight investigation. That's ignoring the escalation toward madness from Clouseau's Chief (Herbert Lom) and to put it simply, an ending you wouldn't see coming. I can't spoil it but the last five minutes alone justifies why the film ended as the sole representative of the "Pink Panther" series in AFI's Top 100 Comedies. That Edwards and Sellers didn't get along is baffling, both have been raised by silent comedy and their directing and acting skills really peaked with that one.Sellers reminds of Louis de Funès, the kind of actor who'd never let a detail miss, in a scene where he asks two sidekicks to wink as a signal, he'd notice that one of them winks better than the other and the whole scene turns into an winking routine. Sellers has many routines like this in "A Shot in the Dark", but it sure never gets routinely.

A SHOT IN THE DARK is a crime comedy about new hilarious adventures of inspector Jacques Clouseau. It is the second installment in "The Pink Panther" series. This film is a very strange combination between a black and sexy humor.Inspector Clouseau is called to the country home of millionaire Mr. Ballon to investigate the murder of his chauffeur. A chauffeur was shot and killed in her bedroom. His mistress Maria, a maid in the Mr. Ballon home, is found with a gun in her hand at the crime scene. All evidence points to Maria as the killer, but Clouseau is convinced of her innocence, because, a confused maid is a very attractive young woman. A tragic-comic struggle for a hopeless case, truth and love can begin...A well developed farce, which constantly moves from funny to tragic, stands out from all mentality. The case of a murder,later more of them, is so intricate and yet so obvious that it becomes hard to watch. Our "capable" Inspector constantly runs away from each cue and clue, which would help him in his investigation.Mr. Edwards has succeeded to include all the characters in this hilarious criminal-comedic game, where no one knows who kills and who is trying to kill.Peter Sellers (Jacques Clouseau) brings a strange kind of monotony in the story, through a combination of his dignity and clumsiness. I think he is, nevertheless, aware of his incompetence, but he is convinced to do his job perfectly at the same time.Elke Sommer as Maria Gambrelli is confused beauty, which perfectly accepts comic effects by Mr. Sellers. Herbert Lom (Charles Dreyfus) is somewhat stole the show as a nervous and crazed commissioner, on the other hand he is a counterbalance to inspector Clouseau. George Sanders as Benjamin Ballon is a calm rich man and jealous lover. Graham Stark as Hercule Lajoy is a crumb of intellect that circulates around inspector Clouseau. Burt Kwouk as Cato is a Chinese assassin until a phone rings in a residence.This is a frivolous, colorful and enjoyable experience.

Adapted from a stageplay and not originally written for the screen. Elke Sommer was a fabulous, smoldering, blonde bombshell. This is perhaps her most famous film role ever, as the "French Maid" who appears incredibly guilty of committing a series of murders and is arrested repeatedly. Only bumbling Clouseau believes her to be innocent because she is so beautiful! Without a doubt the best of the so-called "Pink Panther" series and there isn't a single Pink Panther or Pink Diamond in sight! The most famous "clean nudity" scenes of all time, from the tour bus peering down into their little car to the famous guitar and air mattress for Peter Seller's front and rear-end modesty. Besides strategically-placed fluffy-blonde hair, not much else covers Elke's "assets" at all. A wonderful conclusion as it turns out that several people are guilty of the multiple murders as they are all "acts" of passion. Hint: Enjoy the movie, and be aware that the ending is a big bomb!

Based on the French play 'L'Idiote' authored by Marcel Achard and adapted to the American stage by Harry Kurnitz, 'A Shot in the Dark' features Peter Sellers in the lead role of an Inspector with such gifted detective instincts that if he says he can solve a case within "2 seconds", it requires him to experiment with his profound investigative prowess in a full-length feature film to solve it.'Give me 10 men like Clouseau, and I could destroy the world!' Yes, this great one-liner, uttered by Chief Inspector Dreyfus in a great deal of dismay, indeed outlines the wacky character of 'Inspector Jacques Clouseau' played by Sellers.'A Shot in the Dark' is the second installment of the 'Pink Panther' Series, and the funniest of them all. The plot is simple, and goes on like this. Inspector Clouseau is sent to the Ballon residence to investigate the murder of Mr. Ballon's Spanish chauffeur Miguel. The Inspector instantly falls in love with the charming maid, Maria Gambrelli, towards whom all the evidences point a finger. But, Clouseau strongly believes that someone else is the murderer who framed her for murder. He thinks she might know something about it. So he releases her from jail and spies on her. Ill-fated circumstances prevent the Insp from successfully spying her moves, and eventually more murders take place. Is she really the murderer? If not, who framed her? Why would anyone kill a chauffeur? And finally, the most important question.. Will Clouseau be able to solve the case?As the great Inspector along with his assistant, Hercule LaJoy, solemnly embark on his mission to solve the case, peril seems to find its way one way or the other and ride upon his shoulders, except for when his boss, Chief Inspector Dreyfus, is around of course. To Dreyfus just the name of Clouseau is enough to ruin his day. He can't stand sight of Clouseau and hates "every little bit" of him for every time they meet, poor Dreyfus is thrown into the face of adversity within no time, and has to undergo tremendous agony.All the actors performed well, but it is Sellers who stole the show as the inept detective fumbling and bumbling his way around solving murder mysteries, but mostly bumping into furnitures, snagging crucial areas of his clothes, falling out of windows, pursuing Miss Sommer to a nudist camp and what not.There is nothing wrong with the Blake Edwards' direction and screenplay. Editing was also upto the mark. Henry Mancini's music, I must also add, is as sassy and frivolous as the film.The only few minor drawbacks of this film are: Number one, Some portions are repetitive. Like for example, Inspector Clouseau got arrested more than a couple of times for not obtaining selling license in order to sell stuffs such as balloons, paintings, etc. Number two, few comic scenes were way too predictable. You could see them coming. And number three, the ambiguous ending which might leave some audiences wondering who actually murdered whom.8/10